West Highlands & Hebrides, Scotland Day 5 - Isle of Skye 2

We started Day 5 with a Scorrybreac Circuit hike in Portree! It was a short loop but offered various walks and beautiful views, including woodlands, hills, grass fields, shore, cliffs, islands, etc. Scorrybreac is actually the name of a small ruined village on the hillside above Portree although today it's known as the headland that the trail passes. The weather was cloudy and misting a little at the beginning but mist stopped soon and the sun sometimes showed up during the hiking. There was a brief moment we got short of breath from climbing up a hill, but most of the time it was a quiet and peaceful walk. 

Time to recharge energy for the rest of the day! There weren't many places to eat in the early Sunday morning, but we found The Granary, a good-rated cafe in the town centre of Portree was open. I had a full Vegetarian breakfast with a glass of orange juice. J had a real full breakfast and cappuccino. Mine was ok while J didn't approve his dish. I think a thin triangle slice of the bread on the plate was potato scone, usually called tattie scone. It's one of traditional Scottish breads that I wanted to try during the trip. Tattie scone is said an essential part of every full Scottish breakfast, so the unknown bread must have been it! It was soft and moist. I didn't taste potato but liked it!

It was supposed to be rainy before noon. We chose Dunvegan Castle and Gardens as a weather-friendly place to visit. According to its official website, Dunvegan Castle is one the greatest Hebridean castles and the only Highland fortress to have been continuously occupied by the same family (the MacLeods) for 800 years. When we arrived at the castle, it was heavily raining... However, when we started walking in the gardens, the rain stopped very fortunately! We started walking in Water Garden. We might have missed the garden's famous waterfalls somehow, but there were streams flowing down to the sea.

Round Garden was lovely! J found his new favorite tree there: Monkey Puzzle.

Walled Garden was pretty, too. The glass house had many interesting exotic flowers. 

There was a charming vegetable garden in Walled Garden. We found a couple of monster zucchini!

We skipped wandering in Woodland Garden. We didn't want to be wet or sweaty or get bug bits by walking their five acre gardens for too long in the not-so-great weather. When we were walking toward the castle, there was a nice viewpoint to the castle. The castle had been built through at least ten different work periods between the 1200s to the 1850s. The exterior of the current castle was a work in the 19th century so it had a unified-looking, rather a patchwork over hundreds of years. 

The interior was nicely updated and there were more things to see, such as beautiful furniture and paintings as well as heirlooms than Stirling Castle. 

Perhaps, Fairy Flag was one of the most precious treasures of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod. It's a magic flag. The flag guaranteed victory to whoever possessed it! It was originally owned by King Harald Hardrada of Norway who aimed to conquer England in 1066. When the King was killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge, which was a key event to proceed the end of the Viking Age, the flag vanished. However, by the 15th century, the flag has found its home in the Dunvegan Castle of the MacLeods whose ancestry can be traced back to Harald. The flag did work for the MacLeads at the battles against another clan, the MacDonalds.

 

Surprisingly the clouds hold rains in the afternoon. We drove to Claigan Coral Beach, just north of Dunvegan. The car park was a nightmare but J was patient and luckily got a spot! A walk to the beach, passing through a farm field, was for about 20-30 minutes. It was an easy path but very windy at that time!

There was a hill right above the beach. When we reached on the top of the hill, I thought winds would blow me away! I had a flashback of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

We stepped down to the beach. The sand was white and very coarse. Actually it wasn't sand or coral even though it's called Coral Breach. The white things are crushed bleached skeletons of Red Coralline seaweed. Somehow they gather at this specific spot and create a beautiful beach with various kinds of shells. Watching waves is one of my favorite things to do. Skye was an ideal place to do so!

A herd of cattle was hanging out on our return way. Hello! We have encountered countless sheep and cows during our hiking in England by now, but it still happily surprises me!

When we returned to Portree, it was raining. We had an early dinner at Dulse & Brose again. The menu was the same as the day before. I had soup of the day, which was veggie soup, as a starter. The special menu board didn't disclose what veggies were, but I believe some kinds of root veggies were in. It was hearty, silky and tasty. J had artichoke that I had the day before. He liked it very much! 

For a main, we both had Skye seafood chowder - selection of Skye fish and shellfish, linguini, and

tomato vinaigrette. A steamy hot soupy pasta dish sounded comfy for us. It was pretty good!

 

To be continued...