Outer and Inner Hebrides 2014

Hi Folks,

Mathew and I have been on our summer holiday Bed and Breakfasting around the Outer and Inner Hebrides of northwest Scotland!  I hope you enjoy my journal!

Here's the link to our photos!
https://picasaweb.google.com/brocklehurst79/OuterAndInnerHebridesJune2014

Love, Siobhan xx

Friday 13th June

We left early at 7am and traffic was light.  We stopped off after a couple of hours for a comfort break and I bought myself a decaf hazelnut latte and Mathew had a bacon roll which I had a few bites out of.  Weather was dry and sunny until we reached Carlisle at 11:15am where we stopped to stretch out legs and visit the Castle.  The temperature was still mild but I put on a fleece as I saw the Castle flag flapping in the wind so I thought it would be breezy.


Actually it was rather muggy!  Overcast with a sense of rain on the way.  It became closer and closer as we explored the Castle.  The place looked somewhat familiar - either I had been there before or I have visited another Castle which was quite similar.  Walking around the Castle walls looking down on the buildings inside have me familiar views.....I'll have to ask Dad when we get back home to find out if we ever visited it when I was younger.

The Castle was small but very sturdy - lots of modern wall hangings and furniture which, to be honest, didn't really spoil it as you would imagine, but rather gave the rooms function.  The furniture was simple and wooden, like a four poster bed and throne-style seats.  I liked how the wall hangings were tied back to reveal doorways into the next rooms.  Apparently this is the only Castle in the UK which has buildings still used by the Army - buildings named after battles such as Ypres.

After the Castle visit, we went across the road to the Tuilles Museum to their restaurant / cafe.  The Castle didn't have one which is why we went.  We went through an underpass which I was quite impressed with - the space had been very well used, and was almost like a part of the Museum itself.  On the floor were engraved names of familes who apparently didn't abide by any laws passed by either Scotland or England.  There is a large stone with a curse engraved on it, supposedly uttered by an irate Bishop who has lost his patience with said families' behaviour.  The walls seemed to have what I would describe as industrial historical Museum exhibits - it was all very interesting and I have never seen an underpass like this one before.

On to the Museum itself, it's a shame we didn't have more time there actually, it would have been nice to go around the Museum itself.  We had a quick look in the shop and I eyed up a pendant before we had lunch.  The restaurant as modern and bright, Mathew went for a Panini whilst I decided on a salad as I was far too warm to have the soup!  It was a pick and mix salad, one of which was noodle salad with peppers and carrots.  It turned out to have a mild sweet chilli sauce on it which was really very nice - and I don't like spicy things so this was definitely mild and bearable!  We shared a "St Cuthberts Slice" which was like a Bakewell pastry base on top of which was a mixture of coconut, walnuts, sultanas and glacé cherries.  Very nice!

Afterward, I went back into the shop and bought the pendant - Cumbrian ceramic pendant, turquoise coloured pear- drop shape.  Very pretty.  First souvenir for myself and we weren't even in Scotland yet!  Back in the car we continued all the way up and into Scotland, by which time.....yes, it was raining!  We travelled along Loch Lomond and through the Trossachs which was very scenic despite the rain, although it was quite bright really.  We didn't see a great deal when we went through Glen Coe as the clouds had come down low giving us a spooky effect of ghost-like mountains looming over us.  Quite a difference to the last time we were here when it was blue sky and sunshine!

Moving on, we finally reached our destination, Forestview Guesthouse in Kinlochleven at 5:30pm.  Checked in, of course we put the kettle on for tea and discovered a menu for the Tailrace Inn which we soon figured out was owned by the same people who own the GuestHouse.

We went to the Tailrace Inn for dinner, and on the way we saw a sculpture of a fish.  The information board nearby informed us that there were more sculptures on a trail.  Into the pub, Mathew had fish and chips and I had pasta with a tomato and basil sauce.  It was still very muggy outside when we left, and on the way back to the B&B we had a stroll through the wood to investigate the rest of the fish sculptures, one of which seemed to be missing...!

Saturday 14th June

After a good  nights sleep we got up and we were eating breakfast by 8am.  The journey to Uig on Skye wasn't as long as yesterday.  We stopped off at various viewpoints, two of which we had been to before next to Loch Garry.  One of them seemed to have become a place for people to create shrines of towers of pebbles, I don't know if all of them were dedicated to specific people, but some had names on.

After travelling a little further, we made a detour to Glenelg to have a look at two Brochs, Dun Telve and Dun Trodden.  The route we took was windy and bumpy, the majority of it single lane with passing places.  Not only was it quite fun, but the scenery was rather impressive as we seemed to go up quite high onto a plateau and back down again into the valley.  We found ourselves wondering how cut off this place gets during the winter...!  We decided to stop off at the viewpoints on the way back.  The Brochs were quite impressive - we had seem some before, but none had been quite as high as this with so much of the stonework surviving.  Both of them gave us a much better idea of how tall they would have been.

On the way back we stopped off at the viewpoints we had seen earlier - the highest one unfortunately had some cloud quickly covering up the view so we had to take some hasty photos before continuing down for a slightly better view.  We finally made it back to the main road and continued on to Eilean Doonan Castle which we had visited last time we were here, and went into the cafe for some lunch.  We thought it might be a good idea to have a hot meal here as opposed to a light bite, so we both had a handmade burger each which was very nice indeed!


Bellies full, we pressed on and we quickly arrived at the bridge over to the Isle of Skye where we continued on to Uig.  We had plenty of time to reach the Pier so we didn't need to rush.  We stopped off at various viewpoints along the way, especially around the Cullins which were huge and very impressive.  We arrived at Uig Pier at 4:30pm and awaited our ferry.  We heard that there was a delay yesterday due to the weather, but today the water looked quite calm.

It arrived at 6pm and we were actually the first on board!  We parked on th mezzanine floor which meant that we would be amongst the last off.  After parking, we made our way onto the ferry and explored.  Shortly after departing we investigate the food on offer, although I wasn't hungry and was still full from the burger earlier.  However, Mathew had a small curry and I had a hot chocolate.  For the rest of the journey we were outside on deck, taking photos of the water - this was the calmest crossing I think I have ever been on - the water was so still, almost like glass and the boat glided effortlessly - the water was so clear, we even saw jellyfish in there!!  1 hour 40 minutes later we were on Lewis and in Tarbert, our B&B was not far away.  We were welcomed in and I finally started feeling hungry so I had the last piece of cold pizza which I had brought with me.

Sunday 15th June

Waking up after a very good nights sleep, we had breakfast and explored Harris.  We borrowed a map of Harris which was in the B&B as we didn't already have one, so that was lucky!  First off we went to do a walk known as the Chapel Walk.  En route we stopped off at a number of scenic spots for a photo and we soon familiarised ourselves with the landscape which is very different from mainland Scotland, being extra craggy and rocky, broken up with small pools and lochs which all have their own names according to the Ordnance Survey map we had.  We also crossed a number of bays and beaches over which we could see mountains in the distance, making it very picturesque.

Eventually we reached  the start of the walk, next to a mountain.  There was a cafe nearby called 'The Temple Cafe' which we thought we would investigate later.  The walk took us around the base of the mountain so the terrain was much firmer here, and less craggy than that which we had seen en route.  Approaching the beach, it got sandier underfoot as the sand dunes became closer.  Around the corner, we saw the ruined chapel in the distance at which point the ground was more undulating, like sand dunes.  As we approached the chapel it began to drizzle but it was quite light so we continued.  At the chapel, known as Rubh' an Teampaill, the drizzle became heavier so we donned our coats.  The chapel itself was small and had been built on a stony mound which indicates earlier buildings - the interpretation board suggests a nunnery, and also this was a site of a Broch 2000 years ago, the chapel having been built on what seems like the foundation course of it.

Moving on, we walked in a loop back around to the Cafe via the beach, walking over some sand dunes and almost getting pecked by diving squawking Terns who seemed to be protecting their nest which wasn't actually that close to where we started walking on the beach, and we were walking in the opposite direction!  Fortunately we were expecting it having seen someone being swooped on earlier, as we were making our way down....!  Up and around the other side, we were back at the cafe where we ordered roast tomato soup and sat outside as it was a tiny place and rather full...!  The soup was very thick and hearty so we thought there was a lot more to it than just roast tomato, and unfortunately it was seasoned to hell, or there had been a tragic accident with the ground pepper.  Perhaps this is the trend right now...we seem to have experienced this with a few places recently, so perhaps it's in fashion.  It was such a shame as I could tell with my first spoonful it was a very tasty soup, but after the second spoonful I could only taste the pepper and just about the tomato.  I really wish people wouldn't spoil soup so much by over seasoning; they really shouldn't be trying to hide the real flavour.

Anyway, after having had plenty to drink to cool my mouth and throat down, we continued to explore Harris.  It was getting more and more craggy by the minute as we drove on and more south down the island,and we stopped at St. Clements Church.  We weren't expecting an entire church first of all, so that was a surprise.  Once we had walked up the sweeping pathway up to the church, inside was pretty impressive - modern wood had been used to create the ceiling of the church and there were two stone alcoves under each was a Knight's Tomb - both rather worn,but you could definitely make out the figure.  One of the alcoves was richly decorated with engravings which were also very impressive.  In one transept was another Knight's tomb beneath a window, and the other transept displayed some engraved slab stones.  At the tower end of the church there was small door so we went to explore,  we weren't expecting much, but it turned put to be a windy narrow staircase, and at the top of each short flight of steps a light automatically came on.  We went up about three flights and ended up in a square room, where another light came on and we could see another door way with more stairs.  We continued up another three short flights of steps until we reached another square room, and looking up into the ceiling there was an entrance from which some stairs would have been, as we could see the wooden balcony in the highest room of the tower from there.  Making our way back down and outside, we walked around the graveyard and had a look at various enclosed stones which we originally thought were family plots as they were large enough to be.

They turned out to be tombs to one person each which were all surrounded in stone with their own doorways or gates.  A number of these had either become overgrown or nearly overgrown with giant bushes of red fuscia which actually looked really very nice.  Reading the inscriptions, we discovered two members of the MacLeod family, one of whom fought against Cromwell and was knighted, and the other was his Grandson or great grandson who had fought with the Jacobites against the Hanovarians.

Leaving the church, we continued on with our exploration of Harris - using the Ordnance Survey map, we decided to use the yellow road which we thought would be quite fun.  And it was - mostly single carriage roads with passing places and lots of blind summits so we didn't really know which way the road was turning until we got there!  Slightly hair raising at times as there wasn't a great deal of wiggle room either side of the road. But we stopped off at several spots to take photos as we drove further south and East, making our way back up to Tarbert.

The further south and east we went, the landscape changed almost completely and the mountains were the rockiest mountains we had ever seen!  The landscape here is very rocky and craggy, on top of which vegetation has obviously grown, but because of all the nooks and crannies in the rock, water has sat here without draining so the combination of this has turned it into a rocky, yet boggy landscape.  Lots of yellow irises grow close to the roadside, in the same way as you would expect daffodils to grow beside the roads in England.  The landscape is covered in soft bouncy grass, moss, sharp sedges and a sprinkling of cotton grass amongst heather.  It's a very unique combination and quite fun to walk on, although I don't think I could walk on it for that long...!

It was a fun journey exploring the island and eventually we returned to Tarbert, having stopped off at the Hebrides Hotel to book a table at their restaurant.  I chose the salmon and Mathew had smoked haddock risotto.  When it came to paying, it seemed our drinks had been missed off....well we weren't going to complain about that...!  Back to the B&B, we prepared to leave the following morning.

Monday 16th June

After breakfast, we made our way north.  The weather was not very kind today and was misty and foggy for most of the morning, although it was patchy in places.  Before we headed up towards Stornoway, we went east to an island called Scalpay where we went for a walk to the lighthouse.  The terrain was bouncy and spongey, very boggy in places, but this was a proper trail which people had walked on before so we managed to find our way.  Wooden markers guided us  although we must have strayed off to one side as we went from 1 to 2 to 6 to 8 and kept skipping numbers out, despite following the smaller, un-numbered markers!  It was an interesting walk underfoot as the route was very undulating, more so than either of us thought it would be.  Half way in the mist and drizzle began to roll in, and by the time we eventually reached the lighthouse . . . . well . . . . what lighthouse?  We could no longer see the top of it!

 We turned back the way we came, although it was very foggy now we could see the markers and finally made our way back to the car.  I hoped I had walked off those extra oatcakes I'd had at breakfast...!  Moving on, we made our way north to Stornoway and reached it around lunchtime.  We ate at a small cafe called "Cambies" where I had chicken soup and Mathew had a panini.  We strolled around Stornoway and ended up comparing it to Kirkwall in Orkney, where it is much more touristy and there seems to be much more diversity with crafts - here in Stornoway most of the crafts seem to be restricted to paintings and photography, although there are some potters and jewellers, there isn't much in the way of choice.  I I thought perhaps we were missing out on a few streets but Mathew didn't think so.  After visiting the arts centre, I picked up a booklet on the arts and crafts of the Outer Hebrides and there really wasn't much more for us to see  although I swear I saw a map not long ago with Hebridean Handmade Chocolates.....!  Maybe I'll see some different handmade chocolates later on somewhere...

Back in the car we made our way further north towards our next B&B in a place called Upper Shader.  It was a shame earlier in the day as we were leaving Harris that the fog was so incredibly thick, as I'm pretty sure we drove through the mountains but we really didn't see anything at all.  Now the fog had lifted and we were on the main, straight road north west and the landscape really wasn't what I had expected it to be.  I don't know why but I had expected mountains all over the place, not just in Harris.  Lewis has rolling hills but also has wide expanses of flat bogs.  There was one moment where it just seemed totally flat both sides of the road, like a desert or salt-flat, only it was more like a heath - bog.  It really was an epic amount of flat ground which I think I have only really ever experienced in America.  The terrain became more rolling as we came closer to our destination, and the fog crept in again so there wasn't a great deal to see.  We booked a table at the Borve House Hotel restaurant for dinner and booked in to The White House B&B which was a really nice little place.  One thing we've noticed on this holiday is the blinds or curtains in each place we stay - they don't seem to shut out much light, and being way up north in the middle of summer, it doesn't actually start getting seriously dark until just after 11pm.  Until then, it's twilight for about 5 hours when it still relatively light.  I was just happy I had my eye mask with me...! We ate out at the Borve House Hotel this evening where I had a beef salad and Mathew had fish and chips.

Back at the B&B we thought our DVD player was making strange sounds but it turned out to be a Corncrake, and it was rather close - it actually sounded like it was sitting just above our window!  Fortunately it didn't go on all night, but it's a rather noisy bird!

Tuesday 17th June

After breakfast, we first went to Arnol Blackhouse.  The weather was alternating between being misty and clear today, and first thing was misty.  The Blackhouse was cosy inside and the smell of the peat fire was rather intense!  It reminded me of the Iron Age round houses we went into when we were in Ireland.  The Whitehouse across the road was an example of how they modernised - still using peat to keep the fire going and the box beds to sleep in, but the building was made just like houses today.  Apparently they didn't work out at first because the new builds let more damp in, so families went back to their Blackhouses whilst the damp problem was fixed.

Next, we went to Shawbost Norse Mill & Kiln - the mist came down again and we walked along a path to the Mill and Kiln which were open access.  The mill had everything in it, including a diagram showing how it worked.  Next door and on the same side of the stream which babbled next to it was the kiln, which was more like a corn-drier with a roof.

Afterwards, we went to the Callanish Stones.  We went into the visitors centre first to read the interpretation and a short video.  Before we came here, I hadn't actually looked at what the arrangement of the stones were like, so I wasn't expecting the stones running off the sides almost in a cross-like formation if you look at it from above.  It's quite an impressive monument, and the first time we have ever seen a burial cairn INSIDE a stone circle.  In the distance we saw two other stone circles known as 'Callanish II' and 'Callanish III' which we walked over to.  We also noticed the metal gates by these stone circles had been designed to show stick people propping up stones, and also the sun and moon alignments.  I wondered how many people notice those when they get there?  We thought they were quite fun!  The stone circles here were very small, but they were both on small mounds but high enough to see the other two stone circles from.  It was definitely worth wandering out to these two because you get a wider sense how the rest of the landscape fits in around monuments like this, when you're outside the touristy area.  These were a little way out and there weren't many people there, and of course the only visitors centre was at the main and largest stone circle.

After, we walked back to the visitors centre for some lunch. I had a tomato, cheese and  pesto ciabatta whilst Mathew had a quiche salad.  Afterward we were naughty and had some dangerous pudding - I had a strawberry cream pie and Mathew had some apple pie with whipped cream, which had actually been recommended by David from the B&B we were staying at.  He told us that they often go there during the winter just to have the apple pie!

Stomachs full, we went on to Carloway Broch where, shortly after we pulled into the car park, we noticed a tour bus approaching.....so we made it quick sharpish to the Broch and took lots of photos - they were really fast coming up the path so by the time we were towards finishing exploring the Broch for ourselves, it was full of a Dutch tour group!  We stayed up there for a little while longer taking photos before returning to the tiny interpretation centre and shop, which I thought was worth the visit and quite a good use of space here!

Finally, we made our way to Gerranan Blackhouse Village as the tour group went on to Callanish.  Gerrannan Blackhouse Village is part holiday accommodation, part museum.  We were able to go into one house which had been modernised like the Whitehouse which we saw earlier today, but in the shell of a Blackhouse.  So there was Lino on the (very sloped) floor, a fireplace and box beds, along with crockery from the 1970s and 1980s.  The other Blackhouse had been turned into a small interpretation centre with a video and information panels.  It struck me that the local accent in Western Scotland is noticeably different from accents in towns in mainland Scotland, which I think is quite interesting.  I may have mentioned this before when we were in Scourie where our host sounded part Scottish part Irish to my ears.

Dinner was in Stornoway where I had monkfish and Mathew had pork before we returned to our B&B - this evening the Corncrake had moved on!

Wednesday 18th June

After breakfast we were all packed up and ready to go.  We made our way to the Port of Ness where we walked to the lighthouse and made our way back to the car around the coastline.  The weather today was throwing everything at us but snow!  As soon as we woke up it was misty and it was in the process of lifting by the time we parked the car.  On our way up to the lighthouse we noticed it getting mistier and mistier to the point there the top of the lighthouse could barely be seen - a bit of déjà vu....

Walking along the coast we could see the bouts of mist rolling in from the sea, which were interspersed with sunshine and clear views.  We took these opportunities to take our photos of course.  I was particularly glad that I had put on my waterproof trousers as well as my coat!  We saw a number of Kittiwake, Fulmar and Cormorants along the cliffs, and also flying higher up were Gannets, although none came quite close enough to photograph well. We encountered various sheep and lots of wild sea-bunnies!  Yes, they're normal bunnies, but I like to call them sea-bunnies as they live by the sea.  So cute to see them running about whilst walking along!  Eventually my waterproof boots gave in and I could feel the moisture seeping in.  Back to the car and after a change of socks and shoes, we made our way to Callanish again.

At Callanish the sun was out and the sky was blue.  Lovely and warm, although still windy.  We went into the cafe and both had a slice of quiche with salad.  Delicious!  Afterward, we continued on our journey to Uig on Lewis (not to be confused with Uig on Skye!).  It was a bit of a road trip but we soon made it there, having travelled through yet another different type of landscape - it was similar to the Lake District, only the mountains had much more bare rock exposed on the surface.  It was a mountainous area, and this was pretty much how I initially expected both Lewis and Harris to be like when we first came here.  Now we've experienced craggy hills and mountains, boggy mounds and gullies, vast expanses of flat bogs which made the island look twice as wide as it actually is, rolling rocky hills and now rocky craggy mountains with a view which makes you feel like you're already pretty high up in the mountains.

Eventually we found what we were looking for - the carving of a Lewis Chess Man - in particular, a large bearded king.  Carved all the way around, not just the front, he is on his own, close to the beach which is absolutely huge!  Continuing our exploration of this area, we drove around to the Uig Museum which had another large carved Lewis Chess piece, this time a Berserker just outside the entrance.  The Museum was was a small, local Museum with quite a lot of information in and it reminded me of the one we went to in Kirkwall, Orkney actually, although it was much smaller than that one.  It also had a small archive there if you wanted to research anything in particular.  Here, I bought a Harris Tweed cushion (no, there is absolutely no such thing as too many cushions!) and a couple of souvenirs for my brothers.  Coming out of the Museum, it was actually properly raining!  So we hot footed it to the car and set off back around this part of Lewis, going on a circular scenic drive to find another sculpture.

The An Suileachan sculpture is set on a mound and further back from the road than we expected - we only spotted it because we had seen the name of it written on an information board in what looked like a layby / small parking space.  The sculpture had been created to represent the 28 families of the village of Reef who were forcibly evicted from their homes in 1850, and after years of struggles the village was restored to crofting tenure.  It is comprised of two circular stone enlosures connected by a corridor over which there is what I would describe something similar to a dolmen stone shape.  In one enclosure is a metal bowl obviously used to light fires in, and in the other enclosure on the floor is a round stone engraved with each of the families' names on.

We completed the circuit of the scenic drive and returned to the main road.  Looking at the time and the fact that we had to get back to Tarbert tonight, we decided to skip Bosta Iron Age House, and make our way to Avalon B&B again, along the same road we had driven to get up to Stornoway.  This time though, we had much better weather, although still overcast, we could actually see mountains on this drive as well as the Lochs and the Sea!  Last time I only remember the road and very little else.  It was strangely new even though we had already been along that road.  These were a wonderful mixture of mountains of varying different heights, and on a sunnier day would have looked much more picturesque!  But still, we saw a lot more than we did the first time around, so that was good enough for us.  Come 6pm we had finally reached our B&B where we stayed in the same room as last time.  It had been a bit of a road trip today!

This evening we went out to dinner at The Hebrides Hotel again where I had a steak and Mathew had the haddock risotto again.

Thursday 19th June

After breakfast we were packed and ready to go.  The ferry didn't leave until 12:00 noon and we didn't need to check in until about 11:00 at the latest.  We had to check out of our B&B before 10 so we had a little time.  We drove around to a good viewpoint to soak in the last views of the Outer Hebrides, wondering if and when we would return here.  We had really enjoyed our time here and we still had over a week left to explore Skye and Mull!

The time came for us to check in, and we were soon on the ferry leaving Lewis and Harris.  We had some lunch on the ferry - really tasty leek and potato soup - before spending most of our time on deck.  The water wasn't quite as clear and calm as when we arrived, but it was still calm and hardly a swell during the journey.

Arriving back in Uig on Skye, we drove around to the Skye Museum of Island Life which was a small collection of crofting houses, one having been made up as a crofters home, and the others being used for other exhibits.  The crofting houses looked very similar to the Blackhouses on Lewis and Harris, but seemed more spacious.  In the shop I bought a couple of souvenirs before we headed off towards Duntulm Castle, which was an enclosed ruin which we couldn't walk around, but the signs didn't stop some people from exploring...!  Onwards, we approached the area where we would be staying in - the national scenic area of Trotternish.  The mountains are known as the Quiraing and we were getting closer and closer and the mountains were getting bigger and bigger...!  We drove up a road which actually took us right to the top which gave us an amazing view - I think I may have been here before when I was much smaller, it seemed very familiar.  As it was getting late in the day and it seemed to be getting a little dark - probably because of the cloud - we didn't stay for too long before going to find our next B&B, but I thought if the weather is good the next morning, I suggested that we could go there first to see what views we get right up at the top.  Hopefully it'll be a good day and the view will be a good one!

This evening we went to a restaurant called The Kilmartin which was actually in the community centre, opposite the local shop.  The people there were really nice and welcoming; I had Chicken Caesar Salad and Mathew had a Venison and Redcurrant burger.  We returned to our B&B which was really nice and peaceful.  We we could see the Quirang from the skylight - basically the Trotternish Ridge was the backdrop for the B&B as we approached.  This was a really, really nice place to be.

Friday 20th June

Breakfast was delicious and involved croissants so obviously I had to do something today to work them off....I couldn't resist!

Off we went to the Quiraing where it was misty and drizzly, but we could see that the clouds were moving quickly.  Other people in the car park were obviously waiting for the weather to clear up.  Once everything was clear we were set and ready to go - I put my waterproof trousers on just in case, before heading up the Trotternish Ridge.  The view was amazing, the weather was good, and I was in the mood for getting myself up this thing.  Reaching the first part, we stopped to take some photos and we fancied making our way up the next part, which we did successfully.  Then Mathew joked about going up to the highest point and I surprised him by saying that I was thinking of doing it anyway.  So we did, and  it was actually the easiest walk of all three points, the sumit being Bioda Buidhe. Finally we had reached a ridge where we could see the clouds heading over.  I kept thinking that it would be great if the clouds cleared up so we could see the rest of the ridge so we decided to wait up there a few minutes for it to clear.  It suddenly became cloudier not only for us, but also on the other side from where we had come.  Unfortunately, waiting was our mistake and the cloud came over us thick and fast - it was soon raining heavily and the wind was making it move almost horizontally!  We began our descent as soon as we realised that the rain had set in, and half way down my boots began to let in water gradually, until all of a sudden I felt like I had half a pint of water in each boot.  Couple that with the wind which was cold, it wasn't nice - and if there's one thing I really hate, it's having wet feet!!  Mathew was more drenched than me as he hadn't bothered with waterproof trousers, and just had the coat on.

The cloud was thick but we could still see where we were going and finally - as the rain stopped of course - we were back at the car, where we peeled some of our layers off which were drenched.  My boots felt like they were full of water, I could feel the weight!  I wrung out my gloves and my socks, Mathews trousers were sodden and his waterproof coat had decided not to be so waterproof anymore as his shoulders and upper arms were soaked.

We went to the Kilmartin where we had dinner last night and had some really nice sandwiches, followed by a slice of coffee and walnut cake which we shared.  I felt we had earned it today...!

Onwards we went to the Old Man of Storr by which time the weather was clear and there were absolutely ZERO clouds on the ridge.  Typical!!  We parked up and set off, my clothes had dried out and the ground was pretty dry too as there was some deforestation taking place, so I wore my walking shoes which are not so water proof as my walking boots...er...used to be..!  We walked right up to the Old Man, which today had a piper playing right underneath it.  People started making their way right up to him which I don't think he was expecting but hey, if you see someone up there it means there's access so people are going to try for  themselves!  He said that he went up there to practice his pipes and he never expected anyone to go right up there until one day he noticed a bus load of tourists who came all the way up to see him and take photos!  It was a magnificent view from where we were here, and Mathew told me that I had climbed up 2 mountains today by accident.  The fact that neither of us had really planned on walking that far meant that this was 'accidental mountain climbing' apparently...!

Returning back from the walk, we went onwards through Portree and to a place called Bernisdale where our next B&B was.  That evening we ate our at Portree in a hotel restaurant where I had salmon with a potato salad, salad greens and balsamic dressing.  Although it hadn't actually been explained on the menu as being a salad - it came with potatoes is what I had read, so I was very surprised that the plate was icy cold, as were the potatoes, and the salmon was warm.  It was a little odd but it tasted great!

Our B&B was comfortable and run by an Australian who had married a Scot, and had obviously soaked in some of the Scottish accent and dialect.  It was an interesting mixture..!  The room was nice and spacious, and there was a separate area with a sofa and large TV.  As we were the only people in this evening, we made good use of it!  Oh, and I forgot to mention that we had home-made cupcakes and home-made fudge in our room when we arrived......MmMmMmMmmm!

Saturday 21st June

Today we made our way to Dunvegan Castle and Gardens for the morning.  The castle is the seat of the Clan McLeod and is the oldest continuously inhabited a Castle in Scotland having been the home of the McLeod Chiefs for 800 years!  We could only explore part of the castle obviously, but we spent a lot of time in the gardens before having a toastie and panini for lunch with the cheeky Chaffinches outside at the cafe who were very interested in what we were eating!  I was felling very sluggish today, possibly an after-effect of all the walking we did the day before.  I really didn't want to move around much so we took our time strolling around here.

Afterwards, we went to Neist Point Lighthouse which has apparently been turned into a holiday let.  Even though that sounds quite fun, the steepness of the steps and path down to it are a killer on the legs when coming back up.....as I had zero energy, it took me quite a long time to get back up again.....!  Not quite sure if the cableway is still used to take supplies down there - it must do - but I wouldn't want to walk up there every day.  There must be a car par around the other side, surely?


We headed on to check in to Kilmuir Park B&B.  The lady running it was lovely, and showed us to our room which was really spacious, bright and comfortable.  I saw pancakes were on the menu for Breakfast...well I couldn't resist those now, could I?

We went out to find dinner and when we found a place to eat called 'The Old Schoolhouse' we booked a table, although the earliest they could fit us in was 9pm.  Fair enough - the food looked good and the ambiance was really nice so we booked it - I had a delicious dish of beef shin whilst Mathew had a nice looking beef dish with gravy.

Sunday 22nd June

This morning I had (almost) three delicious pancakes with Maple Syrup, strawberries and blueberries!  The owner of this B&B was really nice, funny and chatty, someone you would like to adopt as your auntie or grandmother!

Bellies full, today we travelled from Dunvegan in the north of Skye to Ardvasar in the South.  The drive was broken up by a visit to a small Broch, or rather remains of a Broch, and then we went onward towards Clan Donald Skye.  En route, we had a decent view of the Red Cullins, although the cloud was coming in.  We decided to go along a different road in order to get a good view of the Black Cullins, but by the time we were half way around the clouds had rolled in again and it was beginning to rain. The weather forecast actually had the whole of Skye underneath a giant rain cloud, but as it happened, we didn't experience much of it at all!  However, we could definitely see the edge of the Black Cullins getting hazier under the rain (we assumed it was rain), so we turned back and headed on to Clan Donald Skye, a ruined country house in Armadale which was abandoned by the MacDonalds who used to own it.  There is now a museum which tells the history of the place and extensive gardens for visitors to walk around covering a total of 20,000 acres overall.

When we arrived, we decided to walk around the gardens first before looking at the museum.  I got hungry at around 1:30 which meant that the pancakes had filled me up till then since 8am!!  I had a similar thing happen in Canada with waffles...!  I had leek and potato soup and Mathew had a leek, brie and cheddar tart.  We continued to look at the museum, and afterward we still had a little time to spare so we went back in and ordered a pot of tea each and a chocolate brownie to share.  Afternoon tea, how very British!!

Onwards we went to our next B&B called 'Sonas' which was very quiet and understated but comfortable. This evening we had bought ourselves some sandwiches and a salad to have instead of going out for food as there weren't many places nearby plus it was Sunday which meant that they would have been either busy or closed.  Still, we enjoyed our 'picnic tea' before heading off to bed.

Monday 23rd June

After breakfast, we headed straight over the the ferry terminal and made our way to Mallaig, yet again across very calm water. We saw some dolphins in the distance, although it would have been nice to see them closer!!

Once at Mallaig, we made our way to Glenfinnan and it's monument on the edge of Loch Shiel.  It's 18 metres high (60 feet) and was built in 1815 to mark the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard, at the beginning of the 1745 Jacobite Rising.  We went up the tower and did a woodland walk before buying sandwiches to eat for lunch later, especially as today was a bit of a road trip.  After we had stopped off to eat our lunch at an appropriate little picnic spot, we went onward to Castle Tioram which is currently a ruin and almost completely grown over inside.  This is Mathew's favourite castle which he fancies owning!  It sits on an island known as Eilean Tioram, and after several changes of ownership now belongs to an anonymous and wealthy owner who outbid the Clan Ranald by three times the amount of money they had raised to buy it, and wanted to turn it into a hotel.  Fortunately, Historic Scotland refused the planning proposal and as a result the building has become so overgrown.  It's unknown as to what's going to happen to it.

Onward we went until we arrived at our next stop, Lochaline.  We were staying right next to the loch and Hotel Lochaline looked like an old fashioned, traditional inn with a bar, and our room was bright and comfortable.  We had dinner in the bar downstairs which was basic pub grub - we both had fish and chips.

Tuesday 24th June

This morning we caught the ferry to Mull - another calm crossing for us!  The weather was wet, but soon dried out during the day.  We drove around north Mull first and to begin with I wasn't really that impressed with the landscape until about  half an hour later when it became really scenic.  Again, I had no idea that Mull was so mountainous, I thought it would me more like rolling hills but I was pleasently surprised yet again!

We stopped off at Tobermory which was a really nice little place, with a street of bright and colourful shops which sold anything and everything, often doubling up with trades.  For example, a chocolate shop which was also a cafe, and a laundrettes which also sold textiles.  The oddest one was the shop which sold ukuleles, binoculars, knives and whisky..!  We spent quite a bit of time here, and I ended up buying quite a few biscuits for work and for Mum, and the chocolate shop.....well.....I couldn't resist but buy some of my favourite rose and violet chocolates when I discovered they did them!  I thought about the coffee creams but I left it....wishing I'd gone for it now though..!  I bought a huge chunk of fudge for Dad here, and Mathew bought one for himself.

We continued along the northwestern side of Mull until we began to get hungry.  Whilst we have been travelling around the Hebrides, we have discovered that there seem to be anumber of tea rooms and cafes dotted around the place, so we just kept a look out for one.  We stopped off at a place called Calgary where we stumbled upon a tearoom which also had a gallery, mostly of carvings and sculpture.  I had a cheese, onion and pea tart and Mathew had a cheese and onion panini and we shared a small(ish) Tiffin afterwards. It was a really nice place and the food was delicious.  I love the fact there are a number of places here which have Rooibos Tea!

We then discovered and took a walk on a 'Sculpture Trail' which was really quite fun, with sculptures and art in the trees and on plinths in the meadow and woodland in which it was set - we were also rewarded with a nice view of the beach at Calgary Bay.  I think I would call this a 'hidden gem' of Mull - it was such a nice place.  Lunch walked off, we continued around the island which was really very picturesque, and we came around full circle to Fishnish which is where we had started.  This time we turned east towards Craignure where we checked in to Craignure Inn, another old fashioned Inn similar to the last place in Lochaline.  For dinner we ate at the same place as there was nowhere else to eat, I had pizza and Mathew had Venison casserole.

Wednesday 25th June

The weather today was heavy drizzle and it wasn't looking very good for the whole day.  That said, we have had rain forecast before for the day and we've managed to miss it!  But today it had set in for the day.  After Breakfast I walked around the place for 5 minutes trying to find a way to check out until I decided to walk into the kitchen where I found someone who said we could pay in full when we came back the day after today.  Very trusting of him, but fine!

Off we went, along the south coast of Mull to Fionnport.  The rain continued to come down in a steady, heavy drizzle but we carried on.  Eventually we arrived in Fionnport, passing our B&B for the night, but we parked around the corner in a free car park.  Walking down to the jetty, we knew that it would either be Staffa or Iona today.  When we got there, after having donned all our waterproofs, we found a couple of boards advertising trips to Staffa and phone numbers to book.  So we got our mobiles out and guess what?  No reception!  Fat lot of good that was.  Taking note of the number, we walked back up the hill and thought we would use the phone box, until we noticed that there were a load of coins jammed in the slot and when lifting the receiver, the text read "Emergency calls only". Dammit!  Although that didn't stop anyone phoning that phone with a spammy message about Lloyds TSB.  Yes, that actually happened while I was in the phone box...!

Anyway, I took out my phone and my reception was on and off, so I put the number in and kept checking.  Just as Mathew was getting my walking sticks out of the boot ready for Iona, I had reception and dialled.  It rang, and someone picked up.  Were they sailing to Staffa today? Yes!  Could we book onto the trip at 12:15? Yes! I gave him my name and hung up - today we were going to Staffa!


Mathew put my sticks back and we decided to drive out to a restaurant just outside Fionnport called The Ninth Wave.  Looking rather posh and as we hadn't had a really posh meal during this holiday, I called the number (in the same spot where I made the call to book onto a trip to Staffa, just next to the car park), and asked to book a table for the evening as it was apparently "essential" to book.  Unfortunately they couldn't take a booking for tonight, so that decided where we were eating tonight - The Keel Row, a pub just a minutes' walk away from our B&B.

Back at the jetty we waited in / near the waiting room and it was time to board the boat.  It was still drizzling, but we sat outside (as you do - come on, we're British!) and got  rather wet, although we both had waterproof jackets and trousers on today, knowing that we were going out despite the weather! The water was really quite calm, visibility was ok, and there wasn't much of a swell.  35 minutes and we were at Staffa looking at Fingal's Cave which was pretty awesome to see!  We moved around to the jetty and disembarked, walking up steep steps to the top.  On our way up we were able to take a good look at the crazy rocks and the formation of the cliffs - the same formation is at the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland.  We waked across the island where we could see even more of the rock and some people went off to look for Puffins at the other end of the island.

Knowing that it wasn't the best weather for bird watching, we stayed on top of the island for a short while until we decided to go down the steps towards the jetty and around the side of the island towards the cave.  The route was a little daunting but fun at the same time, I'm certainly glad of the hand rail which is there, and most people were making good use of it! There were a couple of slippery moments but nothing too major - including a moment where I helped a German or Dutch gentleman stay upright on the rocks for which he was very thankful - otherwise it was quite fun getting to the cave.  Once there, it seemed that we had been fortunate enough to time our visit right - there was nobody there but us.  We stayed a short while to take some photos, and we could go part of the way into the cave.  We saw where there used to be bollards leading right into the cave up to the very back, but now visitors can only go about halfway.  We turned back and made our way to the jetty once more, passing a few people on the way from a boat trip which had arrived about 15 minutes ago whilst we were in the cave.  Back on the boat it didn't seem to be quite so wet going back, so it wasn't too bad.  When we arrived at Iona, we saw dolphins or porpoises - finally, I actually saw some up close!  So many times I have been on a ferry when dolphins or porpoises have been spotted and I've been in the wrong place to see them.  Next time my challenge will be to take a photo!

Docked, we all disembarked, and as Mathew and I were the only people on the boat who weren't often the coach tour group, the guys on the boat gave us two tickets back to Fionnport on the ferry which had just come in - inclusive in the price of the trip to Staffa.  Thanks guys!  We made our way around and boarded the ferry immediately, ate yesterday's leftover pizza which I only ate half of and asked to box the rest up to go, and we were back in Fionnphort at 3pm.  Just in time for tea a cake perhaps?  Indeed!

We made our way to The Keel Row which did tea, coffee and cake.  We discovered that they did cream teas and as we hadn't had one here yet, that's what we ordered.  I had fun with the landlord who was trying to figure out if the coffee machine would do a large Cappucino for me, whilst trying to understand what the point was in having decaf coffee ("Panic attacks and palpitations" I said. "Don't have coffee then!" He advised. "I like the taste!" I said).  Look, I wasn't trying to be difficult, I was actually asked if I would like two pots of tea or coffee with the scones I had just ordered...!  Anyway, it turned out that a regular Cappucino was best as they didn't have a mug large enough to take two servings and it all overflowed... (!). Anyway, all sorted, our cream tea / coffee was very welcome and delicious.

Finally it was time to check into our B&B Staffa House, despite saying that we would check in at 5pm we tried our luck at 4:15 and everything was fine.  We had a short tour of the place including an explanation of breakfast and we were soon dry and warm in our room which was nice, cosy and comfortable.  A short while later, the rain had stopped and it was looking quite bright.  The weather forecast was a better one for tomorrow!

We went out for dinner at the Keel Row and I was rather surprised by the presentation of the food, making simple food look gourmet but with a twist.  I had pan fried seabass with potatoes, veg and samphire, and Mathew had venison sausages with potatoes and gravy.  It was delicious, and not too filling which of course meant we had room for pudding!  I ordered a cherry bakewell sponge pudding with custard which we shared and it was divine.  Best meal of the holiday!!

Thursday 26th June

Today we woke, up to a bright looking day with high cloud.  With any luck we would have some sunshine today!  We had breakfast in the conservatory with the other guests and discussed which islands we'd all been on and were yet to go to.  We also decided that we were in the haunted room because Mathew said he could hear bagpipes in the bathroom, and so did I when he first told me but the second time, just regular pipe sounds.  He'd been in Scotland for too long.....!

Off we went to get our ferry which was only 10 minutes from the jetty to Iona, especially as we were staying right next to the jetty itself.  On the island,  we walked straight to the highest peak which was called Dún Í and didn't take is long to go up as it wasn't that high.  From the top we could see Staffa and Fingal's Cave, it was so clear.  We walked back down towards a beach at the northern end of Iona which was called The White Strand of the Monks where there had been a massacre of monks by Vikings.

The sand was incredibly bright and there were lots of coloured pebbles on the beach, alongside some really fun craggy rocks which we pottered along.  It was soon approaching lunchtime, so we made our way back towards the Abbey, where we had lunch in a cafe behind the Heritage Centre.  We had simple rolls, I had ham, cheese and pickle and Mathew had ham, cheese and tomato.  He had a gluten free chocolate brownie and I had a chocolate tiffin which was very nice indeed.  Continuing on, we went to the Abbey where the guy commented on Mathews T-Shirt (Caution: This is Sparta!) as we were given tickets and an audio guide.  Outside it had become very warm and sunny, a perfect summers day with a pleasant sea breeze.  We explored the Abbey, and didn't listen to absolutely everything on the guide, but just the bits we were interested in.  We started using the guide outside, but everything was rather long winded and to be honest, you could get the main information from the panels around the Abbey itself.  Inside it was quite plain but rather nice with all the exposed stonework.  The cloister had some modern carvings which fit in quite nicely with the rest of the building.  There was also a museum on site which was small but very informative, containing lots of fragments of crosses, grave slabs and tomb effigies - the lighting was rather atmospheric.



Coming back out into the sunlight, we briefly popped back inside to visit the shop before heading over to the small chapel nearby and continuing exploring craft shops.  We stopped off at a place called "The Low Door" with the obvious very low door - I fancied an ice cream so we went inside to get some.  We were told that it had been freshly made yesterday afternoon, so I a had a scoop of chocolate and hazelnut and another scoop of vanilla in a pot whilst Mathew went for strawberry in a cone.  They all tasted very good, not too chocolatey and tasted like it had real chocolate inside it, and Mathews strawberry ice cream was nice as well, not having that fake strawberry flavour you usually get!

We popped in a few more craft shops before heading back to the jetty to wait for the next boat which came at 4pm.  We explored some rock pools on the beach nearby before getting onto the ferry, and we looked for dolphins or porpoises again but we didn't have any luck there.  Back in Fionnphort, we got back to the car and made our way to a Craignure using the same, and only road we had come along before.  This time we had a view of the mountains though, which were quite spectacular.  Before we knew it we were back at Craignure Inn, so we checked in and got the ferry tickets for tomorrow as we would be leaving early to go to Oban.

We then went to a place called Salen where we had dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant where I didn't really enjoy my meal or eat much of it as the rocket and basil pesto was not only more bitter than I was expecting, but it looked like all my linguine had been slathered in a whole jar of it, never mind the vegetables being sparse and very small as opposed to normal slices of peppers, courgette, tomato and aubergine so I couldn't mask the taste with much except for the Parmesan shavings on top.  We left, went back to Craignure and prepared to leave early the next morning.

Friday 27th June

An early start meant that we had checked out by 7:45am and we were waiting in the queue for the ferry to Oban.  It had soon arrived and I had my obligatory hot chocolate which was the best one I've had on a boat during this holiday as it was made by hand, not machine!  We went outside to look for dolphins or porpoises and I'm pretty sure I saw one in the distance but none decided to swim up right next to the boat.  45 minutes later after our very last and of course, calm crossing, we were in Oban, Mainland Scotland.  We parked pretty soon after we arrived and immediately made our way to McCaigs Tower which we both remember going to when we were little. This was designed by John Stuart McCaig who was a wealthy banker and architect who had originally planned to build the monument to his family in the form of something akin to the Colusseum in Rome, as he admired Roman and Greek architecture.

We then made our way into town amongst the shops and finally found me some Edinburgh Rock which I absolutely love! Back in the car we went to Dunollie Castle, which is a very overgrown ruin just outside Oban, and then on to Dunstaffnage Castle before we went to look for a place to eat.  Dunstaffnage Castle was built in the 13th century by the MacDougall Lords of Lorn, and since the 15th century by Clan Campbell - it's also one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland, as is Castle Tioram which we visited earlier on this holiday.  Just outside Oban, there wasn't that much in the way of eateries, but we did find a place called Poppies which had a restaurant, gift shop and a Garden Centre, although 'coffee shop and restaurant' came first on their sign!  Inside, the menu provided lots of choice.  Mathew had a jacket potato with coronation chicken, whilst I had a ploughmans platter.  I also tried an almond latte (decaf of course) which was quite interesting and rather nice, not quite as nice as hazelnut but it was a rather nice twist on a nutty coffee!



Afterwards, we decided to check in even though it was just after 2pm.  Mathew was feeling rather lethargic today, and as we didn't have much travelling to do today, thought it was a good idea.  We were staying at the Wide Mouthed Frog which looked really nice when I saw it online, plus I loved the name of the place!  We found it in Dunstaffnage Marina and went straight to check in.  We were taken to our room which was in an external building with two other rooms, and ours was really nice and spacious with a spacious bathroom too.  The window was triangular and we soon realised that the curtain was one drawn up from the bottom like a sail which was great fun!

We decided to book a table for this evening, I had penne with bolognaise which was delicious, and Mathew had....fish and chips again!

Saturday 28th June & Sunday 29th June

Today we began the long jaunt home.  Split over two days, we finished breakfast and set off for Kilchurn Castle (15th and 17th century, in a rather scenic location on the end of Loch Awe) which was on the way home.  By about midday I was flagging - I had a random bout of insomnia last night and my body decided that I didn't need to go to sleep until 3am which resulted in a total of about 3 hours sleep! (Note to body/brain: I really actually need a lot more sleep than this, okay?)

We were going to stop off at Dunbarton Castle but we could both tell that I wouldn't have been able to get right up there and into it as I was literally falling asleep in my seat..!  So we continued on a little on the motorway around Glasgow until we found the services and we had lunch and a drink in Costa which perked me up a bit.  We made it to our last stop over in Armathwaite, called "The Fox and Pheasant" and chilled out in our room watching some Wimbledon until it was time for dinner, for which we had booked a table downstairs.  Our room was really nice with really big windows looking out onto the main, but very quiet road, behind it a field of sheep.  For dinner, eventually we got our food after about a 50 minute wait (!), the food was delicious and wasn't just your ordinary pub grub.

Our final day on Sunday was spent on the home straight via Wensleydale to buy some cheese (of course!), going along the scenic route through the Dales which were decorated with bunting for the Tour De France the following weekend.  We were back home in Leicestershire in time to chill out and relax in the afternoon.