We woke up early to another beautiful sunny day to start our 4 hour drive to the Isle of Skye. The closer we got the cloudier and mister it got. No wonder the Isle of Skye is known as the misty isle.
After about an hour and a half into out drive we were stopped by police who told us the road was closed and we had to backtrack and take another route that added about 45 minutes to our drive. We saw lots of spectacular scenery including mountains, lochs, sheep, cattle, horses, castles, palaces, cottages....and a guy squatting at the side of the highway having a poop (or possibly mooning someone across the inlet)! It was a tough drive but it was totally worth it. We drove over the huge Skye bridge to get to the Isle of Skye. As if the roads weren’t narrow and twisty enough on the mainland. Here it was even worse. And to make matters even worse, there are cyclists and hikers and sheep that we had to share the roads with.
Skye is the largest of the Inner Hebrides and Scotland’s second-biggest island overall. It is a world class place for hikers and climbers. The Cuillin Range’ and ‘The Trotternish Ridge’ offer challenging walks. The Cuillin Range offers 12 Munros - peaks above 3000ft (914m). That’s where we headed. We drove through Portree (the largest village on Skye) and as we were driving along the coastal “highway” (more a backroad) we came across the Old Man of Storr, a 160 foot tall slab of basalt on a mountain of the same name. It has been featured in many films (Flash Gordon, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman).

Next stop Kilt Rock, named because it resembles a Scotsman’s tartan. It’s a 200 foot tall sea cliff with lava that looks like pleats. If that wasn’t enough, there’s a waterfall too.

Now we’re looking for the Quiraing, the rugged northern end of the Trotterish Ridge that was caused by landslides. It took us some time as we missed the unmarked cutoff but we finally made it and started our hike. I can’t say I was afraid but I did feel a certain amount of apprehension at times as we maneuvered the narrow trail spotted with sheep, water seeping down from the summit, mud, and loose stones on the mountain. I actually did have a slip that had my travelling companions concerned. But no harm done. The wind was strong and I felt like I might be swept off the mountain at times. We hiked for about 45 minutes and turned around. We were told we were about a quarter of the way through the hike and it was 2:00ish. We still had to return to home base and wanted to do most of the trip in daylight. We hadn’t eaten since we left home base so we stopped in Portree for “linner” (lunch & dinner). Then we headed out to try to get home before dark. And we were not successful so it was a bit of a stressful drive at the end. But we made it! I considered that a success.