With Presley out of school for the summer, we talked about taking a girl’s trip and after checking Skyscanner and finding cheap tickets to Scotland, I thought it would be fun to show her the place I’ve fallen so in love with. At this age, Presley is such a great traveler, and so much fun to explore with. She’s got opinions, interests, and such a creative mind that she’s an absolute blast to be around on trips. Traveling during a pandemic gives us a few extra obstacles to overcome, but it’s worth it. In order to visit Scotland, I had to be fully vaccinated, take an antigen test the day before the flight, pre-book a 2-day flight to be delivered to our hotel in Scotland, and fill out a Passenger Locator Form. Children under 11 were exempt as long as traveling with a fully vaccinated, rule-following parent – so we were good to go!
As soon as we landed, we picked up our rental car for the week and then started making our way towards the Isle of Skye where we would be spending a week of our time. After driving for a few hours, we checked into the Heidl Guest House for a night (found on Hotels.com). The service was incredible, breakfast in the morning was incredible and I absolutely loved the small, family vibe of the place.
In the morning we headed straight to the Glenfinnan Viaduct to watch the Jacobite train pass by. Since I went with my best friend Sam in September 2020, it was a quick stop because I was able to time our arrival perfectly. We hiked up a bit to get a different vantage point than my first trip, which I’m glad we did, although, honestly any spot is perfect. Hearing the train before you can actually see it is such a rush. I hope one day I get to actually ride on the train.
After watching the train pass by, it started to sprinkle and we played in the stream a bit despite onlookers shaking their heads at us. After we started getting pretty cold and wet, we got in the warm car and headed towards Skye with a stop at Eileen Donan castle. This was another stop I saw with Sam on my previous trip, but since it was later in the day the gates were open and we could fly the drone! In my previous trip, Eileen Donan was just a stopover, and we chose not to pay the fee to walk across the bridge to get to the castle – so that it was free to just walk around this trip was awesome. The snack stand was open, so we got some delicious warm food that was perfect after our long day.
Then we finished the drive to our Bed & Breakfast on the Isle of Skye. En route, we saw our first Coo’s. Literally, this B&B was probably our favorite place we’ve ever stayed. We STILL talk about Liz and Nigel and our experiences all the time. The Strathearn B&B had a few rooms (we were the only guests due to Covid Regulations at the time), included the most delicious breakfast, and Presley was even able to feed the ducks, chickens, and pigs. She absolutely loved it and Liz & Nigel were so kind to both of us, and they welcomed us with open arms.
The next morning, we got straight to exploring! (We made it to a lot today!) First up on the agenda, was visiting the abandoned ruins of Hugh Castle right on the water. We had to trek a bit to get there, but it was totally worth it. Parking was free, and it only took us about an hour and a half roundtrip to park, walk there, explore the ruins and then make our way back to the car.
After getting back to the car, we headed over to Fairy Glen. This was one of those places I was absolutely enthralled with and couldn’t wait to see in person. We paid a few dollars for parking and then went on to explore. It’s only about a 5-minute walk over to the actual circle (which has been recreated for tourists) but there are so many different places to walk around and explore. It was drizzling the entire we were there, and I was so bummed because I wanted to fly the drone, but then the rain stopped so we got it out and flew it for a few minutes before it started raining again.
Next up was a visit to Duntulm Castle, we parked for free and then walked over to the castle. Then we went down to the “beach” so Presley could throw rocks and peek in the tide-pools. It was so incredibly windy that I didn’t even attempt to fly our little drone. It wouldn’t have lasted a minute. This would be such an amazing castle to get a bit closer to, but you unfortunately can’t for safety reasons.
We started to drive back to the B&B but had to stop real quick at Kilmuir Cemetary. Flora MacDonald is buried here, and she helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape (I don’t think she is actually ever mentioned in the tv show Outlander, but after becoming recently obsessed with all things Scotland, thought this was really cool to see History in person). After the cemetery, we got home in time for Presley to help feed all the animals on the B&B property (the hens, ducks, and pigs) before we walked down to the lake (saw an otter & tried to fish) then snuggled up in bed to watch a movie and to get some rest.
Woke up to a delicious breakfast at the B&B (Liz is amazing!) and then I needed to do some homework before our adventures for the day. We drove just a few minutes down the road to meet Trevor, our guide for the morning in our search to find some Puffins! Trevor owns the company Skye Marine Limited and offers a wide array of services. He knew how much we wanted to see the Puffins and told us he had seen them 3 days ago but they were leaving, still, he turned our 1.5-hour tour, into a 3-hour tour to try to find them. We, unfortunately, didn’t see any but spotted so many other animals (you can watch us screaming at dolphins jumping around our boat on Instagram).
After grabbing a quick bite to eat, and warming up with some tea at the B&B, we headed to our afternoon adventure: Coral Beach! Parking took about an hour to navigate. While free, there aren’t enough spots, and it’s only one lane, so it ends up being just a cluster of cars trying to park, or leave, stuck in the mud, dealing with potholes. It was a lot. We finally secured a spot and started the mile hike to the beach. The beach was gorgeous, and tons of people were swimming or sun tanning (in the drizzle and cold weather?!) we explored for a bit, and then made the trek back to the car. We opted to skip touring the interior of Dunbrobin Castle (next trip) and headed back to the B&B where we had the most incredible meal cooked by our host Liz, and Presley admitted that Liz cooks better than me (Duh!).
The next day was a big exploring day for us, and left us completely wiped! First up, was to hike the Old man of Storr, this hike is a 3.8km roundtrip and took us a few hours to do. We got so lucky and it was a beautiful day with clear weather and views for miles.
Then we made a quick stop at Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, a young man was playing the bagpipes and I could have sat in that spot for hours listening to him play. It was so beautiful! Then we drove over to the Quaraing which is about a 4-mile circular hike – we did about 1/2 mile before we decided we were too wiped and turned around. We ended up grabbing hot dogs and soup for dinner and then Presley played in a little stream before we headed home to rest up.
Another day of adventures ahead (although, we are actually house hunting because we have to move here!) Presley woke up early to help ‘on the farm’ and walked around chatting with Nigel while they took care of the hens, ducks, and pigs. She is convinced we should own our own farm-style B&B as Liz & Nigel do. Our first adventure for the day was an Airbnb experience with Yasmin at her croft (which was also the location for our previous boat tour – Trevor and Yasmin are a couple and some of the coolest people!).
Our afternoon adventure was to visit The Fairy Pools which were beautiful and so cold! There is a car park, again, not enough parking and an absolute crap show….again, a one-lane road and people trying to come and go. There are a few little streams you have to cross over and if you are crazy enough you can even swim in the frigid cold water.
We had one more stop for the day before heading home & this one didn’t disappoint. Neist Lighthouse was literally breathtaking. I sort of wanted to stay a little bit longer to watch the sunset. This stop is easy, park, and just a little walk out to the viewpoint. There is a trail and you can walk all the way down to the lighthouse, but we opted to just sit up top for a bit before heading home.
The next day, we said goodbye to our amazing B&B Hosts Liz & Nigel, stopped to see some Coo’s, and then drove a few hours back to explore Edinburgh before our flight home the following morning.
Scotland, you’ve officially won over Presley – one more trip, and I’ll be able to convince Chad.
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