Over the Sea to Skye

Our camping spot on Skye. I think those islands are looking towards the Mainland of Scotland.

Skye

Our trip to the Isle of Skye was an impromptu decision late one night when we were at a cross roads. It did mean an extra 4 hours of driving but it was great to see a bit more of the northern side of Scotland and to visit the famous Isle of Skye. The weather forecast was for no rain, so Josh wanted to go and walk up some of the famous peaks of the Cuillin ranges - known as the most challenging peaks in the UK. But alas - the weather was really not on his side as what started out being a bit grey and dreary turned into a howling storm of horizontal rain pelting it’s icy fingers onto the van and through the windows. We ended up spending almost all of the day in the camper, peering at the sights through the rain mottled glass. The landscape was mostly the bracken and heather clad moor, sheep and cows huddling against rocks or bracing themselves against the weather. But there were also tall hills looming straight out of the sea, rounded by time and weather. And behind those rose dark and mysterious peaks of black volcanic rock seemingly unchanged by time at all.

We wound our way through the valleys of farmland/moor and ended up at the coast looking out the Hebridean Sea and some small islands.

We parked up that afternoon opposite the town hall/cafe and spent the night listening to the rain slashing our caravan and the creek turning into a raging torrent. But in the morning we were rewarded with stunning views of the sea and mountains and sunny skies. Having a big distance to cover that day we decided to set out early. However, we found that we could not get back up the steep hill we had cautiously driven down the previous day! Josh tried many times using different tactics and speeds to get Poupe up the worst of it, but with no luck. So in the end he unloaded all the bikes from the roof, and we emptied out all our water from our tank and that was what saved the day. So much for our early start! But thank goodness we were back on the road again.

This is Poupe trying to make it up the steep hill for the 7th time. It doesn't look too steep in this photo, so you'll have to take our word for it!

For the rest of our Scotland trip the weather was a bit kinder and we enjoyed the gorgeous drive south through the barren countryside.

We stopped in the valley of Glencoe where we learnt in the local museum about the geology of the famous mountains which were formed by volcanoes and about the many people who come from far and wide to climb them. It was also in this valley that the tragic story of the massacre of the MacDonald clan by the English crown and the Campbells took place. (Look up the interesting story online if you want to know about it.)

The valley of Glencoe

So much of the highlands look like this - no trees, all grass and heather and bracken. And then the hills loom up so suddenly from the flats. Just beautiful.

In Bannockburn we visited another museum that we had read about which has won many awards, and it truly was the most incredible museum for it’s story-telling as it was all done with 3D motion picture. We had a guide that talked us through the stories of the battle of Bannockburn (the Scots against the English in the 1300’s featuring Robert the Bruce and Edward II where the Scots had a glorious victory over Stirling Castle, earning the Scots their freedom for another 300 years) and at the last stage everyone in the group took part in a re-enactment of the battle. Noa was awarded the right to be the Queen of the Scots and Fern was Queen of the English. So with help from their subjects on their side we fought a virtual battle with our armies divided into cavalry, archers and spearmen. The tour guide we had was the games master, and he taught us how to use our strengths against each other. It was pretty nerve wracking, though of course, nothing at all like being out on the real battlefield.

But we learnt so much from the game and everyone came away feeling like they understood the strategy behind battles so much better. That museum is definitely a must see if you are in Scotland!

In our fancy dress..

So it was with sadness that we said goodbye to Scotland that afternoon. We had heard some great accents and had experienced some of the weather that the country is famous for, although sadly I didn’t get to any folk music sessions. But that’s ok, another time maybe. Because of it’s beautiful ruggedness and it’s fascinating history Scotland has been placed high on the list of one of our favourite places.