Western Skye
“Did not strong connections draw me elsewhere, I believe Scotland would be the country I would choose to end my days in.”
Fairy Pools
At foot of the Black Cuillins near Glenbrittle are the Fairy Pools, beautifully crystal clear blue pools on the River Brittle.
Amanda started our day’s tour of western Skye with a dime from her dad.
One of the many cascades and pools.
Gorgeous water features at every turn.
The water cascades down off the Black Cuillins.
Talisker Distillery
From the fairy pools we traveled a short distance to the Talisker Distillery.
Talisker is the oldest working distillery on the Isle of Skye and is set on the shores of the sea loch of Loch Harport with dramatic views of the Cuillins.
Interestingly, the Talisker distillery is located a full 5 miles away from Talisker Bay (which we’ll visit in a later post).
The name Talisker comes from the old Norse for Sloping Rock, “Thalas Gair.” Talisker was for centuries a possession of the Clan Macleod (pronounced McCloud).
We tasted several drams of Talisker, and I particularly enjoyed Storm. Dave, Christa, and Amanda agreed the 18-year-old was the best. I simply had to trust their judgment because Amanda kept the over-poured 18-year-old dram completely to herself and didn't save me a drop. 😔
Since we already knew we would be traveling to Skye together this summer, at my retirement back in October Dave & Christa gave me a voucher for a bottle of Talisker.
Thank you Dave & Christa!!
Just beyond the distillery was this sign. How’s that for little bit of encouragement as you’re driving down the road? 😂
Dunvegan Castle
Dunvegan (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Bheagain) is a village on the Isle of Skye.
It is famous for Dunvegan Castle, seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod (McCloud).
No, this was not a Mecca for vegans; you actually pronounce it Dun-vae-gan (say the first “a” like in table).
The castle is located on a prominent rock outcropping on the sea loch, Loch Dunvegan.
Dunvegan Castle is also famous for its wonderful gardens.
This is part of their water garden.
Just look at the size of these things!
Inside the walled garden.
Massive fungus growing on a tree along the shore of Loch Dunvegan.
Neist Point Lighthouse
On the most westerly tip of Skye stands the famous Nest Point Lighthouse, our final stop on our whirlwind tour up the western side of the island.
If you have Apple TV+ (or now Sonoma OS) at some point you’ll have seen the aerial 4K screensaver showing the dramatic and rugged coastline, culminating with the lighthouse coming into view. You can watch the screensaver here: https://vimeo.com/657381631
What a great shot!
It’s every bit as dramatic in real life.
Portree
We ended the long day of touring by having dinner on the opposite side of the island, in Portree.
There we enjoyed handmade, Neapolitan style pizzas at Gasta Port Righ, in the Isle of Skye Candle Company Visitor Center. Yummy!
The village of Portree, situated on the east side of Skye overlooks a sheltered bay, and is the capital of the island.
Its name comes from the Gaelic for Port on the Slope.
An enchanted river…
A famous distillery…
A castle perched sentinel on a sea loch…
A beautiful garden…
A majestic lighthouse…
A colorful and charming port village…
We think you’ll agree, Isle of Skye is spectacular!
