A few words about Scottish weather before diving into our three-day adventure to the Isle of Skye in the Highlands. According to my good friend Wikipedia, Western Scotland is one of the rainiest places in Europe, with an annual rainfall of 180 inches (4,577 mm). While it's true that the Isle of Skye is technically a bit further north than what would typically be considered "western" Scotland, it is not far off. And one of the principle reasons Scotland is so damn beautiful is that it rains ALL. THE. TIME. Our clothing on this trip (in July, mind you) has mostly consisted of jeans, hiking boots, wool socks, long sleeves over undershirts, and rain coats. You may spot the occasional short sleeve shirt, which was a fleeting luxury we enjoyed every now and then. Bottom line : if you are bothered by a little rain, this is not the country for you. I wasn't actually sure if we were ever going to make it to Skye as we kept pulling over on the side of the road to get out and breathe in the wide and wild air of the Scottish highlands. You can see Michael in the above photo on his way back from one of his many mini-hikes. That is one happy man right there! Another excellent stop on the way to Skye was to the Eilean Donan Castle, which is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, and is definitely worth a visit (below). We happened to arrive around lunchtime, and thoroughly enjoyed the meal we had at the castle's visitor center. Maybe I was starving, I don't know, but it was also the first time in years I've had a Scotch pie, bringing back so many good memories of attending the Highland Games in California with our good friends the Holcombs when I was younger.
While many of the roads on Skye are technically meant to accommodate two-way traffic, they are often only wide enough for one car to pass at a time, with paved bump-outs every several hundred yards or so for one of the oncoming cars to pull over while the other passes. This is usually based on whoever is close to a bump-out, and is by no means an exact science. It's not exactly the most stress-free driving, especially when hills are involved (and you're driving on the left-hand side of the road in a stick-shift), but eventually you get used to it. In addition to narrow roads, cows and sheep are absolutely EVERYWHERE with not a fence to be seen for miles. They occasionally wander into the road, but mostly can be found chomping away on the ever-green grass on both sides of the car. Although I was under the impression that the famous harry Highland Coo would be ubiquitous in these parts, the elusive golden Coo was only spotted once on our Skye adventure (with me below). It was very exciting. Although Skye is by no means large, the diversity of landscape is remarkable. Wild open fields with sheep for miles give way to lush green valleys with imposing mountains. Continuing a bit further, you find sheer cliffs leading to crashing waves below. Waterfalls break free from crevasses across the island in the most surprising of places. It is a hikers paradise, and an incredible place to escape from the world, if just for a few days.
If you want to see more photos from our trip to Skye, you can check out the whole trip album here. Otherwise a few of the more memorable shots are below.
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AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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