Day 18 Sunday April 27

 Up early and off to Isle of Skye. Bit of a miserable day today, showers and mist. The photo of the loch from our accommodation today looks very different from yesterday!

No mirror images today! But still pretty beautiful 

And again

First stop was Castle Eileen Donan.  The first fortified structure was not built on the island until the early 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. From the mid 13th century, this area was the quite seperate “Sea Kingdom” of the Lord of the Isles where the sea was the main highway and the power of feuding clan chiefs was counted by the number of men and galleys or “birlinns” at their disposal. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position.

Over the centuries, the castle itself has expanded and contracted in size. The medieval castle was probably the largest, with towers and a curtain wall that encompassed nearly the entire island. The main keep stood on the island’s highest point. Around the end of the 14th century the area of the castle was reduced to about a fifth of its original size and, although the reason is unclear, it probably relates to the number of men required to defend the structure. By the 16th century a hornwork was added to the east wall to offer a firing platform for the newly introduced cannons. 

We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside! I forgot and took one photo - nearly ended up in the dungeon!

View from castle ramparts!

Memorial to the McCraes who owned the castle

Lucky to be allowed to photograph this part!

Crossed over Skye Bridge and onto Portree. Stopped on the way at a monument to two friends. Skye born crafter John Mackenzie is the seated figure. He was the first British professional mountain guide who was experienced to Alpine standards. 

The standing figure is Professor Norman Collie who went on to become a regular climbing client and a longtime friend of Mackenzie. This friendship lasted 50 years and they mapped and named many of the peaks on Skye. Stands overlooking a river that was flowing so fast! 

The stream in front of the statue

The Skye Bridge

One of the mountains on the way to Skye

The statue of the two friends

The pub where we parked our car to walk across to the statue

The bridge over to the statue

These waterfalls just pour down the mountains, there are so many of them and so much water!

The bridge again

Lots of waterfalls today, the mountains are soooo high that they just have these streams flowing down them! Magnificent!

Portree perhaps looks a lot better on a sunny day. Must admit to being a little bit disappointed, I think it was just that I had such high expectations of Skye. Maybe we just didn’t get to see the best bits! Still the trip there was worth it!

Portree

Harbour

Harbour at Portree

Houses on harbour

Chair at harbour in Portree

More water running down mountains

Portree

Still no wifi so can’t put the photos in. Maybe tomorrow when we go exploring the Fort William area. I have some beautiful photos and just want to share them!