Travel gurus have been singing praises of Scotland’s Skye – we join a small-group tour to the island to find out what the rave is about
My better half and I stayed in Inverness, Scotland’s northernmost city in the highlands, one summer weekend on the last leg of our maiden trip to Britain.
The main streets and the Eastgate Shopping Centre next to the train station thronged with weekend shoppers. But we didn’t come all the way to Inverness to shop.
We made Inverness our base for a day trip to the picturesque Isle of Skye, which travel gurus rave about.
To the land of Dinosaurs and Princes
Having booked with Skye Tours one day ahead, we took the 0858h train to the end of the line, arriving at Kyle of Lochalsh at 1128h. There, we met Angela, our tour guide and driver, who quickly got into gear and drove our group of ten across Skye Bridge for a five-hour romp on the isle.
Along the way, Angela, in her Scottish accent, regaled us with historic tales of dinosaurs that once roamed Skye, of Nordic invasions, and of tragic battles led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
After a photo stop at a creek with the Cuillin Hills for the backdrop, we arrived at Portree, the main town, for a quick lunch.
The Old Man of Storr & Trotternish Peninsula
Up ahead, The Old Man of Storr came into full view – a 50-metre pinnacle moulded from a volcanic lava outflow. It was impressive, to say the least.
We then moved up north to the island’s remote parts in the Trotternish Peninsula. All at once, we saw how desolate and eerie the whole area was, compared with the scenario at Portree. It was as if we were the only ones there!
Angela was no road-hogger and the vehicle was no jalopy either. She raced on the deserted A855 highway like an F1 driver. Never fear, we arrived safely at our next stop – the Lealt landslip parking lot.
Sweeping Panoramic Views
The Lealt landslip lends sweeping views overlooking an inland gorge and the open sea. One catch: we had to watch our steps as we treaded down the slope and up again as there were no safety rails along the precarious escarpment.
The next stop was a viewing point of the 60-metre Lealt Waterfall that pours out into the sea below and the adjoining Kilt Rock, shaped out of basalt columns like the pleats of a Scottish kilt.
The Land Before Time
We visited the Staffin Museum at Ellishadder, which displays a dinosaur’s thigh bone fossil, primitive tools, framed old photos, and artefacts found on the island by a young boy. He is now the elderly curator of the museum.
Our last stop was the lofty Quiraing tableland on the northernmost summit of the peninsula. The minibus ascended via a treacherous winding road linking Staffin with another outpost, Ulg.
At the 543-metre summit, with the oceanic wind blowing at us, we could only gape in wonder at the views over the promontory. The clear skies that day also enabled us to spot mountain goats on the grasslands.
Angela detoured to a pleasant training centre to let us freshen up before ferrying us back to Kyle of Lochalsh on time. We paid £35 (S$70) each for the whirlwind tour and thought it was well worth it.
The travel gurus were right. Skye’s sheer beauty was unlike any other in the world.
Visit www.isleofskye.com/activities/bus-tours for more information on the tours to Skye.
By Harry Tan
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