Today we (read “Chuck”) drove the Trotternish Loop around the northern part of Isle of Skye. Chuck had a difficult time sleeping last night and I’m starting to feel the early tell-tale signs that I might be coming down with what he had, so neither of us were overcome with energy to expend. On our way to the car, we were met by the other guest from our B&B who was going on a hike and asked if we’d give her a ride closer to her intended trailhead. As a rule, we don’t pick up hitchhikers, but given she’d helped me figure out the coffee pot in the B&B breakfast room it seemed only fair. She is French and was struggling with her English and our French is pretty much non-existent, so there was some confusion about where we needed to take her but eventually, we left her… somewhere. She didn’t seem angry about where she ended up, so I hope she got where she needed to go. She was supposed to stay here one more night and we haven’t heard her return to the B&B, so I’m feeling a little uneasy about it. If you see a police sketch of me on Scotland’s Most Wanted in connection with the disappearance of a French hiker, you’ll know what happened.

This adventure reminded me a lot of the Road to Hana on Maui, but obviously with different landmarks and a vastly different climate. The loop follows along the coast of the Trotternish Peninsula and is one lane in many places, with areas to pull off to let cars pass from the opposite direction (or from behind you if you’re driving too slowly). Similar to Road to Hana, most of the loop is pretty rural – lots of tourists and beautiful scenery, but not a lot in the way of amenities. The few cafes and restaurants that you encounter tend to have very limited hours – a café open from 10 am – 2 pm, a restaurant open from 5 – 9 pm, etc. You definitely want to use the facilities before you depart and pack snacks to take with you.

Our first official stop on the loop was… you guessed it… the ruins of another castle. Duntulm Castle was the first stronghold of the MacDonald clan in their ongoing feud with the MacLeod clan, though not much of it remains now. Still it’s a romantic place to get a good look at the coast and a glimpse of the Outer Hebrides in the distance. Our next step was supposed to be the Skye Museum of Island Life, but unfortunately it is closed on Sunday. We stopped anyway to visit the cemetery behind the museum to see the monument for Flora MacDonald, the woman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape Culloden after the last failed battle of the Jacobite rising to the Isle of Skye by disguising him as her maid, Betty Burke. Fun fact: the theme song from Outlander is actually an adaptation of a Scottish folk song called the “Skye Boat Song”, the actual lyrics of which describe the bonnie prince’s escape (though I read somewhere that it was a Gaelic folk song even before that).

Our next (real) stop (after a stop at some public toilets in Uig) was my favorite of the whole loop: The Fairy Glen. This area is a little off the main road and it’s this magical little valley full of these conical, ruffled hills that look like they might be home to some distant cousins of the hobbits we know (“hibbits”, maybe?). Each of these hills is called a “Fairy Tower” and the folklore says that any sheep you see in this area were fairies in disguise that turned into sheep just before you saw them.

After the fairy glen, we stopped for lunch in Portree at a cute little café, explored the downtown area, and grabbed some items for dinner at the co-op grocery. The rest of the tour was mostly looking at great big rocks – either from the windows of the car or sometimes parking to walk a few minutes to look at the big rocks. There were some beautiful views, but none quite compared to the fairy glen for me. We’re back at the hotel now, resting up and preparing to eat our instant soup and call it an early night.

Today’s Highlights:

• Beautiful views of coastline and mountain
• Seeing fairies in the fairy glen; They leave surprisingly large droppings
• Not landing in any of the fairy droppings when I fell down the side of a hill at the end
• A hearty lunch and a locally brewed cask ale
• Humming the Skye Boat Song for my husband the ENTIRE DAY, despite a seeming lack of appreciation from him

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures:

• Traveling on to Oban via Fort Williams and Glencoe to enjoy some fresh caught seafood
• Our first time taking a ferry by car (we’ve both only ever taken them as pedestrians)