That one day when I thought Lee just might kill me if we took one more single-track road

It's not the driving on the left which presents a challenge in Scotland. It's really the single-track roads with hairpin turns, blind summits, random herds of sheep, and Russian roulette-esq practice of dodging locals who have a laissez-faire relationship with keeping to their "side" of the road. Had a couple of close calls and a few exclamatory moments from Lee, but we survived with nary a scratch to the car.  

It's all worth it for views like these!

We found an adorable six-car turn-table ferry to take us "over the sea to Skye." This is the road sign on the approach to the ferry...

Two working dogs accompanied the ferry runners. Love them!

That one time we went to a remote corner of Scotland and met a couple from Indianapolis!

Kylerhea Ferry

I'm on top of the world!

The Monon Trail is wider than some of the roads I drove on. Yikes!

Castle Moil ruins in Kylerhea across from Kyle of Lochalsh.

Sheep!

So. We drove to Applecross and were not impressed. The best part was the drive, honestly. Not entirely worth it as a destination.

Have you ever felt fear emanate from someone? I have when we pondered this sign and decided to take the long way round.

This concludes our time in the Highlands. :( Next up - highlights of our cottage and the journey to Edinburgh!!

Glencoe and General Loveliness

Once again, the day started rainy and dreary, but I had high hopes that it would clear and we'd have a lovely day.

Construction traffic is everywhere! Look closely - see the dog peeking out the hatchback's window? :)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Glencoe! 

It was a cold and rainy day at Glencoe. Very disappointing, but still beautiful.

Hopeful ray of sunshine...

We stopped at the Glencoe Visitor's Center on the way back and OF COURSE the skies cleared and a rainbow popped out!

View at the Commandos Memorial was stunning. The Memorial itself is very moving and a worthwhile detour.

Rainbows, Talisker Distillery, Skye Weavers, & Eilean Donan Castle

Big day! Headed back to Skye and had a marvelous time exploring and meeting interesting people. Rainy and misty weather turned into a gorgeous day as we went along.

Practically gave ourselves whiplash when this beauty popped into view. "Quick! Pull over!!"

If your screen is big enough and you look closely, you can see the rain drops.

The only distillery on Skye, Talisker Distillery is known for their smoky whiskies.  We didn't take the tour, but did sample their Storm and Port Ruighe whiskies. The Storm has a VERY heavy peat flavor which lingers for a long time afterward.  Aged in port casks, the Port Ruighe was less smoky and a bit sweeter, but still unmistakably from Skye.

Water-proof was key this day. 

But then the sky cleared and we had beautiful weather!  This is a peat bog in the lower right corner of the picture. Loved that we stumbled upon it!

The entire time we were out on the road, we searched for interesting places to visit which were off the beaten path. We found one called Skye Weavers, "Powered by Pedal." Well, how could we not stop?!?  We made a sharp left turn onto a country lane and followed the signs leading us downhill past some uninterested cows.  We even had to open/close a gate! We eventually arrived at a parking spot and continued on foot, and enjoyed the view on the walk. We arrived at a series of sheds and surprised our new friend, Andrea, out of her reverie. See - she literally powers a weaving loom by pedal! And she let us have a go!!

That's me, making some plaid! After chatting for a while, we raided her shop and may have made a few purchases....  It's fantastic knowing how the cloth is produced and meeting the actual person who made it. All the wool is locally sourced and is dyed naturally. Not so naturally as depicted in Outlander, though. :). You can check out their website at www.skyeweavers.co.uk. 

Next destination was Neist Point. Another incredible view.

It seemed this sheep wanted to lead us to the point!

There are people all the way up at the top!!

I had to try to hike up there; this is on the ascent.

Made it!!  What a thrill! Too bad I'm not in focus - ah, well.

View from the top. Could the water be any bluer?!

Neist Point Lighthouse

After hiking/sliding down the big hill, had to walk back up the path to the car. Feel the burn!!

Sometimes, Garmin would just give up. 

We actually started the day at Eilean Donan Castle, in the rain. Still an impressive sight!

Big, fat raindrops with the sun shining. Typical.

Double rainbow!

How special - a surprise proposal! She said yes. :)

Archaeological dig to uncover a theoretical curtain wall that may have surrounded the entire island.

One last parting shot.