I admit it, I am cold. No, I am freezing cold. But only when the wind blows and it is raining. The weather changes here pretty quickly so when I am wishing I brought my ski jacket and gloves, I know I will be ok in an hour or so. But, overall I underestimated how cold this Florida girl would be in Scotland’s May weather.
Today we took a 4 hour drive to the Isle of Skye over some winding mountainous roads. Several people on the coach were a little queasy but we got a Fanta lemon drink (basically carbonated lemon juice & sugar) that settled our stomach.
The scenery was so beautiful that if I had been driving, we would have stopped many times to walk around (we would never have made it there and back). Even in the cold and wind and rain. We got some beautiful pictures of Ben Nevis – the highest mountain in the British Isles – before the rain. We also braved the wind (it was raining too but the wind was really blowing) to get pictures of Arrisaig castle. This castle is on the edge of the water and is featured on many brochures about Scotland – it is the most photographed castle in Scotland.
Funny story – there are free “toilets” where we stopped. There was a large line for the ladies room (surprise??). After all the men left the men’s room (I sent Kristopher inside to check), the ladies began to use the room. We posted a woman outside the room to stop the guys from entering. Our coach driver came into the hallway and wanted to enter the men’s room – we told him to wait a little while until the ladies came out. After a minute he said, “Oh, you aren’t kidding” and went outside to wait. All the ladies in line laughed with him.
We finally arrived on the Isle of Skye. It was very windy and cold, I was wishing I had my gloves. We ate lunch at the Aramdale Castle. The sandwiches were already prepared so we only had to grab them and pay (they warmed them at the counter). The line took a really long time. I know they knew we were arriving and since they are the only place to eat, I know they were prepared. Must be a different expectation here because at home there would have been so much protest. I think all the hungry, cold people handled it really well.
After lunch we walked around the castle ruins and a little of the nature walkway. If the sun had been shining, it would have been stunning.
We took the ferry back to the mainland. It was a ‘rough crossing’. We sat on the bottom level and looked out the window without any problems. The scenery was not great but not being sick made up for it.
On the way back, we stopped at Glenfinnan where some of the Harry Potter movies are filmed. If the day had been nice and we had time, we would have walked up to the overlook. Since it wasn’t, we bought postcards and took pictures in the rain.
It took about 2 hours to get back to the hotel where we had a nice dinner.
Kristopher went for another run. He is capturing some stunning pictures on his runs. Almost makes me want to run – NOT. But I could see myself hiking here — it is beautiful!
I was pretty excited that we were going to visit the Isle of Skye but in retrospect, we didn’t really. I think you need several days in Skye.
Our hotel: We have a beautiful view from our window but I can hear the cars passing by on the street. The towel warmer is a nice touch. There are no lifts, only stairs. We are staying in the addition and we have to walk down hallways to get to the stairs to our rooms. We finally figured it out and use the back stairs.