Day One: Skye
We spent the day exploring the Isle of Skye, taking the bridge across from Kyle of Lochalsh and driving down toward the village of Old. The views north across a sound to the m0untains of Skye–the Black Cuillin to the left and the Red Cuillin to the right–are spectacular.
Sue had earned quite a bit of garden visit credit over all those miles on the West Highland Way, and she cashed a few in at the Armadale Castle Gardens. The castle itself was built in 1815 as the clan seat of the Mac Donalds, who once ruled all of Skye. The gardens, right on the sea, are lovely.
After a bite of lunch in Portree, the largest–and touristiest–town on the island, we circumnavigated the rest of the island.
The view of the Cuillins coming down from the north gives a better sense of the black versus red.
Day Two: The Torridon Hills, Loch Maree, and Inverpool
The second post-walk day saw us driving north through some of the more remote parts of the Western Highlands.
The drive along Loch Shieldaig and Upper Loch Torridon reveals what is surely some of the most beautiful country in Scotland. And even from the road, the walking in the Torridon Hills looks awfully inviting.
The road then hugs the western shore of Loch Marr as it runs north to Poolewe. Just around the corner is the famous garden at Inverewe. This is perhaps the most surprising garden we have ever visited: here, far in the north, one finds palm trees and a whole range of tropical plants. Osgood Mackenzie, the stepson of the laird of Gairloch, inherited a 12,000 acre estate and set out to take advantage of the Gulf Stream, which brings warm currents all the way from Mexico. With the help of many shiploads of rich soil from Ireland and the planting of a thick brake of pine, rowan, oak, beech, and birch trees to protect the gardens from the salt breeze, the gardens soon grew to take over the entire peninsula. They merit a visit of several days, but we had only the afternoon.
