Scotland: Isle of Skye

We told friends we were going to Scotland and a number of them insisted we visit the Isle of Skye. From Inverness we took a bus to Portree. The weather was not good at all so we cut back our program, dropping Quiraing. In the end, we managed to check out the Old Man of Storr, Fairy Glen, and Scorrybreac. I was not particularly impressed - what's with all that fuss?!

We rode the £2 per person fare bus 917 from Inverness to Portree on the Island of Skye. At one point we cruised along almost the entire length of Loch Ness. No monster spotted.






Our first view of the Isle of Skye was of Kyleakin Village as seen from the Skye Bridge.


The weather forecast posted at hotel reception did not look good; lots of rain.


A day trip to Fairy Glen is 1 hour on the bus towards the port of Uig, then a 20 minute walk down Sheader Rd to a surprisingly large parking lot, then reverse to come home. The highlights of Fairy Glen are the limestone formation Castle Ewen and the tourist-made Stone Circles.










We dutifully climbed to the top of Castle Ewen, walked around a bit, then ate our lunch in the rain on a small hill facing Castle Ewen.






Another day we rode the bus to the trailhead of the Old Man of Storr walk. Gemini AI says: "The Old Man of Storr is a famous 55-meter-high basalt rock pinnacle located on the Trotternish Ridge on the Isle of Skye in Scotland". Again the trailhead parking lot was bigger than expected, and packed with vehicles. As soon as we got off the bus, we put on ALL our rain gear, jackets and pants, to protect ourselves from the elements.




The trail was in good shape, and after 45 minutes or so we were level with the Old Man of Storr formations, and pretty good views down to the Sound of Raasay.












The rock Old Man of Storr formation is huge. See if you can spot the silhouette of a person at the bottom of the notch between the two rocks.


Then it's another 15 minutes uphill to the Old Man of Storr viewpoint. There were some internet influencers posing in the cold, stiff, wind. We headed back down after taking a few photos. No lunch spot break here.
















Panoramic video.


As we set out early to tackle the Old Man of Storr, we were home in Portree before lunchtime and decided to walk the Scorrybreac Circuit and find a scenic, dry, spot for our picnic. The walk starts in Portree Harbour (first below).


Lunch at the Skye Sailing Club.


And a short walk with some amazing scenery, plus a cruise ship with tenders, back to our hotel