yestravel

Skye is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been.
Sberg-enjoy your time on Skye.

janisj

Wonderful (WHY did you let them horn in on your sticky toffee pudding?? My rule -- If you want STP order your own bleedin' STP)

Yes -- you do need to go back if only for the Old man

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/20...ce-d38slc1.jpg

And the Quiraing

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...le_of_Skye.jpg

(Due to weather it took me three trips to Skye before I saw either one)

maitaitom

"My rule -- If you want STP order your own bleedin' STP)>

Right on! Maybe I'll travel alone from now on

I actually feel lucky we were able to see as much as we could on Skye...I wish I lived close enough to be able to hop over there on a sunny day. it must be stunning, although the clouds and fog made the entire experience pretty cool, too. Thanks for all your help on this trip!

marvelousmouse

I'm thoroughly enjoying your trip report, Tom and co.!! I started out following as armchair travel but it has turned in a plan to see Edinburgh as soon as possible. (It's your food photos as usual. Always very dangerous to a mouse with wanderlust).


Maitais are, I've found, very good with expensive rum and not so sweet but I like good rum in anything so I'm probably biased.


Looking forward to the next installment!!

ellenem

So glad you enjoyed the Dunvegan Castle gardens. (Our other favorite was that garden at Cawdor.) Happily, our one-day ride around Trotternish was on a gorgeous sunny day after three days of miserable rain.

tuckerdc

Just today, I was chatting with a friend, reminiscing about my husband's and my extraordinary trip to London, Windsor, Wales, Scotland (in 1984!) in anticipation of the friend's upcoming two week sojurn in Scotland. That chat got me all 'heathery and haggis-y'...and a might kippered to boot...and so falling upon this post by accident couldn't be more timely. But now, instead of finishing the lumbering book club choice I've been struggling with, I have to head off to Tom's full trip report. Can't wait!

twk

That's the one problem with Scotland; the weather often interferes with the gorgeous scenery. We did the ferry over from Mallaig back in '07 and got off the main road to drive on the NW side of that peninsuala (the one Armadale is situated on--can't remember the name), going through Tarskavaig and Tokvaig. I got out and took pictures when we got to the shore, but the weather was kind of dreary and I didn't even notice, until I saw it on film, that I had captured a pretty nice photograph of a ruined castle--I didn't recognize it as anything more than a lump when I was taking the picture.

I'll second janisj on the Quiraing being another detour off the main road worth taking. I'd like to go back and spend a few (sunny) days on Skye.

gailscout

We drove to Talisker Distillery for a tour going through Sligachan to Talisker. Just so lovely scenery. Can't wait to get to the other 2 areas, twk and maitaitom. The report is wetting my appetite!

Gardyloo

<i>That's the one problem with Scotland; the weather often interferes with the gorgeous scenery.</i>

A couple of my fave Scots words have to do with weather, <i>smirr</i> and <i>dreich.</i>

Smirr is a misty light rain or drizzle that gets you soaked almost immediately, and dreich (hard "ch" like in loch) describes a cold, gloomy, drizzly day that sucks the soul out of you. The two can coexist easily in the same day or description.

Barbara

"Dreich" is the best word! Don't get to use it all that much in SoCal.

Barbara

Tom, I saw this in the Scotsman. They're getting ready for your next visit already!

http://www.scotsman.com/regions/inve...tion-1-4539702

TDudette

"Sirloin of Scotch Beef with Potato Mousseline, Barbecued Leek Wild Garlic and Bone Marrow Butter."

OMG, Tom. Red meat reduction plan bedamned!

maitaitom

"Tom, I saw this in the Scotsman. They're getting ready for your next visit already!"

I knew there was a reason we decided to wait to go to the Fairy Pools..

""Sirloin of Scotch Beef with Potato Mousseline, Barbecued Leek Wild Garlic and Bone Marrow Butter." OMG, Tom. Red meat reduction plan be damned!"

Yeah td, I'm probably not going to do well with my beef reduction diet idea.

"A couple of my fave Scots words have to do with weather, smirr and dreich."

I'm going to steal one of those words for the next day's post, however "smirr" and "dreich" didn't last much longer. What do the Scots call "sweltering?"

Gardyloo

<I>What do the Scots call "sweltering?"</I>

When I was looking for a flat in Edinburgh years ago a headline in the afternoon paper said, "Sizzling 70s Continue, No Relief in Sight."

maitaitom

Here's the next day's installment.

Grab some wine (or whisky)...it was an action-packed day with lots and lots of photos (for some, probably too many, but what the heck).

We had one more stop on the Isle of Skye, and then it was off to Eilean Donan Castle and its spectacular views. Then a quick stop to see some waterfalls and a bridge built by a famed architect, who also was involved in the locks where we stopped for an alfresco lunch.

It was on to Urquhart's Castle's dramatic ruins from there before a tour of Cawdor Castle and its gorgeous gardens.

We ended up in Nairn, with dinner at the beach.

As always click the link at the bottom.

DAY TWELVE: Everybody Must Get Stoned, Come On Eilean, Our Summer House, Monstrous Loch, Lunch By The Locks, Medieval Times, Homey Castle, More Magnificent Gardens, So That’s The Name Of That Yellow Tree, Mind Your Manors, Did You Bring Shorts, A Day At The Beach and Where’s Dick Clark?

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/chapter-eleven-isle-skye-nairn-tale-three-castles/</B>

gailscout

So worth the wait! Thanks for another great installment, Tom.

sugarmaple

We did the same drive from Skye to Nairn, but missed the locks and the summer house and Cawdor. I thought we had a busy day, but, man, you guys travel! I've never even heard of the summer house at invermoriston. Mind if I ask what books you use to plan?

Our b&b was about a block from the Bandstand, and we ate there both nights, both nights I had the steak pie. The first night it was fantastic with tender meat and tender pastry, the second night not so much.

maitaitom

Hi sugarmaple, I really don't use any particular guidebooks per se. I might go to a travel website to look for attractions in and near an area, and then I google that attraction. I can usually find a website...some really obscure...that can get me information, which sometimes garners a real surprise or two.

I spend a lot of time planning our trips (most would say over plan), but that way I don't schedule something we want to see on a day it's closed. I'm planning our Italy trip for next year and have to deal with lots of Monday closings. Some towns don't close museums and churches on Monday, so that's the day I plan for that city or area. I put all this info on Google Drive offline so I can look at it on our iPad in Europe wherever we are.

We try and do as much as possible (rest when we die), and many times find our own surprises along the way. We invest a lot of time and energy into our visits, so the less time wasted on doing things we should already know when we get there means more time for that extra relaxing time with a bottle of wine and still seeing most of the stuff we want to see.

Iwan2go

Tom, what month did you go?

maitaitom

"Tom, what month did you go?

We were in Scotland from May 18 to May 29.