Four Days on Skye (08-07-19)

When the ferry was loading, our cars got separated, so once we landed on Skye, we rendezvoused at a nearby store to plan our route to our rental place.












As soon as we started driving away from the ferry, we got driving lesson #3:
Unmarked passing places and traffic. It turns out Barra driving was easy but on Skye, many of the pull offs aren't marked, leaving you to guess whether or not there is one between you and the car approaching.

We knew Skye would be busier, but it was really busy! Some of the turns had buses doing a 6 point turn to make it around the corner.

Our stay on Skye was one of the longest stays on our trip. We knew there would be a lot to do and we wanted time to relax as well, so we chose a 2 bed/2 bath cottage with a full kitchen.

We were so happy to be able to cook for a change, we did a huge food shopping and bought enough for all our breakfasts, sandwich making stuff for lunch, and 3 dinners.

Luckily the weather was still holding, so Paul and I took advantage and hiked a 5 mile trail in the Quiraing.  

This dramatic scenery was created by a landslip, which left behind sheer cliffs and rock pinnacles.

Its some of the most impressive scenery I have ever seen.

The trail had us going right along the edge at times, not making me a happy camper, but it was worth it, for sure!

We went up and over some of the cliffs along the way as well. 

All in all it was a fantastic hike.

5 miles and 1400 ft of elevation gain one day means no hiking the next day, so we all took a drive around the island.

Our first stop was SkyeSkyns. This small shop is a tannery that makes numerous items from sheepskin.  We were given a short tour, and learned about the process, and the different kinds of sheep.

This particular breed of sheep has one spot.  Each animal only has one, but it can be anywhere on their body, any size, and the color varies as well.
Of course their small store had many items for sale, and we all perhaps bought something.

Lunch was soup and salad at the oldest pub on Skye-the Stein Pub, established in 1790.




















Neist Point is a famous lighthouse on the northern end of Skye. So famous, in fact, that it seems like everyone on the island wanted to see it...all at the same time.

The road to the lighthouse was so backed up, it took us over an hour to go a short distance. What we have learned about single track driving is that you have to pay attention to how many cars are coming at you.  Most passing places only have room for about 3 cars, so if there are, say, 5 or 6, they spill into the single track, and then NO one gets anywhere.  These drivers apparently hadn't figured that out yet, and about 6 cars had to back down the hill into a driveway.

That happened numerous times along that road- it was actually quite entertaining, because we weren't in a rush.

One of other famous features on Skye are the Fairy Pools.  This is a group of quite a few waterfalls-

 some tall, some wide.

 Its about a 2 mile walk to check most of them out.

Our final day on Skye started out lazy- we all took some morning downtime on our computers.

By afternoon Paul and I were ready for an adventure and headed to Dunvegan Castle.

Built in the 1300s, this is the seat of  the MacLeod Clan, and holds the distinction of being the oldest castle still in use by a clan.




It has been added on to and renovated many times over the ears, but still has the dungeon.

When the laird didn't like someone, they would be walked up a few steps into a small room with a hole in the floor that dropped 16 feet into the stone dungeon. (the hole in the floor is now covered with Plexiglas).

 There, they would starve to death. It was not a  coincidence that it was located near the kitchen so the starvee would smell all the wonderful scents emanating from it.

















Since the weather, for the most part, held while we were on Skye, we ate and drank outside as much as possible

The Isle of Barra (08-01-19)

Driving lesson #2: No sooner had we gotten the hang of driving on the left side of the road, than we were introduced to single track driving.  On Barra, most of the roads are single track- a one lane road with pull offs about every 50 yards or so.

When a car is headed towards you, whichever one is closest to the"passing place" pulls over, so the other car can pass. On Barra it was reasonably easy- the roads aren't too busy and are well marked.

The biggest issue was the speed at which the locals drive- and I bet they complain about how slow the tourists drive!

We only had two days on the island, but the weather was pretty cooperative, so Paul and I set out to hike "the Heaval".

 This is the tallest hill on the island, with an elevation gain of about 900 feet.



There was no specific trail up the hill- just lots of intersecting paths, so we had to figure it out as we went.

Although the clouds kept coming and going, we were able to get good views of the town of Castlebay.

One of the highlights of Barra were the beaches.  One after another, they were absolutely gorgeous..

 Our meeting  with Colum, the local genealogist, had netted us the information as to where my ancestors had lived on the outer Hebrides islands.  

We were able to drive past the lands where the MacMullin branch of my family lived...

Being such a small island, we didn't need much time to see all the sights, so two days was enough for the highlights.

Our next real destination was the Isle of Skye, but we needed two days to get there. The trip involved two more ferry rides- one from Barra to South Uist, and one from North Uist to Skye, so we spent the night on North Uist to break up the trip.

Along the way we drove past the ruins of the MacDonald Castle, Borve, which is located on the island of Benbecula.  The castle was built in the 1300s, and abandoned by 1715. According to Colum, this was the castle of my MY MacDonalds.











We stopped for lunch at the restaurant The "Am Politician" on the isle of Eriskay. We were happy to eat at this particular restaurant, but the reason WHY, involves the telling of our story about Whisky Galore:



In 1941, the SS Politician, a cargo ship carrying 264,000 bottles of whisky was en route to Jamaica from Liverpool.  On February 5th, it ran aground off the coast of Eriskay.









Before the boat sank, most  of its cargo was recovered happily by nearby island inhabitants.












The story was written as a novel, and then made into a movie in 1949.  The movie was remade in 2016.  Long before we started on this trip, we looked for the 1949 version of the movie and could never find it.
We ended up watching the 2016 version with Mike and Julie months ago.












 While we were on Barra, our hostess thought she found the original on YouTube, and set it up for us to watch- but about 15 minutes into it we realized it was a sequel- Rockets Galore!- which we were happy to watch, but wasn't what we were looking for.

The restaurant Am Politician celebrates the story of the SS Politician ( everyone survived) and they have several pieces from the original ship, including a whisky bottle with some of it's original contents still in it!

 After that huge lunch,  we walked to the local store to pick up cheese and crackers, which served as dinner, on the back deck at our B N B.














The views, and the sunset, were amazing.

Our first day on Barra (07-30-19) by Julie

Croit Na H Aiblne (croft with a river) B N B-
Mary Ann our hostess, is the Gaelic teacher
at the island School and  was pleased to
advise Sue that based on her family history  she is a Hebridean! Mary Ann also "rang up" Culum, the local genealogist who was happy to meet with us in the morning and provide Sue with an abundance of information.

After meeting with Culum we took a driving tour around the island.

It was fun to meet the local oyster farmers....

Saint Barr's Catholic Church is the oldest church on the island 

Barra airport; the only beach in the world where commercial planes land, only at low tide!

After watching a plane land we crossed the road and walked a path  of grassy  dunes to the Traigh Eais beach on the Atlantic.  The guys watched as Sue and I took off our shoes and cooled off our toes.

Hand picked Scallops ! Perfect meal to end our  day wonderful to discover Barra with Sue and Paul.