Portree and a tour of the island

Having relaxed in the house all weekend, today we wanted to take advantage of some slightly better weather and see some of the island.

Portree in the east is the 'capital' of Skye, so we headed here first of all. Skye is the largest of the Hebridean islands, and the many mountains and lochs conspire to make travel across the island more difficult than first thought. Although Portree is only 18 miles directly north of Elgol, by car the distance becomes over 40 miles, twisting around several sea lochs and threading through mountain passes. The scenery is stunning though, so although the journey there took almost an hour and a half, it seem to matter all that much.

Parking in Portree was a bit of a problem, despite two decent car parks there were plenty of people here either on business or at leisure. We found a spot on the road which was available during the day, and looking over the wall there was a great view of the colourful harbour, which we'd seen in our guidebook and were to see again on numerous postcards. After a quick look round the shops we found a good spot overlooking the sea for our lunch, despite the shower which seemed to wait until we'd opened our sandwiches.

After lunch we decided to explore the west of the island by continuing on the main road to the coastal village of Dunvegan. The castle here has been the seat of MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the clan MacLeod for over 800 years, the longest continually inhabited castle in Scotland. The village itself is small, situated on a sea loch, and the overcast sky added to the sense of bleakness.

The ruined church nearby was long since abandoned and the roof has now completely gone, along with some of the stones too. On top of Drum na Creige, the hillside behind, the entire village celebrated the millennium and their celtic past by hauling up and erecting a 5 tonne, 15 foot lump of rock known as the Durinish Stone, completely by hand. In the village is a photo showing everyone celebrating the occasion.

The road back to Broadford along the A863 is a spectacular drive, hugging the coast before pulling inland with the Black Cuillins looming large ahead. On the way back to Elgol we were pleased with ourselves for chancing the weather and exploring the island, a dramatic and inspiring place.