Scotland Day Five

Our view this evening is overlooking Duntulm, the ruin that was the castle of the MacDonalds before their destruction at the battle of Culloden. There's not much left, but the ruin is striking in its beauty, mainly because it overlooks the sea at the northwest end of the Isle of Skye. In the distance, we can see two of the Outer Hebrides islands, Lewis and Uist. We can't see them well, as we are looking into the sunset. It's 10:25 PM.

We started the morning in Fort William, with the customary breakfast, although this morning I went easier than previously, with oatmeal (porridge over here), and eggs Benedict. Hard to believe that that's going easy. We headed west and stopped for a photo opportunity to get pictures of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland. As noted before, it is majestic and stunningly beautiful. Then, we headed west for the Isle of Skye, stopping to see Ealean Donnan castle. This is a rebuilt castle that has been featured in a number of movies. It is on a small spit of land that is an island when the tide is in, and there is a bridge to the castle, which was a ruin until the 1920's and 30's. An army colonel bought the place and rebuilt it to its original splendor, and it has become a real destination for tourists.

After spending some time in and around the castle, we crossed the bridge to Skye and drove to Portree, the main city of the island. This city is a port there that was important in the past for fishing, but not so much anymore. Now, it's mainly a tourist town. In 2002, Denise and I went there and we remembered seeing a Scottish wedding from a small coffee shop in the town square. Today, we shopped for stuff (various), then boarded the bus and headed for Uig.

At Uig, we visited the Island Life museum, a collection of recreated thatched huts that simulated Scottish life until the 1800's. The museum was a mite underwhelming. We also saw the grave of Flora MacDonald, the lady who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the British by having him pose as her servant. Following that escapade, she was captured and taken to the Tower of London, then eventually released, living out her life in Scotland, and for a short time in North Carolina. This all happened in the 1700's, but her gravestone was erected in the 1990's. Those Scots have a very long memory.

Our hotel, as I mentioned, overlooks Duntulm, and if you visit my Facebook page, you will see a few pics. We walked up there both before and after dinner, and climbed around the walls. After the second trip, we walked along the beach looking for the seals that are supposed to come in every evening, along with otters. No luck in spotting them, but we got good pictures of people and scenery. I also managed to sink my tennis shoes deep into the boggy mud that surrounds the beach, so we'll need to find a washing machine in Inverness tomorrow.