I’ll start at the beginning. No, I’m not Scottish. Although, fun fact, my mom named me Heather after the heroine in a romance novel she was reading while she was pregnant with me. Yes, I love Outlander, but that’s not why I went. In fact, my husband was pretty adamantly against the idea of me meeting and disappearing with a handsome Scottish man during my travels.
But I love the UK, I love classic English literature and movies, and I’ve just always wanted to travel there, for as long as I can remember. And since I wouldn’t have been able to fit England, Wales and Scotland into one 10-day trip, I had to narrow it down to just Scotland.
Planning and Getting Ready
Before I get into the trip itself, I’ll talk about the planning involved, because so many of you have been curious about the fact that I did this on my own. I’ve been dreaming about this trip for a few years, but started making definitive plans about 8 months ago. I planned everything myself and traveled alone. I did not use a travel agency or book any group tours, I simply spent a lot of time researching how to get from one city to the next, comparing the cost, time and convenience of flights/trains/buses/car rentals, and then began booking hotels, train tickets, and everything else in between.
Most of the things I wanted to see were in/around Edinburgh and Isle of Skye (not to say that there aren’t other equally beautiful areas to visit that are less touristy), so my planned itinerary was to spend three nights in Edinburgh, take the train to Inverness where I’d spend one night, then rent a car and drive to the Isle of Skye, where I’d stay in Portree for three nights. After that, I’d drive back to Inverness, return the car, take the train back to Edinburgh, and then fly home the next day.
I’m a planner, almost to a fault, but going on any trip to a new place or another country, especially if you’ll be on your own, requires so much thought and research. I had to make sure that I had everything covered, especially since I intended to rent and drive a car in Scotland for a portion of my time there, and one of my biggest fears was being stranded with a flat tire, surrounded by a herd of cows, and no cell service. (Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen, thankfully.) But these are some of the things that I planned ahead for, just in case.
The Weather
Everyone said it was going to rain, maybe even every day, and a waterproof jacket was essential. And, in fact, the weather forecast leading up to my trip showed daily rain in Edinburgh, Inverness and Portree, the three cities where I was going to be traveling to. On top of that, Storm Amy hit the UK just one week before, with the Isle of Skye experiencing hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, flooding and power outages. Trains stopped running due to fallen trees on the tracks, and people were advised not to drive or travel, to hunker down, and just wait out the storm.
Storm reports had me extremely worried, and I very nearly cancelled the Skye portion of my trip. There were just so many factors that could leave me stranded, or simply unable to travel or do any of the activities I’d planned on. But I didn’t cancel it, I kept watching the weather reports of the dissipating storm, and in the end, my worries were all for nothing. Somehow, I got super lucky, and the weather was honestly perfect the whole time. Sunny and warm with blue skies at times, a little overcast and chilly at other times, but no wind, and miraculously, no rain. I couldn’t have asked for better weather for walking, driving and hiking.
The Season
I chose October because I wanted to avoid the summer tourist season, which by all accounts can be extremely crowded and overwhelming. For me, there’s just no point in going somewhere if there’s too many people there for me to even enjoy it. Many of the popular attractions in Scotland tend to be less crowded in the spring and fall, so October felt like the perfect time to go, before the cold of wintertime set in.
I’d also read about the midges, which are tiny, biting mosquito-like insects that plague the Scottish highlands in the summer and attack in swarms. Fortunately, it was late enough in the year that I didn’t see a single one.
What I Wore
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With 10 days of travel (2 of those spent flying and 8 nights spent in Scotland), I only took a carry-on sized suitcase with clothes that I planned to wear on repeat. A few pairs of basic leggings, jeggings and long sleeved tops that I could mix and match were the majority of what I wore, along with one casual dress I could put on over leggings if I wanted to look ever so slightly more dressed up.
This store has some of my all time favorite basic tops that I’ve been wearing for years with jeans or leggings. I would have liked to take a pair of jeans, but everyone advised not to, since they take forever to dry if they get wet. As it turns out, that was a non-issue since it didn’t rain. I washed things out a few times in the sink in my hotel rooms, too. One zip-up sweater hoodie, gloves and a scarf kept me plenty warm on cooler days. This fleece-lined waterproof jacket, which is much warmer than I expected.
When I was in Inverness, I stopped at a second-hand shop and bought the cutest black hooded jacket for less than $20, which I ended up wearing for the rest of my trip, and just packed my waterproof jacket. I anticipated buying a few souvenirs, and since space was already maxed out in my carry-on, I simply packed an empty large canvas tote bag which I filled up on the trip home with anything I couldn’t fit into my luggage, which worked out really well.
I wore these waterproof hiking boots the entire time, and packed one other pair of shoes as a backup. And although there was no rain, there were some mucky, muddy, boggy areas I hiked through, with the hiking boots keeping my feet perfectly dry. And they were super comfortable, both for walking the cobbled streets of Edinburgh and hiking steep, sometimes muddy trails on Skye. I’d estimate that I averaged 8-10 miles of walking every day, and my feet never once felt sore (although my leg muscles got a bit achy).
And instead of a shoulder purse or cross body bag, I wore this anti-theft backpack purse, which was perfect as a daypack when I was sight-seeing or hiking. It wasn’t too big or too small, it looked great, and held all of my essential things, with plenty of room for a water bottle, snacks, and other small items I bought while out and about. I used this passport wallet instead of my regular wallet.
Driving
Renting a car was the thing I was the most anxious about, but from everything I read, unless you’re going to be joining a tour group, it’s the best way to get around Isle of Skye, since public transportation there is limited and unreliable. In Scotland, you’ll be driving on the left side of the road, with the driver’s seat on the right side of the car, which I’ve never done before.
Being the planner that I am, I started by reading articles and watching videos on driving rules in the UK. From speed limits, unfamiliar road signs and painted markings on the roads to frequent roundabouts, narrow streets and rules for navigating single-track roads, there is a lot to learn, and I wanted to be prepared. I also looked up every driving route I thought I might be taking, and saved the routes in my Google docs, which I made available offline. This turned out to be so helpful, because there were a few times that my car’s GPS couldn’t get the location pinpointed from the address, and I had to go off the directions that I’d saved. What a relief to have those.
The narrowness of the roads and even the highways in Scotland is not exaggerated, and it was certainly a challenge staying centered in my lane. After I got back home, I couldn’t help but notice that just the residential streets in my neighborhood are twice as wide as the major highway I drove from Inverness to Skye.
Miscellaneous
A checklist on my phone helped to keep me organized and keep track of to-do items and packing lists. Many of these things are obvious, and this is not my complete list, but some you may not have thought of if you’re planning your own trip, so I hope it helps!
First, I joined a few different travel groups on Facebook for Scotland and Isle of Skye, as well as for tracking weather. This was super helpful, since you can ask questions and read all about other people’s itineraries and experiences.
Make sure that your visa is current and that you’ve applied for any applicable travel visas for where you’re going. The UK requires an ETA, which you apply for online and is electronically attached to your passport. Something that surprised me is that no one stamps your passport anymore! Each time I passed through customs, it was all contactless kiosks using passport scanners and facial recognition. I have to say, I love that my old passport is full of stamps from my travels 20 years ago throughout China, Hong Kong and Tibet, and it’s a little disappointing that they don’t do this anymore.
Plan on getting a little cash from an ATM ($50-100) when you arrive (go to a major bank ATM, not a convenience store). You likely won’t need to use any cash, but I paid in cash a few times, mostly to get a variety of bills and coins that I could bring home for my kids to look at. But most everything accepted contactless payment, and I used Apple pay on my iPhone for almost everything, from restaurants to bus fare to the pay and display ticket stubs for paid parking. Be sure to contact your bank before your trip, so they don’t put a hold on your card.
I took a US to UK voltage adapter for charging my phone, and did need it several times, as not every hotel has USB ports in the rooms for phone charging cords. Be sure you also have some form of backup power bank for your phone – I took a solar charger along as a backup. You’ll need to make sure your phone plan has global/international services activated. Download offline maps on your phone for everywhere you plan to go, in case of any issues with cell phone coverage. I also took a small travel tripod for my phone, which easily fit into my daypack, and this allowed me to get myself into a few photos, without having to ask people to take a picture for me.
I kept a list of essential toiletry, vitamins, medicine, hair products and makeup items I wanted to pack, as well as less important things that I planned to buy when I arrived there. You might want to bring or buy your own washcloth, as none of the hotels there supplied washcloths with the towels. A face mask, hand sanitizer and a small pack of antibacterial cleaning wipes are a good idea for the planes and trains. The last thing I wanted was to get sick with a cold or cough or the flu at the start of a trip.
And last, but not least, I typed up a comprehensive travel itinerary with dates, hotel names and addresses, confirmation numbers, etc, both to leave with my husband and to have available offline for myself in my Google docs. I referred to this document multiple times throughout the week, as I moved from one place to the next.
Edinburgh
After a tiring overnight flight from Denver to JFK to Edinburgh, during which I didn’t sleep at all, I arrived in Edinburgh on a Friday morning. Upon getting to my hotel (Old Waverly Hotel), which is right on Princes Street in the middle of a very touristy area, I immediately felt pretty overwhelmed by the crowds and traffic noise, which was honestly a LOT for an introverted HSP like me. And while the location was convenient, it wasn’t at all conducive for a good night’s sleep, as the street noise lasted well into the early morning, making sleep terribly difficult. I walked around quite a bit that afternoon, but I felt lonely amidst the crowds, where everyone seemed to be with someone, and I struggled with feeling that coming on my own had been a mistake, feelings that were exacerbated by being exhausted and hungry.
I couldn’t wait until I could get the key to my room, take a shower, and try to go to sleep. Sleep wasn’t easy that first night, due to the rumbling of the buses up and down the street every 30 seconds. And when those stopped, sometime after midnight, there were the people who’d been out drinking all night, shouting loudly outside my window well into the morning. Just when they quieted down, the buses started again around 6am. If you value sleep at all, I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.
After that first day, though, things got better. The first thing I did was to switch hotels, and I moved to the Edinburgh Thistle Hotel. This is a super cute hotel about a half mile away from the city center, on a quiet street with absolutely no traffic noise at night, but still close enough to walk to everything, and I was much happier and more comfortable here. The staff were also incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, answering my questions about taking the bus, and anything else I needed to know. My room was spacious, comfortable and clean, breakfast was great, and I really enjoyed my two-night stay here. I’d definitely stay here again.
I also realized that I wasn’t going to enjoy walking around the city during the day, surrounded by so many other people. Even in October, the city was still pretty crowded with tourists, probably in part due to the fantastic weather. So for the next two days that I was in Edinburgh, I got up early, before the sun rose, and went for long, long walks. I walked to the Vennel Steps, down the Royal Mile, meandered through Princes Street Gardens, through Old Town, through Greyfriar’s Kirkyard and St Cuthbert’s Churchyard. There’s something so incredibly peaceful about those old cemeteries, and although I looked for Tom Riddle’s grave, I didn’t find it. I walked to New Town, down Circus Lane and over to Dean Village. I walked the pathway through Dean Gardens (so gorgeous) along the Water of Leith, to Stockbridge, where there was no end of yummy food and handmade items for sale at the Stockbridge Farmer’s Market. Then I walked further to the Royal Botanic Gardens, before heading all the way back.
Everything looks different in the early morning light, so much more peaceful and magical and warm, especially when there’s hardly any other people up yet. I stopped at cute little bakeries that had just opened, for coffee and pastries. I don’t drink caffeine, and most places don’t serve decaf drip coffee, but they do have decaf espresso, so decaf Americanos with milk became my morning drink of choice in Scotland.
During the day, I visited Edinburgh Castle, followed by lunch at The Witchery. The Witchery is a romantic, dark, and moody (and expensive) restaurant, but they have a two-course tasting menu for lunch that’s more affordable than going there for dinner. In the afternoon, I took a bus to see Craigmillar Castle, which I really enjoyed exploring. Each castle is so different from the next, with its own unique history.
The bus route was a little confusing at first, and I spent too much time searching online for how to get to Craigmillar Castle by bus without getting a helpful answer. But then I realized the simplest solution was just to use my Google Maps app. In the app, I just put in the destination, and then selected the bus option – it showed exactly which buses would get me there, with the pickup location and all the stops in between. Riding the Lothian buses in Edinburgh is really straightforward – you can just tap your phone to pay, and I believe that after a few rides, you’ll reach the daily cap (the maximum daily fee), so that you won’t be charged for any more rides that day after you’ve reached the set amount. Just be sure to remember that since everyone drives on the left, to get on the bus on the correct side of the road, or you’ll be heading the wrong direction on your intended route.
What would I have done differently with my time in Edinburgh? I thought about going on one of the nighttime “ghost tours” but didn’t end up doing that, although I kind of wish I had. In hindsight, I would have planned on getting out of the city more, and looked into more options for attractions in the surrounding areas, less crowded spots that I could take a bus to.
What I ate… an obligatory plate of fish and chips with peas on my first night, which was fine but nothing special. A fantastic scoop of raspberry ripple ice cream from a gelato shop near Edinburgh Castle. An excessively salty meat pie with a very tough crust, which I couldn’t eat more than a couple of bites of due to the salt. A haggis sausage roll at Stockbridge Farmer’s Market, which was pretty good even cold, but I’m sure I would have liked it even more when it was hot from the oven. Sourdough avocado toast with charred tomatoes and poached eggs at one of the bakeries I stopped at on my morning walks. I wanted to have the traditional “Sunday roast” dinner on Sunday, but didn’t end up making that happen for some reason. I ate smoked trout blinis and braised lamb with vegetables at The Witchery, which was excellent. Grilled chicken tikka bites (so fantastic) and spicy lamb with caramelized onions at Tap Trap. Spicy piro piro chicken curry at Khukuri. A slice of apricot almond tart at Patisserie Florentine (it was good, but mine is better). And countless Americanos. Bonus points if they served my coffee with a shortbread cookie. There are so many wonderful restaurants everywhere that it’s hard to choose when you only have a few days. After dinner one evening, I went in search of a cookie, only to quickly learn that the bakeries are only open in the mornings, and it’s next to impossible to find a good bakery cookie after dinner, so you have to plan ahead and buy a treat in the morning to save for later.
Inverness
After spending three nights in Edinburgh, I was up early on a Monday morning to catch an 8:30 train from the Edinburgh Waverly station to Inverness. I booked my ticket through Scotrail, which also has an easy to use app to keep track of any route changes/delays/cancellations. It’s been over 20 years since I’ve traveled by train, and the train station in Edinburgh was much bigger than I was expecting, but simple enough to navigate. It was about a 4-hour ride, and I had looked forward to seeing the views of the countryside, but it was extremely foggy out, and I was extremely tired, so I ended up sleeping for much of the ride. I arrived in Inverness a little after noon.
Although there’s Uber in Edinburgh, Inverness does not use that service, so rather than download another app to get a taxi, I just walked the 1 ½ miles from the train station to The Gatehouse Bed and Breakfast, where I stayed for one night. This was a lovely place to stay, the owners were warm and welcoming, and my bedroom and the dining room were so clean and tastefully decorated. After leaving my things in my room, I walked back to Inverness city center to explore. The residential neighborhoods along the walk are beautiful; everywhere you look are quaint cottages with iron gates at the entrances and moss covered stone walls lined with hedges.
One thing I would have changed about my itinerary would have been to spend two nights in Inverness instead of one night. There were things outside the city that I would like to have visited, specifically the Clava Cairns stones, and a few other places, but there just wasn’t enough time with only one short afternoon. Getting to the stones (and back) by bus turned out to be a bit complicated to manage in just a few hours before dark, so I just stayed in the city.
I walked all over the city center, but was not able to visit Inverness Castle, as it’s closed until next year for renovations. I had a late lunch at a coffee shop and ordered a tuna sandwich, which was fantastic, by the way, with thick, homemade hearty bread, and an Americano. I stopped in at a few secondhand thrift stores (known as “charity shops” in the UK) and bought a jacket. I had hoped to find some interesting vintage items to bring home with me, but the secondhand stores were mostly stocked with clothes, books, toys and DVDs.
The vibe in Inverness was much more relaxed than Edinburgh, not nearly as many people milling about, and smaller, of course. I needed something chocolate, so I stopped at a bakery and bought the most decadent fudge brownie topped with a layer of caramel and ganache to save for later, which lasted me for three days, and was good to the last bite.
After exploring the city, I headed down the River Ness path to Ness Islands, a long, long walk along the river’s edge through tree-lined paths. The trees were huge and old, and this was a beautiful walk on a perfect fall day. After walking back to town, it was nearly dark, and I stopped at the Castle Tavern for dinner, where I had a bowl of “cullen skink”, which is a creamy smoked haddock chowder with potatoes, onions and leeks, and might have been my favorite meal I ate in Scotland. I’m definitely going to have to make this at home this winter, although it’s going to be difficult finding haddock in Colorado. I might have to get my husband to smoke some cod for me instead.
Inverness to Isle of Skye
The next morning, it was time for me to pick up my rental car, and head to the Isle of Skye. I started with breakfast at the Gatehouse B&B, which was a full Scottish breakfast, complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, baked beans, toast, and even black pudding. I tried a tiny bite of the black pudding, but it’s not for me. I was nervous about driving, and could not eat enough to do justice to the breakfast they made for me, but the owners were so helpful in calling a cab to take me to Enterprise car rental.
So, with all my research on driving in the UK, I knew to request a small car, and obviously an automatic, as I’ve never learned to drive a stick. And while the car they gave me was an automatic, it certainly wasn’t small. It was an SUV, similar in size to the Acura MDX I drive at home. After signing the forms and opting in to the extra tire protection and all that, the agent went back inside and I sat in the car for about 10 minutes, trying to calm my nerves and talk myself into getting on the road.
To get to Isle of Skye from Inverness, there’s a northern route and a southern route. Based on a few stops I wanted to make along the way, I chose the southern route which is adjacent to Loch Ness. Once I started driving, I realized it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be to remember to stay on the left, however, I absolutely hated being seated on the right side of the car. It’s just a completely different perspective, and it was challenging figuring out how to stay positioned in the lane so that I wasn’t too far to the left or right. To get out of Inverness, there were quite a few multi-lane round-a-bouts to navigate, but these weren’t that bad, either, especially since I’d watched some videos beforehand. My car’s GPS gave very clear instructions to follow, so I never once made a wrong turn.
Once on the highway, it was honestly pretty smooth driving the whole way. The highway was narrow, just two lanes, with not a lot of room for error since there’s no median and no shoulder, so if you go off the edge of the road, your tires will go into the mud. It took a lot of concentration. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, from rolling green hills, lakes and mist-covered mountains to more heavily forested areas. I would have enjoyed it more if I could have been a passenger with my husband driving, but as it was, I really had to focus on the road.
Along the way, I had intended to stop at Glen Shiel Chocolates for coffee and something chocolate, but as I passed by, the small parking lot looked completely full, and I didn’t feel confident in attempting to find a space, so I had to pass that by.
Eilean Donan Castle
My next stop was Eilean Donan Castle, which has a large parking lot with kiosks where you pay for parking and then display the ticket on your dashboard. The parking spaces were pretty narrow, though, and it took me several tries and a bit of maneuvering to get my car into a space. The price of admission into the castle is also a separate charge at the ticket counter. This was such an interesting castle to explore, with elaborately staged rooms that really captured the way of life there hundreds of years ago, but they don’t allow any photography inside the castle. There’s a large cafe (with bathrooms) and gift shop where you can get snacks and coffee afterwards, and an underpass path over to the little fishing village of Dornie. I walked to Dornie and didn’t see a single person there, although the tempting aroma of smoked fish was in the air, making me hungry after not eating much of my breakfast.
After the castle, I had originally planned to drive to Portree, Isle of Skye, get settled in my room, and then go see a few things on the island. But by now it was close to 1pm, and I didn’t want any delays before the two other stops I wanted to make that day, so I decided to wait to go to Portree until later. So from Eilean Donan Castle, I drove straight to Dunvegan Castle.
Dunvegan Castle and Gardens
Dunvegan Castle and Gardens is on the Isle of Skye, and the roads to this location, although narrow, continued to be easy to follow. My rush in getting to this castle was that, according to their website, they were only open for one more day, before the castle was going to be closed for winter. This is a gorgeous castle, and is actually the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland, having been inhabited by Clan Macleod for over 800 years. Just as impressive as the castle were the beautiful gardens, which were full of wandering paths through mossy forested areas, waterfalls, trimmed hedges, moss covered stone benches, and vegetable and herb beds. This was the fourth and last castle I visited in Scotland. I wanted to linger here for longer, but it was getting late in the day.
Neist Point Lighthouse
Not far from Dunvegan Castle is Neist Point Lighthouse, which was my last stop of the day before heading to Portree for the night. The drive from Dunvegan to Neist Point is where the road got much trickier to navigate. Up to this point, all the roads had been two lanes, but now it narrowed to only one lane, which in Scotland is called a single track road. Along the road are frequent “passing places” every couple of hundred feet, so when two cars meet nose to nose, one of them has to pull into the passing place to let the other car pass by. There are rules for using these – you should only pull into a passing place if it’s on your left. If the passing place is on your right, then the oncoming car should pull into the passing place (which would be on their left) to let you pass by. Sounds simple, especially if the traffic is light, but when there are lots of cars driving in both directions, you do have to continuously look ahead for oncoming traffic and passing places so you can prepare to navigate around each other. These roads also tended to be a bit rougher, with many, many pot holes. I honestly thought the speed limit on the Isle of Skye was nuts. The limits posted are in miles, not kilometers, and in town, the speed limit is generally 20mph, but on the highways and back roads, the speed limit is 60mph. I was never comfortable getting up to 60 on the one track roads, with curves, pot holes and blind spots everywhere, sheep freely grazing in nearby fields and wandering across the roads, and never knowing if you were going to round a corner and come face to face with another car, so I generally stayed at about 40mph and used the passing places to let other cars behind me pass if they seemed impatient to get around me.
I arrived at Neist Point Lighthouse just before sunset, so the light was beautiful with pink and blue streaks across the sky. The path to the lighthouse is a short but intensely steep hike down, before leveling out a bit and continuing on to the lighthouse. The path ends at the lighthouse, though, with no access to the lighthouse itself. I decided to leave the main path and head up to the top of Neist Point which overlooks the lighthouse. This is a pretty steep and rocky climb, and you’ll have to watch out for sheep poop, which is literally, everywhere. I was careful to watch my step, because I definitely didn’t want to trip and land in a pile of poop. Sheep outnumber residents on Skye by 10 to 1, with only about 10,000 local residents and over 100,000 sheep. The view at the top of the cliff was just spectacular.
Portree
With the sun about to go down, and still an hour’s drive from the lighthouse back to Portree, I had to get going, since I really didn’t want to be driving after dark on unfamiliar roads. Even as I left the lighthouse, I was surprised that there were still a few cars heading towards it, likely hoping to arrive just in time for the perfect sunset photo.
When I arrived in Portree, it was around 7 or 7:30pm, and already pitch black, and my car’s GPS couldn’t find the bed and breakfast I was staying at, called High Beech House. This was one of the times I had to refer to the route I’d previously downloaded, and navigated through the town on the narrowest streets you could imagine to get to the house. What a relief to arrive and be able to take a break from driving.
The house was really lovely, and the owners were so warm and welcoming. It’s a small house with just a few guest rooms, but my room was beautiful with a really nice, updated bathroom. They give you a card to fill out with your preferences for breakfast the next morning, but my first priority was to go out in search of dinner. I’d had nothing to eat since breakfast other than a cup of coffee, and I was so hungry and thirsty, especially after all the exploring I’d done that day. It was just a five minute walk from the house down to the center of Portree. There are really not that many restaurants in Portree, with quite a few requiring reservations. The ones that didn’t require reservations were full, except for the Caledonian Cafe, which had one small table available. I ordered the braised beef with crispy potatoes and greens, and it was so fantastic, I ate every bite.
Trotternish Loop
The next morning, after a breakfast of porridge, eggs and sausage, and a chat with the owners and the other guests (a friendly couple from Wisconsin), I wanted to get an early start to get ahead of traffic and ensure I had no trouble finding parking at all the places I wanted to visit. Starting early always seems to be key, just as it is here in Colorado when I want to go hiking somewhere with limited parking. The Trotternish Loop is a route that circles around the northern peninsula of Isle of Skye, hitting key attractions like The Old Man of Storr, Lealt Falls, Brother’s Point, Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, Quiraing, and Fairy Glen. I was just hoping for clear weather with no rain, because I really don’t love hiking in mud, and the weather certainly cooperated, which I was grateful for. It’s also worth noting that while there are bathrooms at the parking lot for Old Man of Storr, you probably won’t find bathrooms anywhere else along this loop.
My first stop was The Old Man of Storr, which is a popular hike up through dramatic and jagged rock formations. The path is mostly uphill and very tiring, so even though it’s only 1 ½ miles from the parking lot up to the viewpoint, it’s quite a workout. After you pass through the rocks, the path continues up to the viewpoint which offers an incredible view of the rocks against the landscape below. The sky was blue and clear, and the view was just gorgeous. The walk downhill is almost as tiring, due to the steep incline, and by the time I got to the parking lot, it was full, with cars queuing up to wait for an empty spot.
Next, was just a quick stop at the lot for Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, which you can view at the overlook, and is a pretty impressive waterfall flowing over the cliff into the ocean.
From there, I headed to Quiraing. This is a four mile hike through some of the most spectacular scenery you could imagine. The hills were so lush and green, contrasting with the ruggedness of jagged cliffs, and it was just breathtaking. I didn’t hike the whole loop, as I was already pretty tired from the first hike, so I think I walked maybe only a mile or two on this trail. The road to the Quiraing was probably the worst road I drove on while I was on Skye, so many pot holes which were hard to avoid with the narrowness of the road. I just took it slow, to avoid hitting a pot hole too hard and blowing a tire.
My last stop of the day was Fairy Glen. This is such a unique and beautiful place with rolling, cone shaped hills and valleys to climb and explore. You could spend quite a lot of time here, wandering along several miles of paths, climbing hills and rocks and discovering hidden secrets.
Back in Portree, I took a shower, changed clothes and then wandered through the town for a while, since I hadn’t had the chance to see it the night before when it was dark. Portree is a cute little fishing village with a row of colorful buildings by the harbor that’s so perfectly picturesque. There are lots of little shops to explore for whisky tasting, souvenirs, cashmere scarves and other woolen items, candy, chocolate, and ice cream, as well as a well-stocked grocery store and pharmacy. I was hoping to find some unique things at local thrift stores/charity shops, but the 5-6 stores I stopped in at mostly had clothes, books and toys, and not much in the way of antiques or interesting kitchen items.
Having skipped lunch again, I was looking for an early dinner, but the restaurants tend to be open and closed at odd times, with many of them closed in the afternoons before they reopen for dinner. I stopped at the Isles Inn and had the steak and ale pie, which was delicious. After several nights of poor sleep due to jet lag, I think I slept ten straight hours that night.
On my last day on Skye, I decided to go back to a few places along the Trotternish Loop that I’d missed the day before, including Lealt Falls and Brother’s Point. Lealt Falls is a beautiful waterfall, and I’d read that there was a trail that you could follow to climb down to the lower falls, rather than just viewing them from above, but I couldn’t find the trail, so I went on to Brother’s Point. This is a lesser known spot that doesn’t have any obvious signs leading to it, so you definitely have to research it beforehand to know what to look for and how to find it.
You reach Brother’s Point via a lovely walk from the road, past some cottages and down to the coast. The coast line is a fascinating place with various rocks covered in thousands of mollusks, water pools, and ruins of some old crofts and fishing huts. If you’re lucky, you might find crabs, starfish and even dinosaur footprint fossils here. Not many people come here, and with the sound of the crashing waves, it was so peaceful. To finish the walk, you can climb a trail along a path to the top of Brother’s Point. I’m a little scared of heights, and the narrow trail along a ridge with drop offs on either side was intimidating enough for me to decide not to go further, even though the sheep didn’t seem to have any trouble with it. I spent hours here, though, just walking along the coast, seeing what I could find in the water pools. My kids would have loved to spend the day here.
Lunch in Portree was a delicious bowl of apple and parsnip soup at Cafe Arriba. That afternoon, I’d hoped to join one of the boat tours leaving from Portree harbor to see whales, dolphins and other sea animals, but the online form wouldn’t accept a reservation for one, and required two or more tickets, so I had to skip that. In hindsight, I’m wondering if they would have booked a single ticket for me if I’d gone down in person to the office by the harbor. I considered driving to the other side of the island, maybe to see the Fairy Pools or Coral Beach, but I was a little tired of driving and not sure if I’d make it back before dark, so instead I browsed the shops in Portree, buying whisky for my husband and candy for my kids, ate dinner at Lower Deck Seafood restaurant, smoked salmon and mussels, and called it a night.
The drive from Portree to Inverness is about three hours, and I needed to return my rental car by 11am, so I planned on leaving by 7:30. My hosts even packed a lunch for me, a couple of sandwiches and snacks to eat later. It was an uneventful but beautiful drive back to Inverness, and it was hard not to stop every few minutes to take pictures, because there was just so much scenery to take in. I also have to put in a good word for Enterprise – when I returned the car, I asked them if they could call a cab for me to get me to the Inverness train station, but they offered to just drive me themselves. Everyone I met in Scotland was just so incredibly kind and helpful!
My train was scheduled to depart from Inverness at 12:30, so I had a little time to spare, but as I had my suitcase and a full tote bag to carry, I just sat in a coffee shop and relaxed until it was time to board. I very nearly ended up on the wrong train. The train to Edinburgh was on platform 4, and after I boarded and found my seat, I looked out the window and realized that the 3 was on my side of the platform, with the 4 on the other side. So I turned to a woman sitting across the aisle from me and asked if she was going to Edinburgh.
“No, Aberdeen,”, she said, and my heart jumped as I realized I was on the wrong train. “Don’t worry, you have time!” she reassured me, as I gathered my things and ran across the platform to the correct train.
As I settled into my seat on the train to Edinburgh, I watched the train I had just left pull away from the station. That was too close, and I can’t even imagine the hassle that would have been to resolve if I hadn’t realized my mistake. After a four hour train ride, I was back in Edinburgh. Part of me wanted to do something exciting for my last night, go to a restaurant or maybe go on one of the ghost tours, but I was staying at the Holiday Inn Airport Express for my last night, which was close to the airport but far away from the city center or any restaurants. I got to my hotel at nearly 6pm, and would have needed to either get a bus or an Uber back to the city center.
In the end, I went to bed early. It was a basic hotel, but very quiet and comfortable for a good night’s sleep before a long day of travel the next day, and with a convenient shuttle to the airport. Traveling home after a trip like this is always the worst part. After an 8-hour flight from Edinburgh to Atlanta, I had a 7-hour layover in Atlanta, which was pretty tedious. I passed the time getting up every hour and walking a mile up and down the terminal before finally, it was time for the 4-hour flight to Denver. Then going through customs, and at last, an Uber ride home, as it was late, and my husband couldn’t pick me up as the kids were already asleep. By the time I got home at nearly 11pm, I’d been up for 24 hours and so glad to sleep in my own bed.
Scotland left such an impression on me, and I can’t wait to go back some day!
