Over the river and through the woods…

October 7, 2022

We stayed in our cabin last night on the Isle of Skye and woke up refreshed, ready to seize the day. Ok, that isn’t necessarily true we woke up and were excited, but still exhausted. That drive yesterday did me in, but Lauren also was exhausted from her travel day plus the drive!

I chose to reset the alarm when I woke up and 7 and realized the sun still wasn’t up. At 730 we got up and got ready for what we assumed would be a wet morning of hiking to see the Fairy Pools.

We headed out to the Fairy Ponds. However, we saw a statue yesterday and today decided to stop first thing in the morning to see it (it was on the way and we passed it so we turned around and went to see it). It is part of the John Muir Trust. The place was called Glen Sligachan (I don’t know what that means) – but it was in honor of a couple of explorers who enjoyed the glory and beauty that Scotland and the Isle of Skye has to offer.

It was about a 45-minute drive to the pools, down a one-lane road. Not one lane in each direction just one lane with random pull-offs or passing lanes. That was only about 25 minutes of the drive, but still, that was about half of the drive. Lauren had found this (she finds everything, I’m just along to drive us to the destinations she finds) hike that she read was 1.2km. I think it ended up being a bit more than the 1.2km, but it was AMAZING!!

What a find she had. It was in the middle of nowhere, a pretty easy hike, a frequently used path. You pay for parking (6 pounds) and there are washrooms you can use and a water tap! We set out for a very beautiful water rapid walk.

After our walk, we decided to try to find something else to check out before we had to get back to the Airbnb to get ready for our distillery tour. We found a waterfall. Ok, I found the waterfall! Yes, that is right, google led me to the waterfall. So, off we went!

Another one-lane road, a private road, a do not enter sign, a tiny parking lot, and a mile walk, we found the waterfall. It was across the bay (which we did not cross) but it was a fun little adventure. It was so windy at that point that even the waterfall wasn’t falling, it was blowing. After we took a few pictures, the rain came and we turned around (rain at our back) and headed back to the car.

Somehow the ride was shorter on the way home (and no, I didn’t speed). Lauren looked over and saw a group of people, standing by….the highland cows!! Lauren had two things she wanted to do/see that were a MUST – distillery and highland cows! So, check the cows off her list, she has found them! She originally didn’t want me to turn around, but thankfully I didn’t listen to her and did, because they were so cute! And she was very happy.

After the cow visit, we headed back to the Airbnb to get ready. They have on-demand hot water here, and I just really think we should have them in the states. It’s just so silly how wasteful we are with hot water tanks.

Once we were ready, off to the distillery we went! It was a new distillery (opened in 2017, the first product in 2020). Lauren had made reservations for the tour, so we walked up and the tour started. A nice little tour of 8 people in the small little distillery. The tour ended with a tasting – where I again learned I don’t like whiskey haha. I also learned that adding just a few DROPS of water can change how the whiskey tastes and feels.

It was a bit early for dinner, so we tried to get to another castle, but got there just at closing, so just checked out their gift shop instead.

Lauren really wanted to have a pub experience, and tonight was our night We hit up a tiny one in a “town” (maybe 15 people live in the town). I ended up getting the langoustine (little Norweigan lobsters) and Lauren got soup and chips (fries). I ended up not even finishing it. Turns out, I don’t like them to come whole haha! I mean they tasted so good, but ripping their heads off and seeing their insides, I just can’t. Lauren had to help me out haha! And she doesn’t eat seafood!

After our pub adventure, we decided to try to see some more of Skye. And I found us a castle! It was ruined, but the reviews talked about how beautiful the area was, not even getting to the castle. Thankfully Lauren is (mostly) up for whatever. This involved another one-lane road, very windy, and another type of vegetation. It felt very fall on our drive.

I have no idea how people normally park there, because it’s off a private road, with no real parking anywhere. I ended up driving about 100′ up to a pull-off and parking there (it was basically sunset and no one was coming to do what we were doing). Lauren stayed back at the car and I ventured off to read a sign..turns out the sign was a reminder to leash up your dog!

We headed back to the Airbnb to pack, we have to get up early and head to Edinburgh tomorrow. We have a walking tour at 1, dinner at 530, and have to return the rental car at some point! the drive is 4.5 hours (probably closer to 5.5 because we are leaving in the dark and it will be raining here when we leave).