Over the hills to Skye

Leaving Loch Lamond, we drove our motorhome into the Scottish Highlands through Glen Coe and Ben Nevis. As we drove, we could not help but be impressed with the craggy peaks towering above us, and felt the whispers of the Glen’s turbulent past hanging over the moors below.

Ben Nevis-Glen Coe scenery

We had a greyish day which made it a very moody landscape to drive through.

Soon, we reached Fort William. We stopped there to see Neptune’s Staircase on the Caledonian Canal. The Staircase is an engineering feat that uses eight gates holding locks built as steps, which allows the water to drop down over 55 metres.

It enables boats to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea by way of the Canal and Loch Ness.

Yacht travelling up the Neptune's Staircase

We enjoyed watching a long boat going down, and some yachts going up as each lock opened, drained, then closed to allow the boats through. It was an interesting sight.

A couple of hours later we were driving through a stunning landscape of mountains, glens and lakes that included Invergarry and Glen Garry. 

Eventually, we came across the Eilean Donan Castle. This spectacular castle is a reconstructed medieval building, sitting on an island where three sea lochs meet. It is connected to the mainland by an ancient bridge.

Eilean Donan Castle

It was irresistible and so we had to stop to explore. It didn’t disappoint – even though the tide was out and we didn’t see it in its watery glory.

Soon after, we were crossing the Skye Bridge, which links mainland Scotland to the Isle of Skye.

Skye has been occupied since the Mesolithic period. Its history includes a time of Norse rule and a long period of domination by Clan MacLeod and Clan McDonald.

We were heading for Dunvegan as it has Dunvegan Castle which is the seat of the Clan MacLeod, and Marg’s Mum was a McLeod.

View from our Dunvegan campsite

We found a camping ground right on the shores of Loch Dunvegan, and set ourselves up there for a few days. We had stunning views of the Loch, and the coming and going of the tide in the rather moody weather, added to its beauty.

Dunvegan village has a population of 214. It is a very quaint little village with the oldest bakery in Skye, a store, a garage, some cafes and tourist accommodation. It was very easy to walk around!

Marg at Dunvegan's bakery

We bought some lovely fresh bread rolls at the bakery, then visited the Giant MacAskill Museum which was about Angus MacAskill who stood 7ft 8in (2.36 metres) tall, weighed 425lb and lived from 1825 to 1863 – a true giant!

While we were there, the village was holding their annual A&P show, so we popped in for a visit.

It was raining and had a small turnout, but we were glad we had gone to have a look. It was very much like our own A&P shows with animals, tractors, and home grown produce.

Dunvegan scenery

The scenery around Dunvegan is lovely. We saw little white crofts set in dark green hills, against a background of bright blue sky, fronted by the aquamarine loch. The loch shore was ringed with bright orange seaweed adding further interest. It is remote but beautiful.

The next morning, we walked the two or so miles to Dunvegan Castle, the home of Clan McLeod for over 700 years. This castle has apparently, been inhabited longer than any other castle in Scotland.

Marg in front of Dunvengan Castle

The castle includes a huge tower, and the famous Fairy Tower, as well as various halls.

It contains many grand tapestries, furnishings and paintings, including a lovely one of Clan Chief Flora. Marg remembers that, when she was a girl, Chief Flora visited New Zealand and she went to see her in Napier.

We also saw the Fairy Flag that has saved the Clan many times, accompanied by its folk lore and beliefs.

It was a fabulous place to get a feel for the history of the Clan that Marg has grown up with. It was a truly memorable visit.

Portree on the Isle of Skye

After several days, we left Dunvegan via a long and winding road through the hills, to reach Portree. This gorgeous wee town is the capital of the Isle of Skye.

Skye is a wild Isle with lots of open spaces, sea and not that many inhabitants, but a lot of tourists. However, we didn’t feel overwhelmed by them and had a lovely time there.

A few days later, it was sadly time to move on. So we headed back over the Skye Bridge to the mainland and on to other Highland adventures.

This is part of a bigger blog on our travels around England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The first blog is called "Off to do the UK in a motorhome".