Fort Augustus -> Loch Garry -> Elan Donnan Castle -> [onto] Isle Of Skye -> Portree -> Loch Ness
Our first stop for the had us alongside the beautiful Loch Garry where we talk some time out to take some photos of the gorgeous landscape.
From there it was back aboard the bus and onto the Elan Donnan Castle, still used by the MaCrae family over the winter months and a last fortress for the warring clans with the castle switching hands many times over the past 500 years.
From there we proceeded over to the Isle of Skye where we learned more of the history of the clans that inhibited these lands, and the tourism industry that has now flourished as a result of the Skye Bridge being assembled back in 1986. (A point of note, the bridge was the 2nd most expensive toll bridge in the world, with a small 29 seat bus costing a horrendous 80 pounds(!) for a return crossing. They stopped taking tolls a few years ago.)
A quick stop had us beautifying ourselves at the Skye River, the tale being that if you dip your face in the river for seven seconds you will be forever beautiful. I’m not sure it helped me a great deal…..
From there we headed over to lunch at Portree, the main town of the Isle of Skye, a small, picuresque fishing village north off the island.
From there it was onwards and upwards further into the higher regions of the Isle of Skye to an amazing waterfall for spectacular views, even though the weather was horizontal rain.
For our final stop, we shipped ourselves up to Kilt Rock where we continued to brave the weather and caught some beautiful views towards the north of this beautiful island.
Night time visit to The Clansmen Centre where we had a taste of what it would be like to live in a Black House as a Scot Clansmen 1,500 years ago.
