2023 England and Scotland - Day #20 - Isle of Skye

This is now the longest trip that Sharon and I have ever taken. We did 19 days in Greece and Turkey last year and 18 days in Italy with Jack and Morgan in '12.

The plan for the day was a driving tour of the Isle of Skye, focusing on the Trotternish Peninsula, with me as the chauffeur!?!

We had breakfast at the hotel. Sharon had a Traditional Scottish Breakfast [Local Kyle of Lochalsh butcher’s smoke bacon, pork sausages, Isle of Skye black pudding, Campbell’s haggis, grilled tomato, baked mushroom, “tattie” scone], while I had Scottish Pancakes.

Afterwards, we loaded up the car and headed for Portree. We made a shopping stop there. On the advice of a friend of Tom's, Sharon bought some carrots to feed to the cattle later in the day. Somehow in the short time that we were there, she also managed to buy a Celtic ring.

From Portree, we drove the loop around the Trotternish Peninsula. We tried to make a stop at The Old Man of Storr, but the parking lot was overrun with people. We made stops at the Flora McDonald Monument and the Fairy Glen. Sharon had a great time feeding the Scottish Cattle at the monument stop. We did a short hike through the Fairy Glen.


The scenery was beautiful. Unforutuantely, it was difficult for me to enjoy. Driving a manual tranmission on the wrong side of a one lane road with quite a bit of traffic was a challenge. [Note to self], we should have hired a driver and a car to take us on a tour like we did on the Amalfi Coast.

There was also some drama with the rental car in one of the parking lots that was my fault...

After the loop around the peninsula, we made a quick stop back at Portree. We were debating where to have dinner. Heading back towards the hotel, we eventually decided to have dinner at the hotel again.

We finished the day with a nice dinner at the hotel. For starters, I had Salmon [Beetroot and Juniper Cured Salmon, Orange, Dill, Gin], while Sharon had Goats Cheese [Smoked Goats Cheese Mousse, Chestnut Mushroom, Wild Garlic, Toasted Hazelnut]. For mains, Tom, Sharon and I had Cod [Loin of Cod, Curried Mussel Velouté, Seaweed, Squid Ink Tuile]. Sharon and I split Buttered New Potatoes and Tenderstem Broccoli and Almond. I finished the day with a Lime [Set Kalamansi Custard, Thyme, Irish Black Butter] dessert.

We talked a little with the British couple next to us. They were off a sailboat that Sharon and I could see from our room. We also had an interesting evening talking and joking with the waiter.