After two days in Edinburgh and two more in Oban, it was time to take this adventure from the sea into the Highlands of Scotland.
After breakfast and loading the car, we hit the road, and headed for the Glencoe Visitor Centre in, you guessed it: Glencoe. We love to stop by here because it’s not only a great way to break up a driving trip, but it’s also a really interesting museum, they have a great video, a huge shop and café, and a recent re-creation of a turf house along the trails surrounding the buildings. The scenery is gorgeous. It has free entry and only £4 to park your car. If you don’t have time to drive through Glencoe (which we highly recommend you do), this is a great stop with sweeping views of the entrance to the glen where you can learn some history of the local area. It has a brutal history in a stunning setting.
Back in the car and finally headed for the Isle of Skye. Originally, we had considered taking the ferry from Mallaig to Skye, but it would have been dark by the time we made the ferry, so it wouldn’t have been very exciting. So instead, we drove up around and over the Skye Bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh. Stunning scenery everywhere you look. On the way to the bridge we passed by Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. I got a quick photo as the sun was setting. It was gorgeous and still, the water like glass.
Our destination for today was Duisdale House Hotel just a few miles into Skye from the bridge (which Christine told us the day before had won tons of awards, I had no idea). This also was a new hotel and we were blown away when we finally pulled in, after dark. The house and entire lawn was lit up like the Griswold House. Holy smokes! We were not expecting that level of American Christmas in Scotland. It brought out our funny side and someone (ahem…Doug) suggested the lighted stag on the lawn should be ridden at some point. Somehow we managed to refrain.
Duisdale House was gorgeous and I felt like we were waited on hand and foot. It had the most comfortable bed of the entire trip (and we managed to find some good ones), plus the room was just plain huge. We took advantage and decided to use the huge, heated towel rail and tons of space to get some laundry done. We only packed for 5 days, so at some point we were going to have to wash a few things. This was the perfect opportunity. As small as the bathroom was at the Perle, this one was big! We had a view of the bay from our windows at the front of the house (and all the Christmas lights!), AND prosecco on ice waiting for us when we opened the door. What a glorious ending to a long day of driving. We drank our bubbly, did the laundry, and made it down for dinner at 7 PM.
Dinner was again, phenomenal. We had two dinner courses included in our stay, and they did not disappoint. They were smaller portions, but filling. I was never hungry on this trip and we really only ate twice a day. Scottish food is just so, so, so good. We got a nightcap by the roaring fire in the bar and gazed across the lawn to the water. What a great location. Unfortunately, we didn’t take advantage of the swim spa they had just installed the previous month. We’ll have to do that another time.
After breakfast the next morning, we set out on a mission. We had to drive to the other side of the island for a distillery tour at Talisker Distillery. This is the only tour we did on the entire trip (really, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all as there are only 3 legally allowed ingredients in Scotch whisky. This makes the tours fairly similar, though the tastings…that’s a different story), and it was a great one! We nearly had the guide entirely to ourselves – the joys of the off-season. As usual, it culminates in a tasting and Jason had to take his to-go (they anticipate this and have the cutest little bottles to take with you), because Scotland has a zero-tolerance law. No drinking and driving. If you’re planning a distillery hopping tour, have a designated driver. One of these days I’ll get brave enough to drive so Jason can have the full distillery experience.
After the tour, we just took a drive up the northeast coast of the island. This means you pass through some of the tallest mountains on the island plummeting into the sea at Cuillin Hills. I’m blown away by this every time we see it. We stopped quickly at the cliffs at Lealt Falls and The Old Man of Storr in the Trotternish Ridge to put the drone up as the sun was starting to set. Then we had to hustle back to the hotel because we had a tasting tea at 4. Turns out, it was a gin-tasting tea, which I didn’t realize, so the guys enjoyed gin-tasting while the gals had tea. I’m not a huge fan of gin. It’s so…soapy. This is unfortunate because gin is a burgeoning industry in Scotland. Afraid I’m just sticking to whisky.
We headed to our rooms to start the packing process again while we waited for dinner. I, however, apparently face-planted on the bed and took a nap while Jason got some work done. Apparently playing tour guide is exhausting. I’m pretty sure I ordered the same thing for dinner the second night, not because there was a lack of options, but because it was that good! Mmmm venison. We missed out on the swim spa again because it closed at 9:30 (tough to have dinner and a swim), so we definitely need to plan better the next time.
Next week were headed to Speyside! Stay tuned!
You can read about our time in Edinburgh, Scotland here, and our time in Oban, Scotland here.
