The Best Week-Long Road Trip In Scotland: Part 3 (Isle of Skye)

Back in June, Chris, my parents, and I set off on a week-long road trip through Scotland. In this post, we’ll be sharing our adventures from the last part of our trip… We just had too many stories and photos to share to post it all in one go! (You can read about the first part of our trip here and the second part of our trip here.)

On the Thursday of our trip, we left the main part of Scotland to head to the Isle of Skye. We had all heard so much about how beautiful this place was, and it certainly did not disappoint. (The fact that the weather had been and continued to be absolutely PERFECT the entire week didn’t hurt either!)

Our first stop after crossing over the Skye Bridge was at the Tallisker Distillery, where we inquired about a tour. Unfortunately, they were booked up for the day, so we headed to The Oyster Shed for a light lunch instead. My parents split a fish and chips meal, while Chris enjoyed some oysters and I got some langoustines. Messy but yummy!

The next planned stop was The Fairy Pools, a collection of natural waterfalls and pools in the hills of the Isle of Skye. We were excited to see them… until we arrived. There were probably 100 cars (and camper vans) pulled over on the side of the road with tourists hopping out and heading down the path to the pools. Suddenly we weren’t so sure.

Chis, our designated trip planner and tour guide extraordinaire, informed my parents and me that it would be a 20-minute hike. From what we could see from the side of the road, it was a hike first down, then up a dusty, tourist-crowded road to get to the pools. It was also about 85 degrees out (which for some reason that day felt like 110 to my 5-months pregnant body and I was feeling a bit dehydrated).

We deliberated about whether to go for a few minutes, then travel planner Chris told us that it looked like there was a “mini fairy pool” and a beach down the road, so we decided to hop back in the car, follow the River Brittle, and go explore those instead.

The beach was breezy, refreshing, and empty. We knew we’d made the right choice. The water was cold and felt amaaazing. On the way back from the beach, we stopped to see the “mini fairy pool,” which was pretty, easy to get to, and also much less crowded.

After cooling off by the water, we made our way to our Skye AirBnB, where we met our lovely hosts and showered before heading back out again to get some dinner. We had decided to go to The Ferry Inn in the nearby town of Uig and it did NOT disappoint! The decor was nautical and adorable, the Harris Gin & Tonics with grapefruit were delicious (according to my mom and Chris), and the food (especially their fresh, artisanal bread) was amazing.

On Friday morning, we woke up early, ready to embark on a hiking adventure. We were planning on hiking both the Old Man of Storr and The Quiraing. Since we had so much to say about our day of hiking (and so many pictures!), you can read about those adventures here!

After our hikes, we headed back to the AirBnB to wash the dirt and sweat off. (It felt SO good to be clean again!) My parents and Chris enjoyed a celebratory drink then we all hopped back in the car and I drove us along the windy Skye roads for an hour to Neist Point Lighthouse. The views, once again, were absolutely stunning. (I’m running out of synonyms for beautiful – this trip was just that… beautiful!!!)

We opted not to hike down the stairs and path to get to the lighthouse (as we had already hiked almost 5 hours that day and we didn’t have enough time before our dinner reservation), but instead viewed the lighthouse from the cliffs above.

On our way back from the lighthouse, Chris noticed a sharp step-up in the height of the grasses. Upon a closer look, he realised it was peat that was being harvested. Apparently, in this part of the country, peat is used to heat homes, rather than coal.

We had dinner at The Old School Restaurant that evening. (It was literally an old schoolhouse; a perfect setting for two teachers and their husbands!) The food and drinks were delicious; a much needed meal after a long day of hiking and exploring!

Later that night, we watched the sun set from our AirBnB. The vibrant shades of red, pink, and orange stretched across the sky well into the night. When we went to bed around 11:30, the sky was still alive with colour, and when Chris woke up at 2am, he said he could still see the sunset! Incredible.

The next morning, we packed up, said goodbye to our AirBnB hosts, and drove the hour to the last corner of the Isle of Skye we had yet to explore. We had a lovely brunch at The Blue Shed Cafe in Torrin. We ate our meal outside so we could enjoy the scenery: tall mountains overlooking a quiet cove with a sailboat anchored peacefully inside. The sun was out and it was yet another beautiful (and hot) day in Scotland! (How had we gotten this lucky with the weather?!)

After we ate, we drove down the road to check out the area a bit more. We only got so far though – a herd of cows was blocking the road and in no rush to move! They wandered around, following each other, and scratching themselves on a nearby telephone pole and wire. Such itchy cows!!

Eventually, we turned around and headed back toward the Skye Bridge. Unfortunately, it was time to leave this amazing island. 😦

We drove on to Glen Coe, a beautiful, mountainous area in the Scottish Highlands. We pulled over to take a little walk and enjoy the views.

We later stopped for dinner and a drink at The Boat House on Loch Lomond (where I SWEAR I saw Bruce Willis – unconfirmed…) before continuing on to Glasgow, where we’d be spending our final night.

Once we arrived in Glasgow, we checked into our last hotel, grabbed one last drink in the pub together, and headed to bed, sad that our incredible trip had come to an end.

In the morning, we packed up the “boot” (trunk) one final time…

…then Chris and I dropped my parents off at Glasgow Airport (the goodbyes weren’t as difficult this time, as I knew I’d be seeing them in the States in a month!), and started our 6-hour drive back to London, stopping, of course, at our favourite tea room for afternoon tea on the way! (I love Whitmore Tea Rooms so much that I wrote a blog post about it the last time we went!)

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” – Henry James

Finally, after 1,830 miles and 51.5 hours of driving total, Chris and I arrived back in London. Home Sweet Home after another successful and amazing trip. 🙂