Hey guys, this is our first adventure in Europe after settling down for our studies in London, England. Had an impromptu decision on going to visit the Isle of Skye for four days to see the magic fairy pool and trek its mountains. Coincidentally, it was Kristen’s birthday, too and we had the best roast beef ever after the long and crazy walk around the city.
Day 1: Arrived in Inverness, Scotland finally! We were so excited since it’s our first time travelling outside of England. We took the plane and had the whole row to ourselves, so we were happy with the leg room. Landed at night – culture shock no. 1: no Uber at all, but fortunately there were taxis (but so damn expensive, better than walking though in pure darkness). Arrived safely to the hotel and took a good rest before going on our adventure tomorrow morning. Nothing much really going on on the first day since we arrived late.
Day 2: Woohoo! Rise and shine, early morning and had a good, hearty breakfast (but no Scottish breakfast unfortunately!). Checked out and went to the city centre to ask around for the train time to go to Portree (the tours to Isle of Skye were ALL fully booked, so we had to do a manual trip to Portree to start our Isle of Skye adventure there). This was the first in a series of blunders that we encountered in the country, so we will be giving you tips on the way to avoid history. ^.^
Tip 1: Always ask specific questions, we found out that NOTHING operates on the weekends in Inverness. But we asked the train conductor what time the train leaves for Portree on a Monday (fortunately we were there on a Monday). Apparently, there are ONLY TWO TIMINGS each day for bus or train to go there. Applies to most cities or towns within Scotland. Since we didn’t know and since we didn’t ask when was the last train or how frequent it was, we missed the first one and had to wait for six hours for the next one. Only when we went to the tourist information centre did we find out. Yay us.
Walked around the whole city because public transport is practically non-existent.
Tip 2: Do not drive a car around unless you have to or know your way around. The minimum age to rent a car is 25 and of course, they won’t tell you explicitly before your travels and probably they won’t tell you how crazy the locals drive even if you’re able to rent a car.
Recommended by the centre, we went in search of a park, but nothing, it was a patch of grass. What on earth, seriously…. BUT we had fun because it was autumn and the lakes, air and scenery made up for everything. Check out our pics! Awesome views, right?? After our exhausting walk, we went past a guest house/hotel and had the best meal roast with gravy, roast potatoes and a cake, ON KRISTEN’S BIRTHDAY, TOO! It was a good birthday meal…
Finally went got to Portree, nice, friendly people and the bus drivers drop at your acommodation! Took us 3 hours to get there, and the driving was crazy. I recommend you wearing seatbelts and you can’t bring food onto the bus. Checked into our acommodation and got a good rest at the Duirinish Guest House (since we couldn’t book a hostel). Very nice acommodation, very patient BUT……
Tip 3: Always, always check if they have a 24 hour reception. Almost all guesthouses in Europe do not have that reception and last check in time is usually around 6pm. But they’re a bit flexible on the hour or so (we checked in at 7pm).
Day 3: Rise and shine, people. It’s our day on going to Isle of Skye, yay!! We had a good breakfast from the owner and our guest house was only a 5 minute walk to the city square, where our tour guide will pick us up! Unfortunately, it was raining…. like the sky was crying over the bad deeds of humanity. Anyway, to put it bluntly, the weather was shit.
Tip 4: Check the weather forecast before going before going to Isle of Skye, because the fairy pools is the one of the attractions most worth going to.
We got Angela’s Tour Guide and she was so friendly and chatty. Our tour consisted of the two of us and two Australian girls who were extreme lovers of nature and sports. First stop: Isle of Skye, Fairy Glenn Pools. Holy shit, the rain was getting heavier.
Tip 5: Wear hiking shoes, not sports, or wear shoes that protect your soles and make sure they have strong grips on the bottom. Since I didn’t plan on going on something like this, I wore sports shoes and it was the biggest mistake of my life. The things about Scotland, most of the towns are very underdeveloped, to maintain their scenery and landscapes. So, to cross across the landscape or as I would like to describe, basically a mountain, we had to jump over rocks, rivers and trek up to see the a part of the whole place. Took off my shoes in the end cause my shoes were too slippery and since it was wet and muddy, everything was drenched in mud and water, from top to bottom.
Views were so awesome, but a bit dangerous to go out during such bad weather. The currents got higher and stronger and unfortunately, I had an accident on falling into the river. To make sure I didn’t get carried away, I used my knee to grip myself onto a rock. Thank god my pants were thick enough to prevent a cut, but I got a very swollen knee.
Tip 6: Bring extra clothes, and make sure you’re warm or have waterproof clothes.
After that mishap and cleaning up ourselves in a nearby pub, we made our way across Isle of Skye. Next stop, Trotternish, home to the iconic Old Man of Storr, the bizarre Quiraing and quirky Kilt Rock!! There, we saw the Jurassic Park footprints (well, it’s disputed but still, kinda cool if you’re into sci-fi). Nothing too special there, but again, the view was AMAZING with a great flowing waterfall! Next we drove past Dunvegan and saw lots of black sheep (wild ones, don’t touch!) – this is ’cause we spent too much time trekking the Fairy Glenn. Then we went to the town of Uig, where we explored the vast hills, rocks, muddy trails and mountains! Spent quite some there, Kristen trekked up onto one of the hills, but I didn’t ’cause my knee was injured and it was swelling pretty badly. So I just walked around and onto straight trails, still worth it though ’cause we were in the middle of nowhere and it really did feel like as if we were going into the wild!
After our trips here and there (we even went to the oldest bakery in Scotland! Not too bad, but the food was as usual, fast food) and we went back to Portree to begin our journey back to Inverness to catch our morning flight tomorrow… It was a great tour and Angel was a great guide, if you’re interested in the history of Scottish history, make sure to book her for your trip (http://www.love-skye.com/shop/skye-day-tour/). The tour is very flexible and she took us to as many attractions as possible with her crazy driving.
Tip 7: The last bus for to go to another city in Scotland usually is around 5pm – if you miss the last one, then you’re doomed and stranded in that place. Or you can take a taxi for 100 pounds to go back… Also, we found the airport isn’t 24 hours (because our flight is at around 7am in the morning, we thought we should camp at the airport), but it closes at 10. Thank god, there were budget hotels available and we stayed for the night (not cheap, but no choice).
Finally, our trip has ended!!! Flying back to London, make sure to check in online before going to the airport (flew EasyJet), and they are very inflexible in baggage. Do not bring more than one onboard.
Exhausted, but happy! Cleansed our minds and souls from studying too much and the depressing weather in London. Great trip overall, but our shoes and clothing needed immediate attention after we went back to London.
Hope you guys enjoyed, until next time!
Wanderers Travels 