Tee the Trav

Before the Isle of Skye bridge opened in 2004, the only way to get to Skye was by ferry. There are dozens of Scottish isles that are still only accessible by ferry. Skye is one of the biggest and most popular isles and has become quite a tourist attraction. That is not to say it is touristy. It simply means that it get more visitors than it used to and it may be difficult to find a place to stay and you may have to wait to get into a restaurant in the major town of Portree.

Here are some photos of the Bridge to Skye and views from Loch Alsh before crossing over to the Isle of Skye. In the first two photos, the bridge is in the background, to the right.

The Isle of Skye is rugged and you need a vehicle to explore its many natural sights. One popular landmark on Skye is the Bridal Veil waterfall, with views across to the Old Man of Storr overlooking Loch Leathan. A country of folktales, myths, and legends to explain the inexplicable, there are multiple stories about the Storr rock formation. Here's one: A man who walked up the hill every evening with his wife told stories every evening to entertain her. Faeries hid and listened to his stories. One day, the couple realized that they had grown too old and could no longer climb to the top. The faerie folk who had listened to the stories every evening, offered the old man the chance to always have his wife with him forever. The old man accepted the offer but the faeries tricked them and turned them both into pillars of rock, ensuring that they would indeed always be together on the hill.



Even today when people no longer believe in fairies these tales still have the power to enchant, fascinate, and explain natural phenomena. Photogenic Scotland is the setting for many movies and the Storr appeared in Snow White and the Huntsman.

The Scottish Highlands abound with land and sea wildlife. The mountains, lochs, and sea are home to enormous sea eagles, puffins, seals, dolphins, orcas and salmon. They were hiding when I was there. I did see a couple of stags, way more sheep and lambs than people, and Highland coos-otherwise known as cows.

We passed through the remote and pretty Applecross Peninsula on the way to the Isle of Skye. Depending on the weather, the clouds, and the fog. you will see views from the Bealach na Ba road that are worth the trip. At best, you will see the mountaintops touching the sky at the same time you'll see down to the bay. The road is narrow and gives new meaning to breathtaking, but it is well worth the drive to get to the 2000 feet above sea level heights.

After the trip, the perfect place for a well-earned lunch is the Applecross Walled Garden where I had the blackboard special, a lamb casserole with perfectly cooked vegetables grown on the site. I had a bit of a guilt attack about eating lamb after seeing hundreds of grazing sheep along the way, but the fact is that raising and selling sheep is a large part of the Scottish economy and many of the crofters rely on the income from selling their product. As any farmer will tell you, they're not pets. Enough said.

The cattle are not raised for beef, but are mostly kept for the local crofters' personal milk and dairy products. The Highland Coos, which look like characters Maurice Sendak might have imagined, are native to Scotland. They are enchanting, especially when you encounter them grazing on the side of the road on the Applecross Peninsula and they pose with you.

Ullapool is a picturesque small fishing village on Loch Broom that is a good base for day trips to places such as Ardvreck. There is a pretty port, some good restaurants and a handful of places to stay that book very quickly, so plan in advance if you go. There is also a campsite where you can pitch a tent or park your camper. There are quite a few restaurants, but they fill up quickly. A local specialty is mussels which is served in a creamy broth with fresh bread for dunking.

There are many castles in Scotland. Some are in ruins, some are still lived in. They are often featured in movies such as Highlander and TV shows such as Game of Thrones. All of them belonged to to one clan or another and have long, documented histories. The Ardvreck Castle, a ruin of a three-story tower overlooking Loch Assynt, belonged to the McCleod Clan. During the late 1600s the castle was taken by the Mackenzies, and was replaced by the newer Calda House, a short walk south of the castle. Calda House was attacked and burned by the MacRaes in 1760. The property passed back to the Mackenzies...you get the idea. Clans in Scotland were constantly battling each other for power and land. Happily, some castles survived. Even the ones that didn't are worth a visit because their settings are so inspiring. The Ardvreck Castle is said to be haunted by the weeping ghost of one of the daughters of a MacLeod chief who threw herself out of one of the windows. Although the Scots I met all have a great sense of humor, there are no happy endings in Scottish tales.

I live three miles from the Asbury Park beach. A run-down shell of itself for decades, Asbury was recently named second best beach in the US by Money magazine. Wow. Trust me. It's not. But it has been re-invented by hipsters and a New York crowd. There are new restaurants at every price point, three hotels, multiple new businesses, and expensive condos. Some old favorites remain: the boardwalk, Convention Hall, Madame Marie's, and even the Stone Pony where Bruce still makes an occasional unannounced appearance. But commercialism and overdevelopment have ruined this unique, small beach town. But that's a different post.

On the other side of the Atlantic lies the remote and lovely Achmelvich Beach. Bordered by white sand, tall grasses, craggy rocks, and steep cliffs, the water is a blue-green that looks more like the Caribbean than a bay off the Atlantic. Near the town of Lochinvar on the northwest coast, the pristine beach is a well-known and popular spot with camping and caravan sites. Even the car park is a bit of a hike from the beach area, so the beach itself is protected. I for one hope it stays that way.

Many of us have heard that there are multiple words in Eskimo for snow. I am amazed there aren't an equal number of words for rain in Scotland. Maybe they're in Gaelic. Anyone know? In the US, we have a saying that April showers bring May flowers. In Scotland they say, if it wasn't for rain there would be no whiskey. Personally, I think there is a need for so much whiskey because there is so much rain.

On yet another windy and rainy day in Scotland, I found myself standing in the middle of a very shaky suspension bridge, high over the River Droma looking at a breath-taking waterfall and trying not to think about how high up I was. I hiked through the woods to get to this point and I was not going to leave without pictures to prove that I had overcome my fear of heights and bridges to have this experience. Except when I looked through my viewfinder, all I could see was blur! Something was wrong with my camera lens. Stubbornly determined to get my shot, I stood on the swaying bridge, with nothing to hold onto and changed my camera lens. And still saw blur. I fished around in my pocket until I found my phone and finally got the shots.

Long after I was back on solid ground and my knees had stopped wobbling, I pulled apart my camera to try to figure out what was wrong. DUH! It was so rainy and wet that my camera lenses had simply fogged up. I was so rattled by being so high up in the air on a swaying footbridge, a steamed up lens had never occurred to me. Here are my pictures. The first two are my foggy camera pics. You can see why I panicked!