Thursday 28 May 2015

Skye

I thought I would do a post about our recent holiday to Skye. It really is such a beautiful place, especially when the sun eventually shines!

We stayed just north of Portree, near Loch Snizort. My Uncle and Aunt live there, and my Aunt's sister has a holiday house that she rents to family and friends. So we had the perfect combo of staying near and visiting family but the independence of our own accommodation.

Warning: this is a very long and picture heavy post, which only features a smidgen of sewing.

Crossing the Skye Bridge which really feels like you are driving off the edge of the world:


The view from our holiday house:





Excellent kite flying weather

Coral Beach, near Dunvegan (the white beach below) is said to be covered, not in sand, but in tiny bits of coral. Apparently it's actully algae, but I guess "Algae Beach" doesn't have quite the same romanticism. It's about a mile's walk from the carpark, and as we didn't take the baby backpack with us, we had to carry Baby Boy all the way.





His first ever time on a beach. He quite liked it.
On Baby Boy's birthday we were looking for something local to do that wouldn't take too long, to allow us all to get some fresh air and burn off some energy before the next rain shower. We discovered St Columba's Isle, a very small island in the River Snizort, on which St Columba founded the cathedral of the bishops of the Isles. The island has remains of several buildings and graves ranging in age from 11th century to the 1960s.






On the Thursday, my Uncle and Aunt very generously not only babysat the boys, but also treated P and I to lunch at the Three Chimneys, a Michelin starred restaurant. It was amazing. Afterwards, as it was a beautiful day, we took a drive out to Neist Point, which has gorgeous views and an abandoned lighthouse. Unfortunately we forgot the camera, so these are iphone pics.

The white blobs are seals.
The view from the restaurant

As it turned out, this sign was VERY out of date.












On our last full day, we went dinosaur hunting. Apparently Skye used to be attached to North America, back in the Cretaceous (or Jurassic or whatever) period, so there are lots of fossils and dinosaur remains, particularly around Staffin.

Fossil Museum at Staffin:
Ammonite fossils

Hadrosaur footprint, and a 4 year old's hand for comparison
Kilt Rock - a striated rock formation

Pretending to be dinosaurs
We went to a cafe called Skye Pie for lunch, which sold... you guessed it: pies. The cafe also had a crafty vibe to it. You could write your name on a tag, and they would embroider it (or, you could embroider it yourself), and they then hung it on the ceiling. See below. Funny how sewing seems to be incorporated in everything I do!!!

The pies were delicious too. We bought more to take home. 



On the stairs - there was wool wrapped around the main support pole
 We then went off to Staffin Beach, where there are Stegosaurus footprints in the rocks. We didn't find them, but we had great fun anyway.







i'll finish on the best photo of the holiday. I'm not sure where exactly this was, but it was in Trotternish, on the way back to Portree from Staffin. It was one of those "stop the car - I need to take a photo" moments. I'm glad I did.



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17 comments

  1. This looks absolutely glorious. I am now desperate to go on holiday to Skye. Thank you so much for sharing xx Rosie (Vilthuril on instagram)

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    1. Oh, hi Rosie! I didn't realise that was you!!! :) Thanks. After getting so much nice feedback on IG I thought it would nice to share some more. Glad you enjoyed them, and yes, I recommend it!

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  2. Gorgeous pics! That place just looks stunning. I have never been but it's definitely on my list. Sounds like a lovely trip :)

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  3. Fab photos! Skye is a place we always say we should go back to - we went almost 9 years ago and there was a heat wave, 27degC when we were there, which was a bit of a disaster with a 5 month old and no summer outfits with us and almost no shops anywhere...!

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  4. That looks like an amazing holiday. I've always wanted to go back to Skye (I was 4 last time so I'm not sure it counts). The dinosaurs might help persuade the other half! And now I know all the best places to go - thanks!

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  5. OmG is that blue sky in skye? We went there a few times on hols when I was little and I just remember it raining. Excellent kite flying weather though!

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  6. OmG is that blue sky in skye? We went there a few times on hols when I was little and I just remember it raining. Excellent kite flying weather though!

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  7. I love a photo heavy post! What a gorgeous place. Looks like you had a lovely time. X

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  8. Skye is such a fab place :) You're pictures are amazing!

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  9. Some terrific photos there Helen! l to love holidaying on Skye.

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  10. Wow what amazing photographs, the scenery is breath-taking. Thanks for sharing these, so beautiful.

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  11. I want to go (or maybe live!) there!

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  12. Looks an absolutely beautiful place! You've got some memories in those fabulous photos.

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  13. Oh wow, idyllic! Beautiful photos. I've been wanting to get there since I was 18.... one day!

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  14. Oh, such amazing photos! Just the sort that make you feel kind of homesick for somewhere you don't actually live... Sounds like you all had a wonderful time together!

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  15. Thanks so much for making this post - you know I've been pouring over it and trying to plan my trip. I now know a few things that we have to do FOR SURE - St Columba's isle and some of the souterrains / cairns are just the kind of thing my Mr. would love, being a medieval scholar.

    One question: for a Canadian, the driving distances seem very short (it isn't unusual for us to drive >1hr just for meetings or visits, and a weekend that involves a >5hr drive is typical). How long are the driving times between say the east and west coasts of the island? If we stayed on the north end of the island, would it be feasible to drive around to points of interest each day, or would it make more sense to stay centrally?

    Thanks again!
    Vicki

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