![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqThe plan was to spend my weekends with Rosie, as she works for a living. The weekdays were to be spent on my own. One of my favourite parts from my last trip to the UK was my time on Skye. So much so that I decided to have my SCA persona be from Skye. Having a few days to kill, I found a three day bus tour of Scotland that included two nights in Skye. The whole tour was less than booking a hotel room for two days in Skye would have been (and a tour meant I could see stuff other than Portree while I was there). Naturally I booked it.
I checked out of the Dolphin hotel, and made my way to Southampton airport. The airport was so very not busy. There were a half dozen gates and maybe a dozen flights a day. The flight was nearly full, and one of the handful of seats not occupied was next to me. Score. After an uneventful one hour flight, I landed in Edinburgh and caught a bus that took me basically to the door of my hotel. Once again, I scored a decent seat - front row of the top of a double-decker bus. I checked into my hotel and proceeded to explore, especially around areas that I had not been before.
As I'd been up and down the High street last time, I didn't spend much time there. Just enough to go to the tour office and make sure that I had the right place and that they knew who I was. Given I'd almost missed my tour last time since I got the address wrong, I wanted to make doubly certain of not screwing up this time.
Then it was a walk around (but not within) Edinburgh Castle to Princes Street Garden.
I also saw a 3 Store, so I dropped in to get my phone fixed. Apparently it was talking to the wrong mobile network, which is why I couldn't use the internet. Note to self, next time go into the store and talk to a human being - don't buy your sim card out of a vending machine.
I had a supper consisting of haggis-stuffed chicken breast with drambuie sauce on turnips and mashed potatoes. I'm living the stereotype! Afterward, I went back to my very small, but very modern room to sleep - tours start early.
Bright and early I went to the Rabbie Burns pub and had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast. Then it was off to catch my tour. Every tour started at the same place, so there was about 150 people milling about waiting to get onto about a dozen buses of various sizes. We were among the last to go.
First thing we see, before we've even left the city is the Scottish space program, aka the Scott Monument:
After a bit of a drive, we made it to the Commando Memorial. The somber moment was negatively impacted by a busker who was working the area. Apparently buskers aren't allowed there (which makes sense). Our tour guide wanted to report him.
Next up, Fort Augustus on the banks of Loch Ness. Being sober (it was the afternoon), I did not see Nessie.
The last part of the Scottish mainland was Eilean Donan castle, Scotland's youngest ancient castle.
And then it was off to Skye for two nights. On the way to Portree we stopped to check out a lot of the notable bits of the island:
The Old Man of Storr.
Mealt falls in the foreground, Kilt Rock in the background.
We came into Portree and got dropped off at various venues. This was a series of small hotels in Portree's town centre, and then off to some slightly more far flung bed & breakfasts.
A quick aside, I booked this tour rather late, and I suspect I wouldn't have gotten in if I wasn't a solo traveller. However, I think that meant they scrambled a bit to find a place for me to stay the night. I was at a smallest, farthest of the B&Bs that the tour company used, and I was the first person from this tour company to use this facility. Reading between the lines, they weren't expecting to ever use it, but I forced their hand.
I was dropped off without introductions and discovered that their doorbell didn't work, which left a slight panic - was there nobody home? Should I go searching for the tour guide to intervene (I had no idea where he was staying the night)? What if there was no place for me to sleep?
I tried the doorbell a few more times, knocked a few more, then knocked really loudly. That got the owner's attention and the slight crisis ended. She ended up being a really good host, even if she had an accent so thick I could barely understand her. The room was comfortable. She tried her best to make me explode during breakfast. She even offered to do some laundry for me. If you're ever on Skye and need a place to stay, I highly recommend them.
After dropping off my bag, I made my way back down the hill to Portree center. Over this evening and the next I explored, and enjoyed the local fare.
Among the things I did was climb The Lump to Apothecary's Tower. So named because its presence above the harbour alerted passing ships that they could lay in here if they needed medical attention.
Portree is the sort of story-book town where kids still play ball in the streets, grown-ups say "hello" as they walk past, and no one locks their door. Sadly, I had checked baggage limits, otherwise I'd have taken advantage of that.
All of the restaurants in Portree appear to have the same five things on the menu. Thankfully I was only there two nights so I never ran out of things to try. Have the Cullen Skink (A smoked haddock and potato cream soup) - it's yummy. So finding traditional Skye fare is really easy. What's not easy is finding a seat. I think I tried every restaurant in town that night and I wasn't getting into any without a reservation or a one hour wait. Eventually I found one with an attached pub, put my name on the list, and relaxed for a pint.
I did have the opportunity to dine with a cute woman. I didn't take it because I had a crush on her, and if I was going to sit next to her on the bus for another two days, it would be best if she didn't think I was creepy.
Let me back up a bit. Back in Edinburgh, I get on the bus and find a nice window seat. The bus was already starting to fill up and soon the only three seats left were a pair across and down one from me, and the seat beside me. In walks KO and her parents. KO is tall and beautiful and has one of those looks that I really like. We chatted and got to know each other over the trip, since barring some horrible conflict, people tend to stick with their seats on bus tours. It just makes stashing your gear easier. So KO was stuck with yours truly for three days.
What was she like?
And the funny thing? The crush I had was paper-thin. It basically vanished as soon as the tour was over. When writing this post, I had to wrack my brain to remember her name. Anyway, nothing came of it, and we (and her parents) didn't go to dinner that first night. C'est la vie.
Later that evening, after supper and exploring, I walked back up to my B&B. This was the road I climbed. Note that it isn't always this steep - sometimes it's steeper.
Next morning we visited the ancestral homes of the two major clans who ruled Skye back in the day. The first was Dunvegan Castle, seat of clan MacLeod.
The second was Armadale Castle, former home of clan MacDonald. It's in nowhere near as good repair as Dunvegan.
I found some archery while at Armadale! Of course clan MacDonald produced archers! My persona has been confirmed to my satisfaction, solely by watching one of the park workers teaching a little girl. They offered to let me shoot too (and I was sorely tempted), but I didn't want to take away from the little girl and her mom, when I could shoot anytime back in Cowtown.
Another night in Portree, and then it was time to return. Not straight away mind you - we still had plenty more to see.
Our tour guide dropped us off at the ferry terminal and told us he'd meet us in Fort William.
Of course, the ferry only went as far as Mallaig. To get to Fort William, we'd need to take the train. And not just any train, we took the Jacobite steam train, otherwise known as the Harry Potter train. This was an optional add-on for the trip. Apparently everyone took that option. It was a fun little train ride. I ended up sitting with a family from the States whose daughter was a big Potter fan. We got along great.
We reunited with our tour guide and heard tales of the Glen Coe massacre (with a stop at the beautiful and haunting Glen Coe). Then made the requisite shopping stop at the Green Welly, a place that seems to be famous for being the Green Welly. Many airplane bottles of single malt were purchased, including by me and, strangely, by the 12 year old Potter head.
Driving back into Edinburgh, the guide played us a great version of Loch Lomond by the band Runrig.
Back in Edinburgh, KO took a selfie of us both, and said she'd email it to me. That never happened though. It would have been the only picture of myself taken in Scotland since you'll notice I'm in none of these.
KO and her parents were flying out of Scotland the next morning, and I hope they got their flights sorted out, since KO spent a good chuck of the first day of the tour trying to sort things out (hotel in Edinburgh after the tour, and a 6 AM flight out of Inverness the day after, thinking that Inverness was a suburb of Edinburgh. Hint for those who don't know Scotland's geography, they're not).
Our tour route, as scribbled by our guide:
I had one night left in Edinburgh, I checked back into my previous hotel, then went to explore some more. I had planned on checking out Edinburgh Castle again, but it was closing up for the night when I got there.
Instead, I wandered down one of Advocate's Close (A close is one of the alleys that run off the Royal Mile) to the intriguingly named Devil's Advocate pub. A nicely upscale pub that served great food and better whisky.
On the tour, the guide was asked for whisky recommendations. His favourite for whisky beginners? 16-year old Scapa. Naturally for the rest of the tour, everyone scoured the shops looking for airplane bottles of it. None could be found. We did find one bottle of it in Portree, but no one wanted to cough up the £90 just to share it with their bus mates.
Devil's Advocate offered shots of it. Naturally I tried it. I'm not a big whisky guy (I probably have a half-dozen shots of whisky/whiskey/rye/bourbon a year, Maybe a dozen if you include cocktails that include it as an ingredient), but I liked this.
Dinner was baked hake with savoy cabbage and carrot puree. I read, relaxed, and retired to my room.
And the Scapa? I picked up a bottle back in Canada. If you're at my house and want to try it, let me know. Hmm. I think I'll have a dram tonight.
I checked out of the Dolphin hotel, and made my way to Southampton airport. The airport was so very not busy. There were a half dozen gates and maybe a dozen flights a day. The flight was nearly full, and one of the handful of seats not occupied was next to me. Score. After an uneventful one hour flight, I landed in Edinburgh and caught a bus that took me basically to the door of my hotel. Once again, I scored a decent seat - front row of the top of a double-decker bus. I checked into my hotel and proceeded to explore, especially around areas that I had not been before.
As I'd been up and down the High street last time, I didn't spend much time there. Just enough to go to the tour office and make sure that I had the right place and that they knew who I was. Given I'd almost missed my tour last time since I got the address wrong, I wanted to make doubly certain of not screwing up this time.
Then it was a walk around (but not within) Edinburgh Castle to Princes Street Garden.
I also saw a 3 Store, so I dropped in to get my phone fixed. Apparently it was talking to the wrong mobile network, which is why I couldn't use the internet. Note to self, next time go into the store and talk to a human being - don't buy your sim card out of a vending machine.
I had a supper consisting of haggis-stuffed chicken breast with drambuie sauce on turnips and mashed potatoes. I'm living the stereotype! Afterward, I went back to my very small, but very modern room to sleep - tours start early.
Bright and early I went to the Rabbie Burns pub and had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast. Then it was off to catch my tour. Every tour started at the same place, so there was about 150 people milling about waiting to get onto about a dozen buses of various sizes. We were among the last to go.
First thing we see, before we've even left the city is the Scottish space program, aka the Scott Monument:
After a bit of a drive, we made it to the Commando Memorial. The somber moment was negatively impacted by a busker who was working the area. Apparently buskers aren't allowed there (which makes sense). Our tour guide wanted to report him.
Next up, Fort Augustus on the banks of Loch Ness. Being sober (it was the afternoon), I did not see Nessie.
The last part of the Scottish mainland was Eilean Donan castle, Scotland's youngest ancient castle.
And then it was off to Skye for two nights. On the way to Portree we stopped to check out a lot of the notable bits of the island:
The Old Man of Storr.
Mealt falls in the foreground, Kilt Rock in the background.
We came into Portree and got dropped off at various venues. This was a series of small hotels in Portree's town centre, and then off to some slightly more far flung bed & breakfasts.
A quick aside, I booked this tour rather late, and I suspect I wouldn't have gotten in if I wasn't a solo traveller. However, I think that meant they scrambled a bit to find a place for me to stay the night. I was at a smallest, farthest of the B&Bs that the tour company used, and I was the first person from this tour company to use this facility. Reading between the lines, they weren't expecting to ever use it, but I forced their hand.
I was dropped off without introductions and discovered that their doorbell didn't work, which left a slight panic - was there nobody home? Should I go searching for the tour guide to intervene (I had no idea where he was staying the night)? What if there was no place for me to sleep?
I tried the doorbell a few more times, knocked a few more, then knocked really loudly. That got the owner's attention and the slight crisis ended. She ended up being a really good host, even if she had an accent so thick I could barely understand her. The room was comfortable. She tried her best to make me explode during breakfast. She even offered to do some laundry for me. If you're ever on Skye and need a place to stay, I highly recommend them.
After dropping off my bag, I made my way back down the hill to Portree center. Over this evening and the next I explored, and enjoyed the local fare.
Among the things I did was climb The Lump to Apothecary's Tower. So named because its presence above the harbour alerted passing ships that they could lay in here if they needed medical attention.
Portree is the sort of story-book town where kids still play ball in the streets, grown-ups say "hello" as they walk past, and no one locks their door. Sadly, I had checked baggage limits, otherwise I'd have taken advantage of that.
All of the restaurants in Portree appear to have the same five things on the menu. Thankfully I was only there two nights so I never ran out of things to try. Have the Cullen Skink (A smoked haddock and potato cream soup) - it's yummy. So finding traditional Skye fare is really easy. What's not easy is finding a seat. I think I tried every restaurant in town that night and I wasn't getting into any without a reservation or a one hour wait. Eventually I found one with an attached pub, put my name on the list, and relaxed for a pint.
I did have the opportunity to dine with a cute woman. I didn't take it because I had a crush on her, and if I was going to sit next to her on the bus for another two days, it would be best if she didn't think I was creepy.
Let me back up a bit. Back in Edinburgh, I get on the bus and find a nice window seat. The bus was already starting to fill up and soon the only three seats left were a pair across and down one from me, and the seat beside me. In walks KO and her parents. KO is tall and beautiful and has one of those looks that I really like. We chatted and got to know each other over the trip, since barring some horrible conflict, people tend to stick with their seats on bus tours. It just makes stashing your gear easier. So KO was stuck with yours truly for three days.
What was she like?
- Tall - easily the second or third tallest person on the bus. I'd estimate 5'11". There might have been one other tall guy on the bus, but I wasn't paying that much attention.
- In looks, she was a cross between
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wendy_licious and hislittlekitty, so obviously someone I'd find attractive. - Personality was akin to numerous women I've had crushes on in the past.
- She was a software rep for one of the big silicon valley companies, and lived in San Francisco.
- Single, Probably mid-thirties. Travelling with her parents.
And the funny thing? The crush I had was paper-thin. It basically vanished as soon as the tour was over. When writing this post, I had to wrack my brain to remember her name. Anyway, nothing came of it, and we (and her parents) didn't go to dinner that first night. C'est la vie.
Later that evening, after supper and exploring, I walked back up to my B&B. This was the road I climbed. Note that it isn't always this steep - sometimes it's steeper.
Next morning we visited the ancestral homes of the two major clans who ruled Skye back in the day. The first was Dunvegan Castle, seat of clan MacLeod.
The second was Armadale Castle, former home of clan MacDonald. It's in nowhere near as good repair as Dunvegan.
I found some archery while at Armadale! Of course clan MacDonald produced archers! My persona has been confirmed to my satisfaction, solely by watching one of the park workers teaching a little girl. They offered to let me shoot too (and I was sorely tempted), but I didn't want to take away from the little girl and her mom, when I could shoot anytime back in Cowtown.
Another night in Portree, and then it was time to return. Not straight away mind you - we still had plenty more to see.
Our tour guide dropped us off at the ferry terminal and told us he'd meet us in Fort William.
Of course, the ferry only went as far as Mallaig. To get to Fort William, we'd need to take the train. And not just any train, we took the Jacobite steam train, otherwise known as the Harry Potter train. This was an optional add-on for the trip. Apparently everyone took that option. It was a fun little train ride. I ended up sitting with a family from the States whose daughter was a big Potter fan. We got along great.
We reunited with our tour guide and heard tales of the Glen Coe massacre (with a stop at the beautiful and haunting Glen Coe). Then made the requisite shopping stop at the Green Welly, a place that seems to be famous for being the Green Welly. Many airplane bottles of single malt were purchased, including by me and, strangely, by the 12 year old Potter head.
Driving back into Edinburgh, the guide played us a great version of Loch Lomond by the band Runrig.
Back in Edinburgh, KO took a selfie of us both, and said she'd email it to me. That never happened though. It would have been the only picture of myself taken in Scotland since you'll notice I'm in none of these.
KO and her parents were flying out of Scotland the next morning, and I hope they got their flights sorted out, since KO spent a good chuck of the first day of the tour trying to sort things out (hotel in Edinburgh after the tour, and a 6 AM flight out of Inverness the day after, thinking that Inverness was a suburb of Edinburgh. Hint for those who don't know Scotland's geography, they're not).
Our tour route, as scribbled by our guide:
I had one night left in Edinburgh, I checked back into my previous hotel, then went to explore some more. I had planned on checking out Edinburgh Castle again, but it was closing up for the night when I got there.
Instead, I wandered down one of Advocate's Close (A close is one of the alleys that run off the Royal Mile) to the intriguingly named Devil's Advocate pub. A nicely upscale pub that served great food and better whisky.
On the tour, the guide was asked for whisky recommendations. His favourite for whisky beginners? 16-year old Scapa. Naturally for the rest of the tour, everyone scoured the shops looking for airplane bottles of it. None could be found. We did find one bottle of it in Portree, but no one wanted to cough up the £90 just to share it with their bus mates.
Devil's Advocate offered shots of it. Naturally I tried it. I'm not a big whisky guy (I probably have a half-dozen shots of whisky/whiskey/rye/bourbon a year, Maybe a dozen if you include cocktails that include it as an ingredient), but I liked this.
Dinner was baked hake with savoy cabbage and carrot puree. I read, relaxed, and retired to my room.
And the Scapa? I picked up a bottle back in Canada. If you're at my house and want to try it, let me know. Hmm. I think I'll have a dram tonight.
