Mallaig & Isle of Skye

The first stop I made along the A830 was in Glenfinnan. Another stunning location with a lake, Loch Shiel, glens and a monument. The Glenfinnan Monument is to represent where Bonnie Prince Charlie had gained enough support from the Scottish clansmen to raise his standard. A kilted Highlander is situated on the top of the monument.
However, Glenfinnan is now popular for one of the film sites for the Harry Potter films. The viaduct is where the train "Hogwarts Express" tracks across two times a day. I just missed the train by five minutes as it was heading to Mallaig, but figured I could catch in on the way back in the afternoon. Can't come all the way here and not get a photo of the steam train on the most popular viaduct (with it's 21 arches) in the UK!
The drive to Mallaig was beautiful. It was one of my favourite drives so far. Mallaig was a small fishing village with brightly coloured houses and tourist shops. Very quaint. It's also the main ferry point to head over to Isle of Skye. But, I'm going to go the long way there by driving, to see more sites.
While backtracking, I stopped to have a picnic lunch at the Silver Sands of Morar. A stunning beach of... you guessed it, silver sand, that was so fine it was as soft as velvet. The water over the sand looked so tropical with the brilliant turquoise blue. So inviting, but the water was still cold. I soaked my feet in the ocean only for a short time. Didn't take too long for them to numb. But, with the sun popping out here and there between the clouds, I couldn't help but pretend I was somewhere warmer.
After a nice stroll on the beach, I diverted off the main road and took the narrow local road cutting through small villages and farmland.
I stopped at Arisaig and popped into the Land Sea and Island centre. Bit of information about the people's way of life in the local area back in the past and about the marine life. Good place to stretch the legs. Only a couple white painted buildings here with a cafe and hotel. Mostly just boats and beaches. A quiet place known for Bonnie Prince Charlie. This is where he fled to France to avoid capture from the government forces in 1746.

I headed back to Glenfinnan to be on time to watch the steam train. There's a lovely viewing point up a path behind the visitor centre. I'm glad I was 15 mins early. Two buses full of Asian tourists arrived, so I luckily had a good spot! Would've been a nightmare otherwise.
The train came around, puffing it's smoke and tooting it's horn. With the hills in the background, it really was pretty to see.
I continued on my way, stopping at Commando Memorial near Spean Bridge. It was in remembrance of WWII soldiers and had a nice view on Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor.
I stopped at a layby on the A87, overlooking Loch Garry and made some dinner. At least the rain held off until I turned my stove off. More rainbows came around. With the spot of sun, I could watch the rainbow get closer to me as I ate, looking out over the landscape. Since it was getting dark, I found a resting site off the main road on a loop road and slept in the car. A caravan had the same idea. The following morning, the lady came by to say hi and offer me a cup of tea or coffee. Such a nice couple!
Another day of driving ahead. Again, I made some pit stops along the way. Glen Sheil had fantastic scenery and a few battlegrounds. After passing the Five Sisters (nice chain of small mountains) I stopped at Loch Duich to see Eilean Donan Castle.
Eilean Donan Castle is named the most romantic and one of the iconic places in Scotland. From Vikings, to the Jacobites and then the MacRae family, this castle had been through a lot. The name is thought to come from an Irish Bishop named Donan from back in the 6th century. Eilean Donan means "island of Donan." But the castle itself wasn't built until the 13th century as a fortification against the Vikings to protect the town, Kintail.
The entrance of the castle talked about the Viking invasions and had a couple figureheads from their boats. Then, after walking around the outside and enjoying the calm water on the loch, I went inside.
I read about the history of the castle. Starting back to 1719, the castle was badly damaged from the Jacobite rising. Spanish soldiers were helping the Jacobites, waiting for weapons delivered from Spain, but the English Government learnt of this and sent 3 ships to bombard the castle. Since the castle wall help defend it, but the English went ashore, overran the soldiers, found over 300 barrels of gunpowder that they then used to blow up the remains of the fortress.
You could see many canon balls on display in various sizes. Some still being found in the water around the castle.
For 200 years it lay in ruin until a man bought the tiny island and began rebuilding it, following the original ground plan that survived. Once completed, the MacRae family moved in.
There were wax figurines in the scullery and kitchen to get the idea of their way of life. Even had original recipes you could go through. Food and china displayed as well. All kinds of furniture, paintings, clothes, maps, paintings, photos, war shrapnel and a few treasures found about in the mural chamber, bedrooms and great hall. Full of history. Their were guides dressed up in 20th century clothes able to tell stories and answer any questions you may have. They were brilliant. A place worth visiting. The large Banquet Hall was my favourite. Stunning with the large fireplace and Victorian style setting. The wooden timber beams is actually Douglas Fir from BC, Canada.
The gift shop and cafe was worth popping into as well with an alluring smell of food.
After my visit, I popped into an outdoor store in Dornie to buy a rain cover for my daypack. I talked with the man behind the counter and he recommended I take a drive down the little road to Sallachy. Beautiful and good hiking, he said. I figured, why not? Always nice to venture on those small little roads for a look see.
The water was very calm in through here. Nice local homes surrounded by great hills. Very picturesque and great place for my lunch.
Kyle of Lochalsh wasn't far from there, and I went into the visitor centre to take a look at some hiking maps for Isle of Skye and roamed around the village for a bit. Picked up some groceries, and then over the bridge to the Isle.
I headed north on the island up to Portree. There, I camped at Torvaig Campsite, just north of town. It was nice and flat with well kept grass for pitching. The owner was very friendly and after talking with him about the hikes I was hoping to go on, he agreed to check in on me at the end of the next day to make sure I arrived back ok.

The next morning, I drove to the car park for The Storr. It was an easy walk to the oddly shaped rock pinnacles. The most prominent pinnacle is the Old Man of Storr. I then continued to a barbed wire fence. There was a section to cross and I walked along the path around the ridge to eventually ascend to the top. What a great view of Trotternish Ridge. Good area for expedition hikes. Though there were many paths that branched off along the ridge, not all were safe. Many paths were unstable terrain. I stuck to the middle of the ridge to the summit of The Storr, then back tracked the way I came.

Next, I made a pit stop at a viewpoint to see Kilt Rock. The cliff had a neat pattern to it. The basalt rocks formed vertical columns. Kind of made a pleated look, resembling a kilt. Hence the name of the cliffs. Mealt waterfall situated before Kilt Rock, falling the 170ft to the pebbled base. Made it a fantastic site.
On to my next hiking destination to the north on the isle. The 7km circuit of the Quiraing. I followed the trail along the bottom of the ridge. Some parts got quite narrow and was a bit slippery from all the mud and rain. But seeing the view from the rocky gully was amazing. Up to more needle pointed pinnacles, I took a look around at my trail options. I could scramble over the loose rocks that had fallen in landslides and avalanches that most people take... or climb up and around one of the pinnacles. I decided to climb (rather than risk twisting my ankle on all those slippery rocks).
Up and half way around the pinnacle, the very narrow path stopped. I had a choice of climbing or going back. Without looking down, I thought, let's climb! Many rock climbers come here to tackle these various shaped rocks. I didn't have any trouble finding good foot grooves and natural handholds. I was able to boulder my way around to the other side. Once I mad it back to the path again, I looked at what I crossed. Though it wasn't far, I thought "What an idiot! What was I thinking! It's a long way down, and if I slipped I would have landed on jagged pointed rocks! How reckless!" Whew, after berating myself and telling myself NOT to do something like that again (at least, not without climbing gear, ha ha) .

I continued along, curving around to a section that was more grassy and boggy. Down came the rain! Big cloud came round and I was soaked to the bone. Luckily, the strong wind kept it moving and within 20 mins, the sun appeared again. At the end of the point, I ascended up the winding path that then slowly climbed the ridge. Easy walking along the grass up at the top. Many sheep here and there and a constant panoramic view of the sea and Totternish peninsula. Once I got to the part where I had to descend the summit, the path followed the edge of a very steep slope, zig zagging here and there. It was nerve wracking. So muddy and steep! And a long way down if you start to slide down. I accepted that it was very likely I would slip and fall on my butt. I was happy that I had a couple behind me, just in case I did take a tumble, and relief that my campsite knew where I was.
Luckily, I didn't slip once! Even at the end where it was the steepest. I did my best to stay on the bedrock to avoid the mud and wet grass. Just never know when the grass bed will crumble, as there's not much there anchoring it.
I was happy to get back to the car and warm up. A little mobile coffee stand was at the car park and I gratefully had a tea to try to warm up. It was so cold! Didn't help that I was fairly wet. I chatted with a cyclist that joined me for tea, then headed back to camp to check in, have a hot shower and dinner, followed by a much needed rest.
I was freezing the following morning. It had fallen below zero during the night and I had ice all over the fly of my tent. Could've used a winter tent. I packed up quickly and got moving to warm up as fast as I could. Then I drove back through the Quiraing again (it was so pretty) to Uig, and followed the road along the coast to Dunvegan. There, I went to Claigan Coral Beach.
Only about a 2km walk to the beach, and it's worth it! It looked very tropical with the sun shining on it. The black basalt rocks eventually gave way to a white sandy looking area that was actually composed of sun-bleached seaweed called maerl. Maerl grows slowly (about 1mm/year) and lives a very long time. It grows unattached on the sea floor, forming balls like tumbleweeds in areas with strong currents. It's enriched with lime so it was used by farmers in the past as fertiliser. The Maerl beds create a great ecosystem for a variety of marine life. So, it's not uncommon to seal seals nearby.
All along the beach were multicoloured shells. I have never seen such yellow and orange snail shells. It was beautiful. Looking into the water, red jellyfish were scattered everywhere. Some getting caught up on the rocks from the tide forcing them too far to the shallows and shore. So much life here.

Next, I went to Neist Point in the Duirinish peninsula. The lighthouse here was dated from 1909. Nice red foghorn stood out amongst the white and yellow building. Can also see the old cable way that was once used to transfer supplies to the cottages and lighthouse from the end of the public road. Nice viewpoint to watch for seals and whales. None that day though. Too windy to see anything amongst the waves.
I drove the main road south to Kinloch forest and camped out here for the night. I woke this morning, excited to continue down to Armadale, to see the castle ruin and museum of Clan Donald. The clan my grandma's ancestors branch from.
Armadale castle was on a huge estate with tons of walking paths in the woodland and beautiful gardens. Some of the trees reminded me of home with all the multicolours of autumn. I visited the castle ruin first. It was built in the 1700's, but in the mid 1800's was destroyed by a fire and abandoned. Plants were growing on the walls and though some of the medieval stones could be seen on the ground, it was mostly all vegetation. It was really pretty, seeing nature take over that place. To the right side were estate offices, attached to the last wall of the ruin. Looking through the windows, I could see paperwork and coffee cups. Ha ha, yup, just looked like office space. Not too exciting.
Next I took advantage of the sunlight and walked around the gardens. Looking at the ponds and an old stone walled ruin where they did the laundry.
Lastly, I visited the Museum of the Isles. There was a library inside, where you could meet with someone who would help research your ancestors by using genealogy. That was really neat.
There were 6 galleries following 1500 years of history and culture of Clan Donald (the Lords of the Isles), the highlands and kingdom of the isles.
It tells of the origin of Clan Donald. Started by Donald, the grandson of Somerled (a Gaelic hero), who then named his decedents and followers MacDonald. Clan Donald is one of the largest clans of Scotland. It was a very powerful clan in its time. I learned of the battles between clans and land (looked like the Campbell clan and Donald clan really didn't get along), the Jacobite rising and falling, the English government forces impact on the clan, the tragedies, struggles and bloodshed of the people and the loss of homes through evictions, resulting in immigration to other countries.
I think the most horrific story was the massacre of Glencoe in 1692.
William, prince of Orange, was invited to take the throne, and had offered the Highland clans a pardon for their involvement in the Jacobite uprisings if they took an oath of allegiance in front of a magistrate by a certain deadline. At the time, James II of England was exiled in France and was hoping to return to reclaim the throne. The Highland clans awaited his permission to give their oath to William. Finally, James had given them permission and the clans gave their oaths. But, the message was sent in winter, when the weather was in bad conditions and was received by the chiefs only weeks before the deadline.
Some chiefs promptly gave their oaths, others didn't. The chief of Glencoe, Alastair Maclain, was one of them. He first went to Fort William, but was told the governor wasn't authorised to receive it. Given a letter of protection and a letter to receive the oath as he came to the governor in the allocated time, he went to Inverary. Winter weather slowed him down and he also was detained at a castle (as a ruse to delay him). Once in Inverary, he had to wait for the magistrate to return from a family visit for 3 days. Finally, he gave the oath, thinking all was well.
However, a senior member of the Campbell clan saw Maclain was late giving his oath and took advantage of that knowledge.Wanting to seek revenge on the clan, he found an accomplice (who wanted the downfall of the Highland clans), Master of Stair, to take them down. The Master of Stair persuaded William to sign an order to exterminate the MacDonalds of Glencoe by telling him of the irregularity of the oath, and that it's to rid the thieves in the valley.
A regiment of 120 men went to Glencoe. The Highlanders believed they were there to collect tax and the soldiers received the hospitable tradition of the Highlands. Unknowing of the real orders behind the visit.
38 men were murdered either in their homes (as Maclain was, in his bed) or trying to flee the valley. The woman and children were able to escape, but many died of exposure after their homes were burned. Some of the soldiers didn't agree with their orders and had either warned the people or refused to act. Such a sad story.
So much to take in, all the history of the highlands. But, I enjoyed learning, even if some of the stories were devastating.
Now, I'm back in Kyle of Lochalsh treating myself to lunch. Next, I'll be heading north to Torridon. A place recommended by some other hikers I've bumped into.