Scotland Archives - asthejoeflies

Sep 07 2016

Surveying Scotland: Day trips from Inverness – Loch Ness, Highland Wildlife Park, and The Macallan

After four amazing days in Skye, we made our way to the picturesque river town of Inverness. We rented two apartments with lovely views on the banks of the river to use as our base of operations for the next five days. Here are some of the things we did and saw during our time there.

Loch Ness

Obviously, the big attraction in the area is Loch Ness. While not the most beautiful loch in Scotland (according to the guidebooks), it nevertheless remains the most famous due to a mythical creature that purportedly inhabits its waters.

The funny thing is it doesn’t seem like anyone takes the idea of a Loch Ness monster seriously anymore, especially the people who run the tourism industry there. Instead, it feels like more of a wink wink situation: “Decide for yourself whether you believe the myth!”

Yet people keep visiting the area, the combination of natural and beauty and the faux legend seem to be enough. M’s grandmother had given her a stuffed Nessie the year before so we prepped her for the possibility of seeing the real Nessie. This could only end in disappointment and probably wasn’t wise (a new stuffed animal, “Jessie” aka Nessie’s cousin assuaged her disappointment).

Jacobite Cruises

A cruise company called Jacobite Cruises runs a variety of loch cruises throughout the day. They vary in length and some are coupled with bus tours to other local attractions; we opted for the 1h 45m cruise.

The cruise came complete with radar to search out Nessie; though it could have just been a video running on loop for all I know! Still, I really enjoyed the cruise – it was nice to be on the water and it was a beautiful day on the loch. If you’re a water person you won’t be disappointed. The narrated guide was fine (I’m not really into that thing so I’m not a great judge).

Apparently it can get super foggy on the loch which provides for some pretty dramatic views. Or terrible views, depending on your opinion of such things, so be aware.

The Oakwood Restaurant by the Dochgarroch Loch boat launch is well worth checking out. The food was excellent (more cuillen skink) and there were some very nice touches. For example, our vegetables were served over a candle to keep them warm. It had a very authentic feel to it; I’m not sure if it is family run but it felt like one of those kinds of places.

The service was a little bit slow for our family which was a bit frustrating with the kids (my parents were done eating half an hour before us). The owner took a bunch of things off our bill without us even complaining, though, which was unnecessary but thoughtful of him.

Loch Ness Experience

We also swung by the Loch Ness Experience. We probably should have read more about it before we went. We thought it was a museum about the Loch Ness monster, which I guess is true in a sense, but it’s not great for young kids.

It’s essentially six different rooms going through the history of the Loch Ness monster and analyzing the legend. Each room has a short video but there is very little to interact with. I had to bail with a cranky H in room 2 but Jess said I didn’t miss much.

There are some cool touches like a giant replica boat but when the gift shop is probably going to be the most interesting thing to a three year old. If you’re an adult wanting to know more about the history behind the area, however, it might be worth it.

Highland Wildlife Park

The Cairngorms, a national park, lie about one hour southeast of Inverness. They contain lots of sporty things to do (including skiing in the winter), but we made our way over there to see the Highland Wildlife Park.

Inverness

I loved the concept of the Highland Wildlife Park, it combines a drive through safari with a more traditional zoo. They also have polar bears! You could easily spend an entire day there. The zoo area does require a good amount of walking so it’s probably best to bring a stroller.

There are various feedings throughout the day, we caught both the monkey and the polar bear feedings. Great for the kids! You can drive through the wildlife safari as many times as you’d like, we only went through once because we had to be somewhere but there are some cool animals to see.

I actually didn’t have very high hopes for this park because it wasn’t in any of the guidebooks and I hadn’t seen much about it anywhere. But I’m glad I found this place online and it serves as proof that you can find enjoyable things without the aid of tour books!

The Macallan

When Jess suggested we go to Scotland I immediately started scheming to get us to The Macallan. Step 1: Invite parents on trip. Step 2: Convince parents to drive kids home from wildlife park. Step 3: Make tour reservation. Step 4: Profit.

Inverness

It was about an hour drive to The Macallan from Highland Wildlife Park and another hour and a half back to Inverness afterwards but the tour was well worth it. You aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the stills and such but they are fascinating, especially if you’re into science. It was also fun to appreciate the differences between Macallan and Talisker.

We didn’t really learn anything you couldn’t learn from the internet but I didn’t care. I enjoy seeing people take pride in their work and product and the people who work there obviously do. It was “quiet season”, the one month they aren’t producing, so we even got a discount on the tour.

The tour ends with a free tasting, pictured below. It was two 12 years, an 18 year, some special branded whiskey, and “new make spirit”. Lovely.

If we had been traveling without kids we probably would have spent two days wandering around all the various distilleries. I would have loved to try some random whiskeys I had never heard of. Next time.

Final Thoughts

While the scenery may not have rivaled that of Skye, Inverness served as a great home base to explore the Northern Highlands of Scotland. We continued touring at our relaxed pace (only one or two things per day) and really enjoyed our time there. We also managed to be in Inverness during the Highland Games, which was a great experience – next time.

Surveying Scotland: What to do on the Isle of Skye (Part 2)

We spent four nights in Skye, but I would have happily spent more. It really is the type of place where one can just enjoy taking their time and exploring. I covered the first half of our time there in my last post; here are a few other things we found worthwhile.

Random walks and hikes

There are a lot of well known hikes on the Isle of Skye. One of the most famous ones cuts from the Fairy Pools through the Black Hills and ends at the Sligachan Hotel. That looks like an amazing hike and the only reason why I regretted (for a split second) bringing my kids on the trip. It takes 4-6 hours and there is cold beer waiting for you at the end if you stop by the hotel restaurant. I plan to return someday.

Skye holds many other shorter hikes and walks, including one that we were able to take from our house. We took about an hour walk behind the house and along a hillside with picturesque views of Fiskavaig Bay. We were looking for a lighthouse but were not able to find it. There must be hundreds of similar walks all over the island – the Scots love their walks so if you love walking in nature you’ll love Skye. Here are some pictures from our little walk.

Sights on the Trotternish Peninsula

Skye’s largest peninsula is called Trotternish. It hosts the main town, Portree, and a host of other sites. There is a single lane road running around the entire peninsula with plenty to do and see along the way.

One of many views on the Trotternich Peninsula — One of many views on the Trotternish Peninsula

We started our day at the Isle of Skye Baking Company and then proceeded to drive clockwise around the peninsula. We stopped at the Museum of Life, which provides a picture of what life was like on the island back in the day. That actually proved more interesting than I expected, though it’s not must see by any means.

At some point we had to yield for sheep:

The Quiraing

To me, one of the true highlights of the Trotternish Peninsula is the Quiraing. Up on the top of the hills is an area that just looks breathtakingly carved out. There are weird cliffs, plateaus, you name it. It’s a rough drive on a steep one lane road on the way up, or you can hike it. Either way the views are fairly dramatic.

There are hours of hiking trails to be found on the Trotternish Peninsula: if you’re up for hiking, make sure the footpaths of the Quiraing are on your list.

The Old Man of Storr

One of the most famous sights on the Trotternish Peninsula is the Old Man of Storr. The best views are found by, you guessed it, hiking. Jess and I visited with H on a day when my parents took M, so we managed to hike quite a bit with H in a carrier. It was tough work but the views were worth it.

The Oyster Shed

There supposedly are great places to eat in Skye, but we didn’t get a chance to try many (plus we cooked a lot). We did make it to the Oyster Shed which deserves special mention. Freshly shucked oyster and some great lobster bakes. It gets crowded and closes at 5, but worth scheduling around!

Final Thoughts

Hopefully the last three posts have convinced you the Isle of Skye is worth visiting. When we were done, we still had over a week left in Scotland, and found there was still a ton the country had to offer. Stay tuned!

Surveying Scotland: What to do on the Isle of Skye (Part I)

Hopefully my picture post piqued your interest in the Isle of Skye. It truly served as the highwater mark of our trip – quite literally at times since we got the most rain there! As I mentioned on the last episode of the Saverocity Observation Deck podcast, if you need good weather to enjoy your vacation, you might need to pass on the Isle of Skye (or stay for two weeks). It does rain a lot in Scotland, especially out in Skye, but it’s not like 24/7 rain. Also, everything still looks beautiful in the rain. Still, the breaks in the rain make you marvel at the natural beauty even more.

Driving from Inverness to Skye

We took a short hop flight from LHR to Inverness that we remember very little of. That’s a good thing! As soon as we got off the plane I had the feeling we were going to really enjoy Scotland.

Being a small airport, there was a huge line at the rental car desk. We were in no rush and the kids were hungry so we took lunch (fish and chips!). Thirty minutes later the desk was completely empty and I grabbed my car with no issue. It’s weird renting a standard sized car after years of renting the tiniest cars possible, but gotta fit all the luggage and strollers!

We had to drive three hours to get to our house in the Isle of Skye. The kids and the wife slept through a bunch of it, thankfully. The decision to make the drive during naptime paid off!

About forty minutes from our house, on the Isle of Skye, we stumbled upon the Sligachan Hotel at around 400 PM. We had done virtually no research but it looked like it had food and a playground so it was time to stretch and eat! This turned out to be the right decision as all the grocery stores closed at 5 PM and we would have starved that night if we hadn’t stopped.

It turns out that the Sligachan Hotel is conveniently situated at the end/beginning of many hikes through the Cuillin Hills – there were backpackers and hikers coming and going the whole time. Seeing all those hikers come in and out was the first time I’ve ever felt a twinge of regret that my kids were with me on a vacation. That quickly passed, but man, who ever would have thought I’d miss hiking the most?

After dinner we made our way on a bunch of one way roads and managed to find our house without getting lost more than once!

Lodging on the Isle of Skye

Now admittedly, there are thousands of blogs out there, but I don’t recall anyone ever writing about the Isle of Skye. My guess is one reason for that is that until someone makes an Airbnb credit card, there is no way to stay here on miles and points (though cashback, of course, works!).

It’s of course tough to figure out lodging when all you have is Airbnb and Trip Advisor (we ended up going with the latter). Making things more complicated, the Isle of Skye is composed of a bunch of “fingers” – peninsulas carved out by glaciers long ago. If you’re on one finger it’s 45-60 minutes to the next, so it’s tough to find some place central. Broadford is a town with some housing, but that isn’t too far into the island so you’re looking at a long drive every day. Portree is the biggest town but it is pretty far inside the island so you might be backtracking to see sites.

My advice? It doesn’t matter much. We drove through almost all of the fingers and they were all beautiful. Also, you’re going to be driving a lot wherever you stay – just enjoy the scenic drives.

We stayed near Carbost and the Talisker Distillery. Every other day on the way home we would stop to pick up eggs from a box on the side of the road (the first time we did it I literally slammed on the brakes to turn in). Our house was four bedrooms, which we spread out in nicely. When my parents joined us later on in the week they got their own room and we still had a room to spare.

I’d happily recommend our house, called Arnaval and run by Isle of Skye Holiday Cottages. Dorothy was great and very responsive, though it takes a long time to respond to texts due to bad reception. We were able to do a nice hike right from our front door which I’ll cover in the next post. Just a beautiful, quaint place to live.

Oh, and it was 160 pounds per night for the four rooms, and you can fit up to 8 people in there. Pretty fair price if you ask me!

Visiting Portree

Our first full day in Skye we went to Portree to pick up supplies. It was raining but we still managed to eat some good fish and chips at this place called “The Chippy.” It’s fried right? So it must be good.

Due to the weather we didn’t venture out too much, which was unfortunate. But there’s lots of great stuff to do in Portree. On subsequent days we discovered a nice bakery called the Isle of Skye Baking Company. Jess also managed to find a nice secluded walk down to the harbor.

Really, though, Portree just served as a supply station for us – we loaded up on groceries and would swing through to grab picnic lunches, but other than that, we wanted to explore nature.

The Fairy Pools

One of the biggest attractions in Skye are the Fairy Pools. People go swimming in these pools although they are absolutely freezing. They are filled with beautiful, clear water cascading down rocks. You can hike all the way from the Fairy Pools to Sligachan in half a day – we will return to do that some day.

Unfortunately, the first day we went the river was flooded and we couldn’t get far past the parking lot. I don’t think M would have gotten very far anyway but she pushed us to try. Of course, she did all the walking downhill and I did all the carrying of her back uphill, but oh well. H slept in the car the whole time. 🙂

Luckily, Jess and I made it back to the Fairy Pools on our last night (after my parents had arrived). We did about an hour hike, although a lot of the time was just spent soaking in the view and taking pictures. The Fairy Pools are definitely worth it but they get crowded (all relative in Skye but parking is at a premium). Go early or go late! The sun doesn’t set until 1030 PM anyway.

Talisker Distillery

On their first day on Skye, my parents graciously agreed to watch the kids for an hour. That meant whiskey! Although Talisker isn’t the most famous Scotch, it’s still a solid single malt and the only distillery on Skye. We weren’t sure if we’d get a chance to visit any other distilleries so we jumped at the opportunity.

The didn’t let us take pictures for fire safety reasons (the Scots are super serious about fire safety as far as I can tell), but it was fun to spend an hour to ourselves.

The worst thing about Skye: midges

Apparently, midges are little flying insects that are super annoying. As long as there is a light breeze you won’t see any, but if the air is still they come out in droves. We didn’t see any, probably due to our not so great weather, but people should know that going in.

Final Thoughts

This post covered about half the things we did in Skye and the next post will cover the rest. We booked four nights and were worried that might have been too long, but honestly we could have spent our entire 2 weeks in the UK there and been happy. You will be hearing about this ad nauseum for one more post!

Surveying Scotland: The Isle of Skye – 11 Photos that will hopefully make you want to visit

I mostly chose the title of this trip report “Surveying Scotland” due to the alliteration. Surveying turned out to be the right verb, though. I once read in Rick Steve’s that you don’t really start appreciating a city until your second or third visit, which is something I have come to live by. That’s why we easily took our kids around London despite some things going south, it’s why I love visiting Madrid, and it’s why I’d love to go back to the Bavarian Alps.

Traveling with kids obviously slowed us down a bit, so it really felt like we only got a taste of Scotland had to offer. A decent taste, but not as much as we might have liked. Wish we had hiked more, sat more, ate more, taken tea more. But it was a great place to bring the kids.

We made the decision early on to make our way to the Isle of Skye – that involved an hour flight from London followed by a three hour car ride. What we didn’t realize at the time was a lot of that car ride was going to be on single lane roads, and adventure in and of itself. Still, we had read that the landscape on the Isle of Skye was beautiful, perhaps reminiscent of the Dingle Peninsula, and so we made the commitment to stay four nights out there.

We didn’t regret it in the least.

Here are some pictures to give you a taste of our experience there. Though I plan on expanding on what we did there, I know some people don’t like wading through long trip reports, so hopefully these photos will inspire some of you to get out to the Isle of Skye. It’s well worth it! No miles, no points, just amazing scenery and great people.