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One of the things I heard over and over on my recent trip to Scotland was that this was the worst summer they’d had in over a decade.
Always happy to be involved in historical events, I guess.
Luckily, I’m of the mindset that there’s no bad weather- just bad outfits! Unfortunately, on the day I was scheduled to visit the Isle of Skye, Scotland did its level best to challenge that belief.
The Yellow Warning for poor weather had been looming like a ghost over the majority of my trip and finally hit just was I woke up for my long day of (very outdoorsy!) touring.
I was honestly just happy that the tour wasn’t cancelled. I’ve been so excited to visit the Isle after hearing such good things about it for such a long time!
After meeting up with my tour group, we headed up the coast of Loch Ness- keeping an eye out for Nessie the whole time- and had a brief pit stop at an overlook of Urquhart Castle before taking our first proper stop at Eileen Donan Castle.
This served as both a sightseeing stop and a breakfast break. I chose to use the majority of my time here visiting the castle- something that the crowds of other visitors joined me for.
You can read about my visit in more detail here, but suffice to say, I didn’t quite make it to the cafe in time for a hot cup of tea before it was time to go.
I think on a day with better weather, the crowds would have been more spread out around the property making for a better overall experience, but alas! I did appreciate our driver going out of his way to make sure we got a great view of the castle from above- something that we could only get to in the smaller 16-person coach!
Tickets to the castle are not included but can be purchased for 3-12 Euro.
Almost immediately after leaving Eileen Donan Castle, the rain started coming down in earnest and our planned stops began to subtly change.
We made an unscheduled and very soggy stop by Dunkeld Bridge where I was determined to make the most of the weather and nearly slipped into the surging river. It was pretty cool and a little intimidating to see the river move so strongly!
I got some pretty shots of the marshy riverbanks that ended up being some of my favorites of the whole day.
We then headed to Portree Harbor for lunch. With no end to the rain in sight, I wandered around the town as much as I could before giving up and heading inside to a cafe called Relish. I highly recommend the honey walnut cake. The whole soggy day would have been worth it just for that pastry!
After lunch, we headed back out into the weather to check out the Lealt Fall Viewpoint. It was really flowing with the heavy rainfall! There is a lovely boardwalk path to get the best views and I was very grateful for the sturdy railings given the increasing winds!
I was really starting to get shoved around by the sheer strength of the wind which was equal parts funny and concerning.
Our last scheduled stop was to the famous Kilt Rock, which was lovely! I was definitely hesitant to get too close to the edge, though! I did enjoy the potentially unique experience of the wind whipping through the metal guardrails and singing like some sort of instrument.
All of our drivers have mandatory breaks for the safety of their passengers and everyone on the road. Since we didn’t have quite as many breaks as expected, we took one last unscheduled break outside of The Broadford Hotel. Our guide helpfully briefed us on nearby bathrooms, and the history of Drambuie.
The original recipe is said to have been gifted to Clan MacKinnon by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, and eventually gifted to the owner of the Broadford who perfected the recipe.
Completely drenched and freezing, I schlepped my way over to the hotel in the rain to take shot of this magical liqueur. The things I do for the experience.
I’m not a huge whisky fan to begin with but it was pretty good and definitely helped take the edge off how uncomfortably wet I was for the trip back to Inverness.
We did take a brief stop in Kyleakin as scheduled, but by this point we were all so wet and tired that I think I’m the only one that bothered getting of the coach to take a few pictures of Castle Moil.
You may have noticed that this recap of my trip did not include stops at places like the Old Man of Storr or Quiraing since it was unsafe to hike out to these locations in the weather. This rescheduling ranged somewhere from disappointing to somewhat devastating, but I absolutely understood the safety concerns. I could barely keep my feet on a flat paved walkway- I don’t even want to imagine how an uneven hike would have gone!
Still, our guide did his best and any time the Old Man of Storr peaked out between the clouds, he’d make sure to point it out to us! He even pulled over to let me take a few shots leaning out the window without getting even more wet.
Despite my disappointment about the famous Isle of Skye landmarks, I really enjoyed my trip and I think that had a lot to do with 1) reassessing my expectations for a tour during a weather alert and 2) our fabulous guide! He was a local Scot who actually grew up outside of Portree Harbor and had a lot to share with us about the local history and even some anecdotes from his childhood.
I suppose I’ll have to make my way back to the Isle of Skye for a proper hike one day, but I’m still pleased with what I was able to see in the time I was there.
If you’re looking for a great small-group tour of the Isle of Skye, I recommend giving this one a try!
Looking for more day trips out of Inverness? Check here for some of my favorites.
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