Scotland Road Trip – part 3

From Uig to the Isle of Harris

Arriving first, and with heads full of optimism, we waited for the ticket office to open to take the ferry from Uig to the Isle of Harris.
It was a gorgeous, clear sunny morning with a strong but not insane wind.
As we lined up to purchase our ticket it became evident that the weather was due to take a bad turn with a big storm rolling in quickly according to the ferry terminal worker’s weather forecast. The weather can change on a dime way up here and the seas are some of the most treacherous in the world during bad weather.
In the end, we bought our tickets for the next sailing, at noon, (it was delayed at the other end) hopeful that we would be able to return in a few days.

Full Scottish breakfast

With hours to spare, we decided to return to the hotel and see if we could cash in on our free full Scottish breakfast. Sure enough the young dude at the counter was happy to feed us and along came two plates piled high with beans, sausage, blood pudding and potato scone along with a couple of eggs and strips of rashers (Scottish bacon). Over breakfast we reviewed our optimistic schedule and quickly started to realize that our best plans may be thwarted by the weather. Chit chat amongst the staff and locals over their coffee sounded like it would be in our best interest to err on the side of caution and expect to be delayed by the weather if we continued on to Harris.

Change of plans

By the time the napkins fell we had decided to return our ferry tickets and cut the Isle of Harris from our itinerary.
Instead, we mapped an alternate route back to Uig that would bring us along the spectacular coastline of northeastern Skye.

Kilt Rock

The sun was gleaming and the air was crisp with the now stronger ocean wind. With the benefit of being up early we took advantage of open roads and unobstructed views, stopping plenty of times to immerse ourselves in the beauty and take pictures. One of those stops was at Kilt Rock, a sea cliff in north east Trotternish, known for its vertical basalt columns that form the pleats.

Turning towards Quiraing we cut through some of the most spectacular scenery so far and headed towards the ferry terminal at Uig.

Tickets refunded

Our tickets refunded and a final acknowledgement from the ferry worker that the storm would have held us on Harris, we headed out to eagerly explore other incredible locations on the Isle of Skye.

Closed for the season

Our next stop would be another castle, Dunvegan Castle, tucked in on Loch Dunvegan looking out to sea. The roads were dotted with beautiful vistas and postcard farm scenes of sheep and cattle.
The rolling green pastures manicured right to the water’s edge, highlighted by the pure blue of the sky.

Fairy Pools

Not surprisingly, our castle was closed for the season, but our journey so far was such fun that we were not phased and regrouped to point ourselves in the direction of the Fairy Pools. Doubling back in a similar direction we took to get to the Talisker distillery, we made the twisty drive deep towards the base of a huge mountain range where we would eventually find the parking lot where we would start our trek out to the pools.

Soaring up into the clouds

The scale of the mountains, soaring up into the clouds with their snow covered peaks and outrageously steep slopes was hard to comprehend when you could see a hiker who looked like an ant only half a mile down the trail.
The weather was changing and a light rain started to fall as we hit the path. Quite an easy hike with a few muddy spots and a small creek to cross, our destination was impossible to miss since the pathway wound up the valley in front of us with no trees or obstructions. Boulders the size of houses that had rolled down the mountain were strewn around the valley floor and the closer we got to the base of the mountains the bigger and steeper they appeared.
Finally we made it to the first of the Fairy Pools just as the weather changed again and the sun made another appearance to show off the crystal clear waters of this mountain oasis.

Blown away

Back in the car, wet, cold but completely blown away from our hike to the Pools we rolled on into the late afternoon. Both quiet, we were spent from scenery overload, but the Isle of Skye was not done with us yet and as we cruised to our hotel for the night, we were treated to yet another spectacular sunset.

Darkness fell

Darkness fell just as we crossed the Skye bridge with a great view of the sparkling lights of Dornie and our hotel. A couple of pints were definitely in order in the hotel pub where we recounted our day and reviewed dozens of pictures as if we needed proof that our day was real. A day that started out, pointing us across the sea to a tiny island, but eventually having us discover places completely unexpected.

Click here for part 1 and part 2 of our Scotland Road Trip.