A 2nd Day in Skye

The master plan was for the weather to be better today as yesterday was more the sightseeing day and today the hiking day.  Unfortunately, the one thing you can't plan is the weather...

Today we circumnavigated the Trotternish Peninsula with an ambitious schedule of 3 walks, 2 ruins, and a couple of monuments to visit.  Already behind schedule due to our inability to say 'no' to a large English cooked breakfast, we didn't get on the trail to The Old Man of Storr until just after 10 am.

It was lovely driving up to The Storr (the Old Man is the pointy bit sticking up in front of the cliff face)

But it soon starting raining, then hailing, and was muddy, windy, and cold.  But what else is new?

Very atmospheric but as visibility was reducing caution triumphed and we turned around and headed back

Kilt Rock

We shed our layers and piled back into the car for a couple of drive by photo-ops before stopping in a warm cozy island house turned tea shop/art gallery (a popular idea on the island).  We sat at a window table watching a ferocious rain storm blow over the Storr while our little cafe remained basking in sunshine - who can predict the weather?


Ready for hike 2 we continued north to the Quiraing, a magical craggy escarpment reached by driving up to the high moors where the walk begins as a pleasant stroll thru the heather before becoming a thin vertiginous path just barely squeezed onto the side of the cliff.

The Quiraing

Off we go...

The view behind, across the way...

And the view ahead

As the drop became steeper, Sheila became more of a leaner ("keep to the inside!")

Better for goats than people, I was quite proud of Mom who has a fear of heights

but the beautiful views made it all worthwhile

After the Quiraing our day was getting short so we flew up and around the top of the peninsula, blowing by the ruined castles (these were very ruined castles and so we didn't feel we were missing much) and made one last stop at the Fairy Glen.  A magical place of tiny hillocks and ponds that could easily double for Hobbit-land.  One had the urge to run up every mound just to see the view from the next but time was ticking and dinnertime approaching so we called it a day and wound back down to Portree and our welcoming B&B.

check out those horns!