West Highlands & Hebrides, Scotland Day 4 - Isle of Skye 1

On Day 4 we left Glencoe in the early morning. Our destination was Isle of Skye! The scenery on the road was magnificent. After passing through majestic mountains and lakes for about one and a half hour, we reached Eilean Donan Castle. We stopped by there and enjoyed the morning view of the mid-13th century castle built on a little tidal island.

We drove further and crossed the Skye Bridge. We successfully landed on Isle of Skye! 

We stopped by at the village of Kyleakin to see a ruined castle called Caisteal Maol near the bridge. The 15th century castle was built by a Norwegian princess known as 'Saucy Mary' who was married to a Mackinnon chief and now there remains very little.

We didn't forget breakfast. We tried Deli Gasta on A87, located not so far from the bridge. The cafe was cozy. I had Eggs Florentine with a cup of breakfast tea and J had Scrambled Eggs and Toast with Ham with cappuccino. Satisfying!

Since we started the day early, we still had several hours until our B&B check-in time. We were in the lower middle of Skye. There were a couple of places on our go-to list around the area. One of them was Talisker Distillery. On the way to the distillery, we stopped by at Sligachan Old Bridge. 

The bridge itself wasn't impressive, but it was a great viewpoint of Cuillins, a world famous mountain range on the Isle of Skye!

Driving in Skye was tricky. Well, I didn't drive but J did. First of all public roads are limited. Second, many of them are single lane. Eventually, we arrived at Talisker Distillery, the oldest working distillery on the Isle of Skye. While we were in a waiting line for the shop, we smelt something sweet from the distillery. Did J buy whiskey? Ask him!

The distillery is set on the shores of Loch Harport with views of the Cuillins!

The next stop was Fairy Pools, beautifully crystal clear blue pools on the River Brittle. They were located at foot of the main ridge of the Cuillins, known as the Black Cuillin. The name comes from its main component, gabbro. 

It was a relatively easy walk to Fairy Pools from the car park. Simply go along with the River Brittle towards the upstream.  

There were large and small green blue pools here and there. So pretty! Was there a fairy? Unfortunately I didn't see one. J might have?

The Black Cuillin was getting close but actually it must have been still very far away. The iconic sharp ridge looked like the world of Lord of the Rings...

We drove up to Portree, the capital town on the Isle of Skye. It was where we stayed three nights. Portree was the largest town on the island with some shops and restaurants/pubs, but wan't so commercialized. 

We walked around the town and found a lovely local soap shop. Their soap bars look delicious! We bought some to take with us home.

We had an early dinner at Dulse & Brose, a Scottish bistro restaurant based within The Bosville Hotel in the town. The restaurant was bright and simple - a sort of mid-century modern decor with a country warm touch. I liked it.

My starter was charred artichoke with warm lentil salad. Delicious! J had homemade Dulse & Brose haggis with neep puree, crispy potato, and wholegrain mustard vinaigrette. Haggis was on his must-eat list for this trip. Certainly he had one! 

My main was oatmeal crusted North Atlantic cod with sugar snap peas, green onions, Mull cheddar cream, roast potato gnocchi and wilted spinach. I enjoyed the dish very much. J's main was Skye Ale battered North Atlantic haddock fillet with hand cut chips, tartare sauce and pea puree. Basically, fish & chip. Somehow I don't have a photo of the dish. I think he was satisfied with his choice.

For a dessert, we shared sticky banana & rum cake with toffee "espuma" (whipped cream), caramelized banana, maple and walnut ice cream. It was a delightful finish of the exciting first day in Skye.

To be continued...