Over the Sea to Skye

We woke to a brighter day this morning and a wonderful full Scottish breakfast which included an excellent Black Pudding, you know you’re in Scotland when there’s black pudding on the menu…now I only need haggis and I’ll be happy 🙂

We didnt hang around though as we were on a mission this morning… we qere keen to get to Glenfinnan Viaduct on the Road to the Isles by 10.55 am. The viaduct is a gorgeos curved stone railway bridge that was made extra famous when it appeared in the Harry potter movies. The Jaconite Express is a lovely old steamtrain that crosses the viaduct twice a day and it featured in the movies as the Hogwarts Express. We’d done some research to learn the best place to take photos of the train and knew we needed to be there , hopefully, by 10.30 to walk up and be ready for that perfect shot. However, on the way we were driving through the fabulous landscape of Glencoe, and although we have seen it before, it still deserved some attention. Especially as at one stop a piper had set up to entertain the hordes of tourists passing through the glen.

We were running tight on time as we passed trough Fort William so we drove straight through the town, planning to come back to see a couple of sights later, after we had, hopefully, seen the train. The traffic was busy though and when we finally reached the carpark at Glenfinnan we discovered cars occupying every spot for miles! In desperation, neil dropped me, and I hoofed it up the hill to the viewpoint ( at speed!) while he drove well down the road to try to park. It was a good walk to the viewpoint and up a steep hill and I was short of time, my heart was nearlt leaping out of my chest when I finally found a spot with all the crowds on the hill but I made it with a couple of minutes to spare and managed to grab the shot…and even captured the video on Neil’s GoPro.

After the train passed the hordes all trailed off down the hill and I waited patiently for Neil to arrive. He’d had to park a good 20 minutes walk away and was pretty breathless when he finally joined me but we decided it was a team effort and we’d got the shot – so that was all that mattered.

We looked in the visiot centre and also crossed the road to see the Glenfinnan Monument with its fine viewpoint on the Loch – the “unknown highlander” stands at the top of the monument which is a tribute to the Jacobite Rebellion fo Bonny Prince Charlie in 1745

After that we backtracked to Fort William and stopped in to see “Neptunes Staircase’, or more officialy, Banavie Locks.This is a staircase lock comprising eight locks on the Caledonian Canal. Built by Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822, it is the longest staircase lock in Britain. The photos were ok but we felt you needed some height to really see them properly so Neil brought out thr drone, I’m sure he’ll be postimg a link to the video once he gets a chance

We also walked down to the beach to the beach to vuew the “Corpach Wreck” , and abandoned boat that’s rusting on the sands which makes an interesting picture with the high mountain Ben Nevis as a backdrop.

Then it was time to head back out along the road to the Isles as we had a ferry to catch, we were booked on the 3.20pm sailing of the Calmac ferry to the Isle of Skye. The drive out along the water was lovely and it wasnt long until we arrived in the little town of mallaig to line up with the other cars waiting for the ferry. It was a great day for the trip, only light clouds and almost no wind and a quick trip of only 30 minutes. The ride out had many of the passengers giggling as the movement of the ferry set off the theft alarms on at least 4 of the cars..over and over again!

Mallaig harbour

After driving off the Ferry we set off up north on the Island, heading towards Portree, the main town on the island.ON the way we stopped briefly at Sligachan Old Bridge, whcih crossed a bubbling brook and has fine views of the Black Cuillin mountains as a backdrop. The heather was blooming here ( as well as many other places on the island)

Finally we arrived in Portree and pulled up at Ben Tianavaig B & B, which has a fabulous location overlooking the pretty harbour. The owners welcomed us in and the first thing we did was poke our cameras out the window to take a few photos.

Then we set off into the town to walk up “The Lump” the hill above the town where the Highland Games are held each year. The old “Apothecary Tower” on the hill has  a great view back over the town and across the bay. In the distance we could make out the striking point of the “Old Man of Storr” a  dramatic stone outcrop that stands high on the Trotternish peninsula, north of Portree.

Several weeks ago, our hostess had advised me of good options for dinner in the town and had made a reservation for us at “Sea Breezes”, a very popular seafood restaurant right on the harbour. It was booked solid but we had a cozy table in the corner and enjoyed a fabulous meal and afterwards enjoyed  alast look at the lights reflecting on the water before heading to bed.