Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Isle of Skye – Old Man of Storr

    Isle of Skye – Old Man of Storr

    And just photos (as opposed to any meaningful information about the route) of our walk a few years ago to the Old Man of Storr. More beautiful scenery, although we spent a lot of the walk wondering exactly which bit of rock we were supposed to be looking at. Some found the walk easier than others and Andrew fell over, but it wasn’t overly busy and the weather was being helpful to us. Most of the photos I took were of the Sanctuary, the collection of rocks (albeit a big collection) in front of the Old Man of Storr.

     

  • Isle of Skye – Kyle of Lochalsh Railway Station

    Isle of Skye – Kyle of Lochalsh Railway Station

    This railway station isn’t actually on the Isle of the Skye, but it’s the gateway to it for those arriving by rail or road. We drove there to pick Scott up, who had decided to arrive in style by train.

    Operated today by Abellio, this railway station was first opened in November 1897 and it kick-started the tourism industry which is now an important part of the Isle of Skye’s economy. Before this most visitors to Skye needed to get the ferry leaving from Stromeferry, which was a more complex option than necessary. The road sign at Stromeferry now has underneath it “no ferry”, just to prevent any modern day confusion.

    This was an expensive line to build, they needed to build 29 bridges and it cost £20,000 per mile which would have been a huge cost at the time.

    The station building itself has two platforms and is used by around 60,000 passengers each year.

    There used to be a ferry which left from this railway station to take locals and visitors to the Isle of Skye, with the railway company installing the ferry landing area. A new road in the 1990s meant the end of this ferry, and it was hugely controversial as the road tolls became expensive and locals couldn’t get the exemptions that they previously unofficially had. The Scottish Government purchased the bridge in 2004 and the tolls were immediately scrapped. For those without a car, there are buses which go from the railway station into Portree and some other locations on the Isle of Skye.

    And here comes the train with Scott on. With his arrival, it meant that the rest of us could explore the Isle of Skye.

    Ross claimed Scott looked gormless when he got off the train. We didn’t repeat that many times to him as politeness is the key.

    And Andrew liked the little train because it had a garden in it.

  • Isle of Skye – Yes Scotland

    Isle of Skye – Yes Scotland

    We visited the Isle of Skye in 2017, but there were still a few reminders of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. This sticker on the back of a road sign is from the Yes Scotland campaign, with the Highlands (the boundary area which covers the Isle of Skye) voting to remain in the UK, but by a smaller margin to many others others.

  • Isle of Skye – Our Accommodation

    Isle of Skye – Our Accommodation

    More memories from our accommodation in Skye from a few years ago. It was a peaceful location with excellent views over the water and we could see the accommodation for the hills above. There was an incident when Andrew left the gates open and Scott and Richard had to usher out the sheep which promptly invaded. We didn’t make Andrew feel bad about it though.

  • Isle of Skye – Fairy Pools (Photos)

    Isle of Skye – Fairy Pools (Photos)

    More on the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye in another post, but these are the photos from a few years ago of the bravery of Liam and Scott. The four sensible members of the group took a more pleasurable walk along them, without the risk of falling into the water. At one point, Liam struggled and some random member of the public said “he’s going to fall in”, but somehow Liam managed to stay dry. We were secretly impressed.

  • Isle of Skye – Quiraing

    Isle of Skye – Quiraing

    And even more photos…. Only Liam and Scott climbed this as it looked a bit high to me. From the base of this rather large rockery, we all enjoyed the quite spectacular views though (of the scenery, not Liam and Scott).

  • Isle of Skye – Seals

    Isle of Skye – Seals

    Another post just of photos, these are the seals off the coast of the Isle of Skye, near to Duntulm. Very cute.

  • Isle of Skye – Talisker Distillery Tour

    Isle of Skye – Talisker Distillery Tour

    It’s a few years since we went on the distillery tour, and I’m careful not to call it a brewery tour as I did keep referring to it as that, at Talisker on the Isle of Skye. I’m not really a whisky drinker, it’s a bit harsh for my very delicate palate, but I’m always willing to try alcoholic beverages.

    Some barrels which were on the tour. On a side note, stout which has been aged in whisky (or whiskey if Irish rather than Scottish) barrels is some of the best going in my view.

    After a tour of the facilities, which was genuinely interesting, it was time for a testing of the whisky. They gave us some old whisky, but apparently it can taste better with ageing.

    Richard told Liam that it was a local distillery, although Liam questioned why there was Diageo branding on the walls….. I remember that some of the samples weren’t too bad, although some of us (primarily Liam and me) had no idea what the etiquette was about all this, and what the water was that went with it.

    This is the whisky that we thought Richard should buy for his collection, it was priced at just £2,400.

    This was the cheaper option that Richard went for.

    But only after he decided that a distillery was a suitable working environment.

    Pleased with his purchases, he chatted about them to a local.

    All in all, it was a rather lovely tour, interesting enough even for those of us who aren’t whisky drinkers.

  • Isle of Skye – Repurposed Cycling Helmets

    Isle of Skye – Repurposed Cycling Helmets

    I’m not really much into cycling (mostly as I find it tiring), so this seems a marvellous idea for cycling helmets….

  • Isle of Skye – Portree (Portree Hotel)

    Isle of Skye – Portree (Portree Hotel)

    This post is more just photos to remind me of a rather lovely week a few years back. This is primarily because I’ve forgotten what the six of us thought about this meal, although I don’t remember anything bad about it.

    My soup and fish & chips.

    I have no idea what Liam ordered for his starter, but it was followed by steak and probably some sticky toffee pudding arrangement knowing him.

    I didn’t bother taking photos of what anyone else had, other than this one….