Skye

The Isle of Skye is part of the Inner Hebrides islands on the western coast of Scotland. Our children gave us a wonderful gift of a tour and we were quite excited to visit Skye on a long weekend.

Land of gorgeous waterfalls and beautiful faerie pools, Skye is steeped in history and Gaelic culture.

Home to Clan MacLeod and Clan MacDonald these bitter rivals had many battles over the land.

It is easy to see why this island was voted the 4th best in the world by National Geographic Magazine!

Along the way we stopped in a restored village.

These crofts were small and drafty, but, despite the pouring rain, the thatched roofs did a great job keeping everything inside dry!

This was one of the rainiest, windiest, weekends of the summer. Fortunately we had had the
proper clothing. We donned our all weathers and carried on!

Most of us learned the song, "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" when we were in elementary school. Of course, we never quite knew who "Bonnie" was, but the catchy tune and repetitive nature of the lyrics were loads of fun. It is thought that this song might have ties to Skye, although the song was written many years after the actual event. Over the centuries there have been many who made claim to the throne of England, both legitimate contenders and a fair amount of pretenders. Battles were fought and the throne, along with the allegiance of the people, changed frequently. One who had a claim was Prince Charles Edward Stuart, or "Bonnie Prince Charlie" as he is more readily known. Grandson of the exiled King James II of England, in 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie instigated the notorious Jacobite uprising in a bid to put his family back on the throne of England (which also included Scotland and Ireland). Defeated, and on the run, Miss Flora MacDonald helped the young pretender escape through the Isle of Skye. So the next time you hear, "My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea....." think of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his escape through the magical Isle of Skye.

Our tour left from Edinburgh and made several stops both on the way to Skye and on the way back to Edinburgh.

One of many castles along our route.

Scotland is a large producer of whiskey, and whilst one of us can barely stand the smell, the other quite enjoys a single malt now and again. One of our last stops was at the Dalwhinnie Distillery.

As we turned into the distillery we noticed that the road up ahead was obstructed.

Time to move the sheep!

Scott gets the low down on the various kinds of Scotch.

What would a trip to Scotland be without seeing some of these guys!

Well, we definitely enjoyed our trip to Skye! I would love to go back, in better weather, to find those faerie pools and do a little rambling in the gorgeous hills.