If you’re heading to Scotland a stop on Isle of Skye is a must. We only had 5 days and 5 nights total in Scotland, which really isn’t much time to explore the Highlands & Lowlands. But we knew we wanted to make Skye work into our itinerary. Many of the Inns & Bed and Breakfasts we looked into had a 2 night minimum since lodging is sparse on Skye and most people spend more time there. If you’re limited on time like we were try reaching out directly to hotels as they may work with you. In our case after a little back and forth Viewfield House was willing to let us spend just 1 night (we were there in the off-season after all!)
We left our hotel bright and early to make our way to Skye driving along the famous Loch Ness in search of Nellie! Our first stop was to Urquhart Castle. We decided to just stop for a quick picture and continue onto Eilean Donan Castle.
An hour and ten minutes later we arrived at the Castle. Eilean Donan was established in the 13thcentury by Clan Mackenzie. Due to the Mackenzie’s involvement in the Jacobite rebellion the castle was mostly destroyed by English troops. Many years later the Castle has been mostly reconstructed and is now known as the most photographed castle in the world!
For 10 Pounds you can walk across the bridge and into the castle. There isn’t a whole lot to explore on the interior but I think it’s still worth it to see the Castle up close. It’s located in the most picturesque setting right on the water with mountains all around. If you’re on a budget don’t worry-you can still get that most photographed photograph of the castle from the parking lot!
After a long walk around the Castle we knew it was time for Davis to take a nap so we grabbed a quick bite from the café in the visitor’s center and packed up our car. Pro tip-always double check that you have your umbrella with you and don’t leave it on the roof of your car like we did…oops!
As we headed to Portree we made a quick stop at the Sligachan Bridge for a photo op. They say the waters under this bridge are enchanted but it was much too windy to go down and touch it! A little while later we made it to Portree for lunch! We ate at a little hole in the wall diner that I wouldn’t recommend but we wanted something quick so we could continue on and see more of Skye! Before you leave Portree make sure you catch a view of Portree Harbor-the colorful buildings and boats in the harbor make for a really pretty sight!
We decided to drive as far as we could onto Isle of Skye and then work our way back stopping at the various sites for photos Honestly, we basically drove until we hit a dead-end and accidentally drove on someone’s farm! Once we realized we’d gone too far we turned around and started stopping at all the sites we’d passed. We stopped at Kilt Rock, Lealt Falls, and Old Man of Storr ! The nice part is all of these stops are within 5-10 minutes of one another so when you make it up that way there is so much to see!
I know why people say you need at least 3 days on Skye…it’s freakin beautiful! While we would have loved to spend more time there, don’t let only having one day stop you from adding Skye to your itinerary! Perhaps if we were traveling in summer with more daylight or kid free we’d have been able to squeeze more into our limited time. But for now, I am very grateful for the amazing day we spent on Isle of Skye.
Britt Heller 