For the last day on Skye we headed on a road trip to take in more of the country and its beauty. First stop was the village of Dunvegan (we had been to see Dunvegan Castle the other day but had not explored the village) which was charming. Dunvegan Castle is one the greatest Hebridean castles and the only Highland fortress to have been continuously occupied by the same family for 800 years. Architecturally it is a building of high importance, containing the work of at least ten building periods ranging from the 1200s to the 1850s. Unfortunately the weather was not conducive to getting any Dunvegan village photos and we headed on to Duntulm Castle – again, gale force wind and rain kept us from hiking out to the castle but we did get a good view of it. Duntulm is believed to have been first fortified in the Iron Age. Later in life it was fortified by the Norse, and subsequently by their successors, the MacLeods of Skye. Then it was on to Waternish which brought us through more beautiful parts of the island on single track roads. This north-western corner of the Isle of Skye epitomises Scotland at its most rugged, beautiful & awe inspiring. We stopped at Skyeskyns Waternish Tannery and were transported back in time to witness how real sheepskins are made using time honoured methods of leather making – one of the oldest crafts known to man. The tannery is worth a visit even it does seem off the beaten path.
We continued on our circular journey back to Portree going to the Quiraing and past the Old Man of Storr. The Quiraing is by far the most gloriously beautiful place I have seen. There was barely 5 minutes of sun while at the Quiraing and it is definitely a place to revisit, hopefully in good weather. It is truly a most astonishing icon of Scotland. After 10 hours on the road it was time to head back to Portree and our comfortable flat so we could pack up and head back to Inverness the next day.
