Day 5: Fairy Glens and Misty Mountains
If the previous day, Mikey and I were a little underwhelmed by Skye, then Day 5 totally changed our minds. Touring around in just one van with our good friends, we had a lovely day, discovering small hills and giant mountains, experiencing yet more awesome food …and there was the curious case of the missing waterfall too!
I was up early again and set off for an early morning walk leaving the rest snoring as usual (I can only vouch for Mikey’s snoring, not Pete and Fi’s)! – This morning I headed uphill past the campsite and away from the village.
To be honest, it was quite an uneventful walk, the weather wasn’t great (Skye isn’t called the ‘Misty Isle’ for nothing!) – It ended up just being a good stomp and gave me a chance to clear my head, get some fresh air and some much-needed exercise.
Oh, and there was one other thing…
The view looking out over the loch was pretty stunning!
Breakfast planning
Some little time later and once back at the campsite, we gathered for a leisurely cuppa and breakfast in Pete and Fi’s van. This was the larger of the two vans and was always the more organised in the morning as they didn’t need to put the bed away. (With the larger van you got a proper bed tucked away in the back of the van).
Funny, I can remember a lot about the food on this trip (you may have noticed), but I can’t remember what we had for breakfast at all on any day. Though, and perhaps surprisingly given we were essentially camping, what I do remember is we didn’t have bacon butties until almost the last day!
Anyway, I think we had toast …maybe!
We worked out the day ahead, deciding on a picnic for lunch, and then set off in our smaller van.
Mikey and I were let loose as both leaders and followers. All four of us together: Mikey driving, sedately; Pete allegedly navigating; and Fi and I were – ermmm – lookouts! And of course, being all together, there was no need for the walkie-talkies today.
Talking of which…
Walkie-talkies, calls signs and… “Over!”
So far, and throughout the whole week, the walkie-talkies have proved extremely useful.
(They came into their own on ‘The Applecross Rollercoaster’, but that’s tomorrow’s story!)
They have also been a good source of fun, having to remember the right etiquette, saying ‘over’ at the end of talking and making sure to use the right call sign …ermm, “over!”
This begs the question, what are our call signs:
- Lead Van Driver: Cubby (aka Pete… some of you may have got there before me, but if you haven’t – this is because Pete is the CEO for Growers Garden who use Broccoli as one of their main ingredients to make crisps …so naturally, Cubby Broccoli – Cubby!)
- Lead Van Support: Marilyn (aka Fi… if you are keeping up with the blogs, you’ll know this is because of her awesome posing for photos!)
- Following Van Driver: Red Devil (aka Mikey… because well he’s a cheeky, not to mention a ‘handsome devil’ most of the time and at this current moment has his beard dyed bright RED!)
- Following Van Supporter: Bad Ass (aka Linda… Because a few years ago I won an award for Business Analyst of the Year. This frequently gets shortened to BA of the Year, and some time ago this, in turn, was translated to Bad Ass by my travelling companions)
So with that covered… “Over and out!”
The Fairy Glen
Back to our road trip, once organised we set off for the day’s adventure around Skye. Driving toward Portree but taking the long scenic route so that we could take in some of the many beauty spots (not to mention the oh-so-tricky one-track roads with adverse camber).
The first place we came across was the charming Fairy Glen. Well, when I say ‘came across’, we nearly missed it, a case of the sat-nav and our navigator missing the turning!
Once on the right path, it was not only another tiny road but also a steep uphill, to a car park. We parked up, got out for a walk around, and wow! …what a delight. Lots of little hill formations all together making up their own special glen.
Pete was the first to run up one big hilltop only to find it quite windy on top, then we were all at it running/walking up and down, and at the top of each, the scenes before us were …horrible!
Naaaaaaaah… just kidding! …they were amazing!
With more fairy hills, meadows and even waterfalls beyond!
We spent a good hour wandering around, taking it all in, before reluctantly making our way back to the van.
The Quiraing (or at that moment, “The Misty Mountains”)
The Quiraing is situated in the north of Skye in the area known as ‘Trotternish’. We came across these as we drove on from the Fairy Glen past Uig and drove higher and higher…
I’m not even sure it had been in the plan to stop here, but there was a conveniently placed viewing spot with plenty of parking (always a benefit when you have a mobile home!)
And boy were we happy we stopped, the scene before us was nothing short of spectacular.
I walked a little bit up the hill (the foothills of the huge mountain looming above us) to get a better view, and it was so worth it.
The curious case of the missing waterfall?!
Travelling on from the Quiraing, but still within the Trotternish area – look at me showing off my tour guide credentials! 😉 – we moved down the mountain and headed towards Kilt Rock, along yet more challenging roads.
(Remember that adverse camber on the road – Well, at some points it was so bad the van was positively tilting over, not to mention the potholes. At least the van was hired, and it wasn’t our tyres or suspension taking the strain!)
We were heading to Kilt Rock to admire a massive waterfall. The pictures showed it majestically flowing over the rather dramatic cliff edge and dropping down into the sea…
Ermm, yeah…
After walking along the cliff edge, peering to our left and our right, leaning over fences… NO waterfall!
As we discovered later, the hot weather and a long stretch without rain meant not enough water was feeding the waterfall from the loch above …and many supposed waterfalls were the same across Skye.
It’s fair to say though, the cliffs were still amazing even without the waterfall!
And this was the perfect place for a picnic in the back of the van.
We put the kettle on, broke open goodies, cheese, pate cold chicken, and bread rolls (wrangled from the bakers in Dunvegan that morning). Once tea was made we were almost good to eat. Just one thing needed…
Wine for Fi and me! …and with that, we settled back for lunch, enjoying the view …of the non-existent waterfall! 😀
“The Best Car Park Award for Campervans goes to…”
After lunch, we continued our drive around Skye, each turn presenting ever more challenging …bumpy …twisty …narrow roads. Full-on concentration was needed by Mikey.
We eventually arrived in Portree for a look around (fearing another trek around a small town looking for somewhere to park) we followed signs to a car park …and lo and behold, we were surprised to come across a car park with not one, not two, but a whole row of parking spaces specifically for vans, all with an amazing view!
So, we parked up and were set – Easy peasy!
…Congratulations Portree! You win the “The Best Car Park Award”!
Mikey was pretty tired, so he stayed in the van for a quick nap while we went to investigate.
Portree is small and pretty, but we didn’t stay long. Although, long enough for Pete to queue for ice cream, while Fi and I managed to find and look around a very well-stocked gin shop.
(…it would have been rude not to!!)
We were soon back at the van ladened down with ice cream and gin!
After scoffing down ice cream (melting quickly in the gorgeous sunshine), it was time to head back to the campsite for a quick nap before our big night out.
Pre-dinner relaxation
It was a lovely afternoon, I didn’t want or need a nap (the rest are lightweights what can I say!) – Instead, I had a quick shower, then sat outside the van for a couple of hours reading.
Yes, you heard me right! – I was on Skye, in my shorts, sitting outside, relaxing in the sunshine! 😀
It seemed like no time at all before I had to move again, getting ready and sorting out pre-dinner drinks, which we had outside given the lovely weather.
This was before our taxi arrived to take us to the world-famous…
Three Chimneys Restaurant
Our taxi ride over to the restaurant was great, our driver was such a lovely man, which meant we arrived nice and relaxed.
I’m not really sure what to say about the food at the Three Chimneys, anything I do say won’t do it justice and I can’t remember exactly what everything was called. Why not simply enjoy the selection of photographs of the food here …and try not to get too hungry!
Suffice to say, the food was outstanding and we all loved it.
As we were driven back to the campsite, by the same driver, we were treated to an amazing sunset finishing off the day beautifully.
A picture-perfect end to another fab day, a little more relaxing this time…
…and tomorrow, we move on again, to continue our adventures elsewhere.
