We woke up on Friday morning to the beginning of blizzard-like conditions. A little nervous about our one and a half hour drive to the Isle of Skye with icy roads, we decided to just buck up and make it happen.
It was bittersweet to leave Inverness. We sort of fell in love with the quaintness of the town and the kindness of her people. The Highlands were totally inching their way closer and closer to my heart and I just felt this overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude for getting the opportunity to explore her grounds.
Above is the Shepherd’s Hut we were staying in. I checked under the deck, and it did, indeed, have wheels. It appeared to have been a caravan of sorts. Such a cool space to spend the last few days. If you haven’t read the other blog posts, simply scroll to the days before to follow the adventure.
With a sad farewell to the space, we decided to go check out the Hebridean Sheep were told about that live on the farm. The very same sheep that my new sweater’s wool came from. I felt they needed a little squish squish.
Please note – it is snowing and freezing. We drive up to the gate of the field, open the gate and approached the sheep with caution. No sooner did they get a whiff of me they stampeded off. I am not exaggerating. I apparently repel sheep.
Day Six and still no Hairy Coo.
As you can tell in the photo above, the roads were covered in snow and the mountains were beginning to get ice caps. We kept the faith and kept heading across the North of Scotland to Skye.
And man oh man…. was it beautiful.
Right before we got to the bridge that links you to the Isle of Skye, we decided to stop by the Eilean Donan Castle.
This 13th Century Castle was absolutely adorable! The name Eilean Donan, or island of Donan, is most probably called after the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan who came to Scotland around 580 AD. There are several churches dedicated to Donan in the area and it is likely that he formed a small cell or community on the island during the late 7th century.
The first fortified structure was not built on the island until the early 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. From the mid 13th century, this area was the quite seperate “Sea Kingdom” of the Lord of the Isles where the sea was the main highway and the power of feuding clan chiefs was counted by the number of men and galleys or “birlinns” at their disposal. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position.
Telisa decided to storm the castle, as I had a weird feeling about the place and chose to order a coffee from the little stand outside of the castle and just sit and enjoy the space. When Telisa came out of the castle, she told me she had the weirdest feeling in a few places inside. She couldn’t even go into one room.
Yep.
It is definitely haunted. We both felt it and never said anything before the castle, but when we shared our whys and whats – we knew.
Creeeeeepy.
Onward to the Isle of Skye!
We got into town and found our adorable cottage in the Breakish side of Skye, right on the sea.
Clearly, our little home for the next three days was very old and traditional.
The owners of the home live just behind the space in a Crofter’s cottage. Apparently they restore and repair boats!
We fell in love with our little home. FINALLY we had a place with two beds and a little privacy. Look, let’s be honest here for a minute, two strong women need their space!
One thing that was happening to us here were the 50 mph wind gusts! I had never experienced anything like it before. It was both windy, sleeting and snowing all at once!
We drove up the street a little to find one of our picks prior to the trip: Deli Gasta. They had deli organic sandwiches, artisan coffees, and fresh seafood!
I opted for the croque monsieur and parsnip and maple soup. It was delicious!
After we warmed up and dared to drive out and attempt to find the fairy pools, we got back in the car and started our adventure again.
To say my mind was blown by the beauty is an absolute understand.
Everywhere you turned was breathtaking.
And I mean everywhere. It was a picture postcard moment.
Well… the snow started falling harder the higher the elevation and our navigation sucked and the sun was setting….
So we struck out on the fairy pools.
Instead, we did a little shopping in the village of Broadmore and then went out to eat.
We made it to the Claymore by the skin of our teeth! The wind was soooo strong that it almost completely blew Telisa down and it totally slammed me back into the car.
We got it, got situated and proceeded to have a proper dinner.
I opted for the Fish & Chips and Telisa went for the Curry Lobster Tail. (I think!)
I ate a little of mine, trying to remove as much of the skin as possible and I have to say, for someone who doesn’t eat fish – it was cooled to perfection! Fresh Haddock!
Of course, Telisa ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding… I mean, we are IN Scotland.
After dinner, we headed back to get a good night’s sleep before our super active day on Saturday!
Stay tuned for some of the most gorgeous pictures you have ever seen!
Destination Unknown 