Holiday reports
| SECRET MILLIONAIRE |  | | | VIEW FROM THE HILL | | | | YOUR HEALTH | | |
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Skye blue
A COUPLE of hours after boarding the plane at Bournemouth airport at 6.30am we were driving alongside Loch Lomond, taking in the incredible scenery and feeling a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
And we were about to get deeper into uncharted (by us) territory.
A 280-mile drive from Prestwick Airport would take us to the Isle of Skye, but the advantage of such an early flight was a whole day of meandering, taking it easy and stopping wherever the fancy took us.
So it was lunch in Tyndrum, pictures in awe-inspiring Glen Coe, a stop at the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, a wander around Fort Augustus and the Caledonian Canal at the foot of Loch Ness and the iconic Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich.
Marvellous enough, but our destination was Portree, capital of Skye, and when the Kyle of Lochalsh and the not universally-loved, but certainly convenient, Skye Bridge hove into sight, we knew we were a mere 30 picturesque miles from our destination.
And the most amazing thing was blue skies on Skye for the whole of our four-day break. The locals told us it wasn't the norm for mid-April, but we chose not to believe them.
Surely the sun was always shining, the views crystal clear and the snow-capped Cuillin Mountains glistening gloriously in the distance - that's what we'll remember most from this picturesque island.
Skye isn't a small place - 50 miles long, seven to 25 miles wide and 350 miles of coastline - and there was plenty we wanted to see so it was time to explore.
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| The Old Man of Storr |
Our first base, the Bosville Hotel, centrally-situated (actually, everything is centrally situated) in hilly Portree, had wonderful views across the Sound of Raasay where we could watch the langoustine boats plying their trade.
A wander around this little town with its colourful harbour, pastel cottages, shops and restaurants and hilltop folly didn't take too long before we were off on the must-do tour of north east Skye.
It's the sort of place where you want to stop every five minutes and take a picture. The traffic was light, the grockles few and far between and the midges non-existent in April.
There appeared to be a waterfall around every corner on the, mostly, single-track road and the rocky, barren landscape seemed unable to support the sheep population.
The giant pinnacle that is the Old Man of Storr, standing in front of the 2,300-foot Storr Ridge, can be seen for miles and the vertiginous 200-foot Kilt Rock waterfall, thundering into the sea, has a backdrop of the spectacular rock formations of Staffin. Further up the coast is the monument to Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape his enemies, the ruined Viking stronghold of Duntulum Castle, with its great views of the Outer Hebrides, the incredible rock formations of the Quirang and the little ferry port of Uig.
A pilgrimage to the renowned Three Chimneys restaurant at Colbost left us gastronomically enriched and financially drained - and the road back to Portree took us past the vast Black Cuillins range.
These are a mountaineer's paradise with 40 separate peaks (including 12 Munros), the highest being Sgurr Alasdair at 3,257 feet, and the main ridge stretching six miles - but we stuck to ground level.
Our final night was spent at the Broadford Hotel, a restored building in a village overlooking a wide bay across to the mainland.
There was still time for a drive along the south western Sleat Peninsular's often incredibly narrow lanes, taking in Aird of Sleat and Armadale Castle, home of Clan Donald, with its impressive new clan history centre.
Other places worth visiting include Glenbrittle, the Talisker Distillery, Dunvegan Castle, Skye Serpentarium and a plethora of arts and crafts establishments - but we were there for the open air and it was pure and exhilarating.
factfile
For more information on the islands of Scotland log on to visitscotland.com
Details on the Bosville and Broadford Hotels see macleodhotels.co.uk
4:09pm Friday 23rd May 2008
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