We’ve made it out to the Isle of Skye, the largest island among the Inner Hebrides and a major tourist destination in Scotland. If you think of iconic Scottish landscape, this is it. Rugged mountains, windswept glens, medieval castles, picturesque fishing villages – the Isle of Skye has it all. We’re staying in Portree, the biggest “city” on the island but it’s a pretty modest place.

Getting here was a bit of a chore. Basically the narrow, winding roads with buses and massive trucks coming around sharp corners are driving us a little crazy. Mark lives in fear that we’re going off the road on his side (we haven’t, yet) while oncoming traffic hurtles past us just a couple inches from my side of the car (we haven’t hit them, yet). There’s a reason we prefer buses and trains for our commuting, but some of the places we’re going in Scotland are just too remote for public transportation to work.

Based on a recommendation from our London-based friend Luba, we made lunch reservations one day at a Michelin-listed restaurant on the far side of the island. When we realized just how unpleasant it would be to drive there (and that driving would mean I wouldn’t have any wine at a pretty fancy place…) we decided to hire a driver to take us there and back. Such a treat! Donda, probably in his 60s, has lived on the island nearly all his life and we’ll just say the traffic conditions didn’t bother him in the least. And we learned that he likes people from all over the world with one exception. Perhaps like a lot of Scots he really doesn’t like the English!

One weird (and unpleasant) thing about Portree is that nearly all the restaurants close on Sundays and many or most Mondays as well. Since we were there Sunday through Tuesday it was a real problem for us. Usually you can at least count on the restaurant in your hotel to be open but even that was closed. (Just one of many strikes against the least-favorite place we’ve stayed in a while.) Fortunately we stumbled on a nice restaurant – Dulse & Brose – that was open for lunch and the manager took pity on us and squeezed us in for dinner as well. And the next night too! So we survived.

A major reason to come out this way is to hike, and we did plenty of that. A lovely smaller hike the afternoon we arrived and a longer, more substantial hike the first full day before we took off across the island for our fancy lunch. Both days the weather was really nice. On day three (our second full day) we decided to brave the Scottish roads and drive around a peninsula near us where there was supposed to be some great sights and some good hiking.

After just 15 minutes or so we got to a trailhead heading up to one of the island’s top sights, a rock formation known as The Old Man of Storr. So we parked and headed up without really knowing what we were getting in for. I mean, there were lots of cars there and plenty of people so it can’t be that intense, right? Turns out it was a pretty significant hike up, maybe an hour or so. And by now the weather had changed substantially so there was a pretty strong wind blowing mist on you the whole time. Bottom line is that the views weren’t as good as we’d hoped and by the time we were done we were drenched and cold. So we headed back to town to find dry clothes.

From here we start heading south, two more stops in Scotland and then the Lake District in England. Until then, here are a few pictures of our Isle of Skye experiences.

Our tour of Great Britain reaches its most northerly point here in Inverness, which is generally considered the capital of the Scottish Highlands. The name derives from the Scottish Gaelic words for “Mouth of the River Ness.” The city indeed sits at he mouth of the River Ness, six miles downstream from the beautiful, mysterious, moody Loch Ness.

We drove a little under three hours to get here from Braemire. That experience combines stunningly beautiful scenery with mildly terrifying road conditions. Many of the roads in Scotland are just BARELY wider than two cars. Every time we encounter an oncoming vehicle, it seems there are only inches to spare for each car to stay in its lane and avoid collision. And when that oncoming vehicle happens to be a bus or a truck or a tractor, there is even less room to spare because it may well spill into our lane. That means Jim (who has been driving) has to move uncomfortably to the left while Mark (the navigator) winces in fear that we are going to head into a ditch or hit whatever is on the side. So every drive combines great natural beauty with a lot of stress.

And of course there are significant stretches where the roads are not NEARLY the width of two cars. There you rely on frequent little “passing places” and pray that when you encounter another car you don’t have to back up too far to get to one. And on top of all this you have to add in the minor extra challenge of remembering to always stay on the left.

The best part about our stay here was joining up for two days with our great friends Mary Beth and Sven. We had lots of time to catch up over lunches, dinners, a bit of Scotch tasting, and a couple nice hikes along the River Ness and up above Loch Ness. Given how unpredictable the weather is here, we had nice clear conditions and lovely views of the lake. We were only disappointed not to get even one sighting of the Loch Ness monster herself.

Here we are in the Scottish Highlands and we are loving it! Our first stop is a town called Braemar, deep in Cairngorms National Park, the biggest national park in the UK. The natural beauty captivated Queen Victoria and Prince Albert back in the mid-19th century and so they bought what is today Balmoral Castle just a few miles from here. In the best McMansion tradition they tore down the small, old castle and spent three years building Balmoral. I don’t know how all the royals after her felt about it but this was certainly one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorite spots as well. And I have to say, based on our little stop here you can trust their judgment.

There’s a lot to see here but not necessarily a lot to say. That is, it’s a stunningly beautiful place and so we spent large parts of every day hiking in and around the mountains. The weather cooperated beautifully – sunny with scattered clouds and temperatures from the high-50s into the 60s – so we had ideal hiking conditions. And that’s pretty much it, so I think pictures are going to tell most of the story.

Besides a lot of hiking we did a morning trip up to Balmoral, where you can buy tickets to tour the grounds. We didn’t really know what to expect but figured “How bad can it be?”

We are so glad we did it! They have started to allow tours inside the building but tickets are seriously limited and we didn’t try it far enough in advance. Maybe that would have been great but just walking the grounds, soaking up the atmosphere of the castle, and gaping at all the flowers was pretty fantastic. Definitely worth doing the next time you’re in the area.

It’s worth saying a word or two about our hotel here, The Fife Arms. It is simply one of the most beautiful hotels we’ve ever stayed in. It’s history goes back to the mid-19th century, opening as a classy hotel just after Balmoral was finished. And for much of the last half of the 19th century and up to World War I it was very much a place to see and be seen. It bounced back a bit during the inter-war period but by the 1960s it was pretty run down.

Finally just a few years ago a British couple that owns a fancy art gallery bought it and spent a few years restoring the hotel in a magnificent way. The minute you step in the art and the furnishings and the colors just grab you. Fantastic and varied public spaces practically beg you to sit for a spell. All that and a great restaurant, too. Rarely does a hotel deserve so much praise but this one is truly worthy.