The Isle of Skye

Accommodation on Skye is predominantly Bed and Breakfast, and tourism plays a vital role in the island's economy, so there are a large number of these establishments. Our 2 nights were spent in Kyleakin, a small fishing village that was left behind when the road bridge was built, and is off the main tourist route. The driver explained that other tour companies controlled most of the bookings in the main city of Portree and so later companies are unable to find accommodation there. We had 6 in the tour group and 3 of us were at Cliffe House, comfortable and friendly and the views were lovely, but the village very small and nothing was open in the evenings, including eating places on the Thursday night - a bit of a challenge!

There are many small villages on the island and many single cottages scattered throughout. They stand out because there is no vegetation, much of he island being peat bogs, so it is a vast and bleak, lonely  landscape.

At the top of the island is Kilt rock, with it's spectacular waterfall down into the ocean, and the Quiraing, with it's rocky outcrops and formations dominates with a brooding presence. There is a walking trail right through the area, and even in winter we saw some intrepid walkers on the trails.

The main town of Portree is considerably larger and a very pretty port town, with it's colourful buildings along the port.Unfortunately, our time there was all to short, and dominated by the necessity to find an early dinner, as nothing was available in Kyleakin.
The complete lack of any form of nightlife on the journey gave me a chance to catch up on sleep and get over the jet lag, so there was a good side to it all.