Postcards From Scotland
Our Summer Adventure 2015.
Our trip began with an early start on Tuesday morning 25th August catching the 3:30am ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan. A long journey of 383 miles to our destination in the Isle of Skye. Fortunately the weather was kind to us on route and the views of the Scottish country-side were fantastic. We traveled along the coast towards Ayr then on to Glasgow, North of Glasgow is when the dramatic countryside could be seen, Loch Lomond, Glencoe, then into the Western Highlands through Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis and on to Mallaig where we boarded another ferry across to Skye. An hours drive on the other side took us to Portree the capital town on the island where we checked into our accommodation for our stay, the Balintoy bed and breakfast. this is a superb B&B run by husband and wife Gavin and Gillian, they were very welcoming, friendly and made us feel very much at home. They have a very well run B&B with a delicious continental breakfast. Their home is beautiful. Both Gillian and Gavin show an interest in what plans you have while staying in skye, they offer suggestions for places to visit eat places etc. Definitely will be top of the list if we return.
Balintoy B&B our base for the stay on Skye.
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The banks of Loch Lomond was our first stop off point on the way to Skye
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A brief leg stretcher at the Falls Of Falloch situated in the north part of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.
The falls boasts a prime location just over three miles from the village of Crianlarich . Standing at 30 ft high and with
the River Falloch passing through Glen Falloch as it makes its way towards Loch Lomond at Ardlui.
The dramatic views of Glencoe
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Our fist view of Skye from the ferry. The crossing only takes half an hour from Mallaig on the mainland to Armadale on the island.
Portree. Portree was where we stayed whilst the Isle of Skye it is the main town on the Island and is a bustling port and a thriving cultural centre set round its natural harbour and fringed by high ground and cliffs. It is the perfect central location for access around the island.
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Lealt Gorge and Falls The dramatic gorge and waterfall at Lealt rank as one of the hidden pleasures of Skye. A short, mostly level walk takes you to a viewpoint where you can look back into the depths of the gorge and see the waterfalls
which tumble down a steep slope to the floor of the gorge far below. Carry on along the gravelled path and after a few hundred metres you will come to a second viewing platform, this time oriented so as to give commanding views over the
surrounding cliffs and the sea. At the foot of the cliffs, hugging a narrow band of shoreline, lie the ruins of several buildings from a factory that once processed diatomite mined at nearby Loch Cuithir, in the hills above Lealt.
Kilt Rock & Waterfall
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Kilt Rock & Waterfall After such glorious weather on the journey up to Skye day one was a complete contrast, heavy rain and low clouds welcomed us as we set out on our first tour of the island. Not really knowing where to go we set off north along the coast road, our first stop being the Lealt Gorge and Waterfall. A few miles further on we came to the Kilt Rock viewpoint. There are really two attractions here; one is the waterfall which tumbles from the nearby loch over the precipitous cliff edge in dramatic fashion, the second is Kilt Rock itself, a striking vertical cliff-face of basalt which – if you use some imagination - resembles the folds of a Scottish kilt. There is a fenced viewpoint that gives the only reasonable views of Kilt Rock, though the angle of the coast does not allow for a really good look at the waterfall. For best light viewing Kilt Rock, come in the morning. Determined to find a good walk into the hills we carried on North.
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The Quirang Just short of Flodigarry we pulled in at a lay-by and decided to head in land on foot, there were no foot paths only sheep trails to follow so it was pretty tough going. After a few miles the weather improved slightly so we scrambled up a steep rocky slope to get the best of the views across towards the sea. We later found out that we had taken the non tourist route up to the Quirang, this passes through some of the most
spectacular landscapes in Scotland, as part of the Trotternish Ridge it has been formed by a massive land slip which created high cliffs, hidden palteaus and high pinnacles of rock. Such a pity the weather wasn’t the best so we could see the spectacular views. After heading to the summit the weather started to close in again so we headed back to the car soaked by the time we got there. A six and a half mile round trip but satisfying for our first day.
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Neist Point.
As we drove to the west of the Island the weather made a remarkable improvment, the rain stopped and by the time we reached Neist Point the sun had come out. This is the most Westerly point on the Isle of Skye, giving excellent views over Moonen Bay to Waterstien Head and out over the Minch to the Western Isles.
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Moonen Bay. The improved weather gave us great views across Moonen Bay
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The Cuillen Mountains. Day Two we ventured South of Portree and into the most spectacular part o Skye, the Cuillen Mountains, as we drove to our start point at Sligachan, the ever changing weather made for some dramatic sights with the sun bursting through the clouds. This was to be our longest walk of the trip, from the Sligachan Hotel car park we walked to the coast at Camasunary some 8 miles and then back again to Sligachan. Here we got our first experience of the famous Isle Of Skye midges, for once the rain was welcomed as it kept them in hiding. Once again as the day wore on the weather improved giving us a glimmer of sunshine on our return journey to Sligachan showing the mountains around us off in all there glory.
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The Old Man Of Storr
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Day 3 and our final day on Skye we decided to go back up the coast to see one of the islands most famous landmarks. Although it is visible for miles around due the thick mist on day one we drove straight past it. The Old Man is one of many peaks that make up the Storr, which rises to a height of 2,358 feet on the southern part of the Trotternish Ridge. From the summit and when the clouds lifted there were good views across the water to Raasay, Rona and on to the Scottish Mainland.
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Kyle Of Lochalsh
After our hike up to the Old Man Of Storr it was time to leave Skye for our journey to Fortwilliam our next destination. Our return trip was by road crossing over to the mainland at The Kyle Of Lochalsh.
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Eilean Donan Castle About 8 miles from Kyle of Lochalsh we stopped off at Eilean Donan Castle, situated in Loch Duich near Dornie. Historically, the castle, like most in these parts, has had a rather chequered past. Originally built in 1220 by Alexander II as a defence against the Vikings, it subsequently became a stronghold of the Mackenzies of Kintail (later the Earls of Seaforth) who installed the MacRaes as hereditory keepers. Then in 1719, it was destroyed whilst acting as a garrison for Spanish troops fighting for the Jacobite cause on behalf of the 5th Earl of Seaforth. Restoration work was only started two hundred years later and not completed until 1932. In 1984 it featured in the movie Highlander with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery.
Loch Ness.
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Urquhart Castle.
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Our first day in Fortwilliam we planned to climb Ben Nevis, but the weather turned out to be the worst of the whole trip, so we decided to drive up to Inverness. About 5 miles outside Fortwilliam and there was hardly a cloud in the sky giving us glorious views of Loch Ness on the way up. We stopped off at Urquhart Castle on the banks of the loch to take a few pictures. A few miles from Fortwilliam on our return and the rain was still pouring.
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Spean Bridge Memorial Garden. About eight miles north of Fortwilliam on the outskirts of the village of Spean is the Royal marine Commando Memorial Garden. The monument stands as a memorial to the British Commandoes who trained all round the Lochaber region which the monument overlooks while they trained at the Achnacarry Commando training Centre established in 1942. The monument consists of a cast bronze sculpture of three Commandoes in characteristic dress complete with cap comforter, webbing and rifle, standing on top of a stone plinth looking out towards Ben Nevis.
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Ben Nevis. The final challenge of our week in Scotland, was the climb to the summit of Ben Nevis, at the lower levels the weather was reasonable but the higher we got we went above the cloud level and the views were limited to a few yards. The path to the top is about four and a quarter miles, a mixture of reasonably easy stone paths a steep rocky climbs. Nearing the summit the gradient eases and the terrain changes to loose scree. At the top apart from the trig point there are various memorials and the remains of the old meteorological observatory. The return journey doesn’t require as much stamina but is very hard on the legs, especially the knees. A great climax to our week and very satisfying to have completed it.
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A quick breather on the way up.
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On the top 1,344Â m
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Glen Nevis.
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After climbing to the top of Ben Nevis we went for a drive up the Glenn and met a few of the locals.
A quick stop for lunch in Pitlochry on our way to Brechin.
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Ailsa Craig
On our way to the ferry home.
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Our ferry waits at Cairnryan to take us on the final part of our trip, back across the Irish Sea to Belfast.
Š 2015 Derek Wilson