Living a Dream

Road sign
see all photos »

Left Portree at a reasonable hour and travelled over the Skye Bridge through Kyle and on to Eilean Donan Castle.

Now, to help you understand my extaticness (tremendous excitement), this castle is the castle which I saw many many years ago in a picture, and thought to myself then, "One day, I will go there and I will see that castle."

The castle really is so awesome, the best of them all - which I secretly already knew.

Fishing boat docked at the pier
see all photos »

I like to call today *does show biz accent* Living a Dream.

It was a nice sunny day (like them all, bar one) though a bit of haze had been creeping in over the past few days, therefore extremely bright for those stupid enough to not pack sunglasses.

The castle really is so awesome, the best of them all - which I secretly already knew. You only have to see a picture of it, in all its seclusion in the mountains and lochs during the day, or spectacular lighting effects by night to know that. And that's not hard, considering it is about the most photographed castle in Scotland, by the tourist and by film makers. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it the the nearby town of Dornie, due to the bus timetable again (sigh).

Sunset with Skye bridge and Cullins
see all photos »

Sadly you cant take pictures of the inside, and an unforgettable one it was. I remember it very well though, six months later even. The inside really is overly nice. The main room, hall and dining area, still have the stone walls and rounded roof. Its refreshing to see that, unlike the many castle which have plaster boarded everything, this one hasn't kept suit.

You can expect massive, lavish furnishings like dark wood, huge tables, chandeliers, plush rugs, polished silver and massive paintings of the clan family (McRae) hanging on the walls in the dining room. They have even got built in peep-holes in the stair case to spy on guests whom they did not trust. You can do the same!

Today, the servants quarters have been converted for the family to stay in, and are, of course off limits to people like you and me.

Probably like most tourist attractions, if you come early, you miss the arrival of the tour buses. Two of them got here in the early afternoon.

Returned to Kyle on bus that arvo. Despite Kyle of Lochalsh being Kyle of Lochalsh, I still thought it was a bit of a hole. Maybe coz it was a Sunday that it was deserted. It does get a nice sunset there however, of the Skye bridge and Cullins. This is when your camera pays for itself. Then the temperature gets cold.

Who knows what there is to do other than watch sunsets and eat here. I only wanted to stay here to make the 7.30 train the next morning - didnt want to take one of the nicest train journeys in Scotland (and probly beyond) in the dark!