Scotland in “summer” - a short travelblog

[Duvel]

For reasons beyond my understanding we just had to visit the most northwestern tip of Skye. A leisurely 1h drive just brought us there and we enjoyed the (actually very nice) scenery.
 

 

 

There were supposedly some puffins to be seen on the cliffs, but we were out of luck. 
 

 

A certain lazy 8 year old posing …

 

 

We drove on to see Dunvegan castle, ancestral seat of the McLeod clan (anyone seen Highlander ?). 

 

 

Some interesting drinking utensils were on display.

 

 

As interesting as the castle was, the true gem was the gardens. I have not seen so many flowers in blue as in this place …

 

 

 

 

 

By now, the family was starved, so upon return to our castle I prepared linner …

 

First, a little aperitif …

 

For starters: smoked salmon patê …

 

 

First course: local scallops …

 

 

 

Palate cleanser …

 

 

Second course: Angus beef …

 

 

 

Dessert for me …

 

 

And the first time of the soon daily ritual of fried dough balls with chocolate glaze for the rest of the family …

 

 

After games and good night stories we enjoyed the sound of rain on the roof of our tent …

Edited November 14, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[heidih]

Referring back to your dis-interest in the birds as not on the menu, the above referred to puffins are human fodder at least in Iceland. And the plant shot of what  look like nasturtium seas - they are excellent pickled and remind many of capers - but way less expensive. I usually do them but drought decimated my stands this years...

 

[liuzhou]

45 minutes ago, Duvel said:

I was told that authentic ones use dried marrowfat peas

 

Yes, Indeed. Never fresh peas.

 

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

I asked about fish & chips but from salmon 

 

Unheard of. Almost sacrilegious. An insult to the finest salmon and to fish and chips.

[Duvel]

The next day we headed for arguably the most famous attraction on Skye, the Fairy Pools …

 

It’s nice that all the natural treasures are free to visit. What is not free, however, is the parking. But - and I mean it - for that you get a decent parking space, plus a heated building with coffee corner and clean toilets. They are so cozy, they even got twinned. Pretty fair deal …

 

 

We had to hike a narrow trail next to a river to reach the famed pools. It took quite a while and funny enough, a lot of people gave up before and returned  🤔

 

 

 

 

Heather in season …

 

 

The actual Fairy Pool …

 

 

What happens to kids jumping through the puddles ?

 

 

On the way back we drove by the Talisker distillery. Their tours were booked out for the day, so I took an uninspired picture of the interior, bought a sampler, ordered a bottle of Talisker Port Ruighe with Amazon Germany and carried on …

 

 

Just up the road was another highlight of Skye, the Oyster shack …

 

 

 

I got the oysters …

 

 

Mrs. Duvel opted for the lobster …

 

 

Little one wanted mussels …

 

 

A happy family returned to the tent for the usual evening entertainment and stories …

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[liuzhou]

Skye is beautiful and I want to live in the Oyster Shed. Haven't been for too long.

Edited November 14, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

On 11/13/2022 at 11:01 AM, Duvel said:

You either come with your caravan or mobile camping unit, or rent a “barrel”.

 

I'm all for the barrel.

[TicTac]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Coming up, my friend …

*sigh of relief*.....your cave looked a little sparse 😛

 

Now with anticipation....which fabled distillery did you select!

[Smithy]

I developed a quite-unexpected taste for mooshy peas while in England and Scotland. I never knew that they'd started from something other than fresh peas as I know (and dislike) them here. Somebody please educate me: what are marrowfat peas?

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I developed a quite-unexpected taste for mooshy peas while in England and Scotland. I never knew that they'd started from something other than fresh peas as I know (and dislike) them here. Somebody please educate me: what are marrowfat peas?

They are mature green peas that are allowed to dry in the field before being harvested. 
I still have in my mind, a vague recollection of the box they came in when I was growing up in England, and was hoping to find such a box on the web. I don’t see what I think I remember. 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Anna N
Additional comment and then typos (log)

[liuzhou]

51 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I developed a quite-unexpected taste for mooshy peas while in England and Scotland. I never knew that they'd started from something other than fresh peas I know (and dislike) them here. Somebody please educate me: what are marrowfat peas?

 

What @Anna N says.

The peas are sold in cans or dried in bags or boxes. I have never used canned - they didn't have them when I lived in the UK, so far as I remember.

When I was in the UK last, I bought these.

 

 

They are still in my cupboard. They last forever. I won't!

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@Duvel based on my ramblings in Scotland in the 1960's and 1970's one thing about your travelogue that stands out as inauthentic is the picture of cattle on the two lane road.  In my Scottish experience that would have been cattle on a one lane road.  Of course a few miles from here there is a cattle crossing on (an albeit narrow) two lane road, but there is a one lane stone bridge on the way to the library where I work.  Cows there are discouraged.

 

[liuzhou]

As someone who grew up spending a lot of time on an uncle's farm, I feel obliged to point out that although the Highland Cattle may look cute and photogenic, they can be bad-tempered and aggressive. I have the scars to prove it.

[Duvel]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

@Duvel based on my ramblings in Scotland in the 1960's and 1970's one thing about your travelogue that stands out as inauthentic is the picture of cattle on the two lane road.  In my Scottish experience that would have been cattle on a one lane road.  Of course a few miles from here there is a cattle crossing on (an albeit narrow) two lane road, but there is a one lane stone bridge on the way to the library where I work.  Cows there are discouraged.

 

I think you are referring to this picture. Will it restore your trust in authenticity if I share that these are sheep ..?

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

43 minutes ago, Duvel said:

I think you are referring to this picture. Will it restore your trust in authenticity if I share that these are sheep ..?

 

 

Did they collect your urine for the dyeing of the wool?  One of my fondest memories of Scottland was assisting in a sheep fank and being kicked in the face by a disgruntled ruminant who did not appreciate being picked up and carried onto a small boat.

 

P.S.  I still think those look like cows.  Scottland is the only place I have been served warm milk.

 

[Duvel]

21 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

P.S.  I still think those look like cows. 

Looks can be deceiving. The easiest way to differentiate between highland cows and their lookalikes is their relative location. As @liuzhou has rightfully pointed out

 

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Highland Cattle may look cute and photogenic, they can be bad-tempered and aggressive.

So, they are usually fenced in. If the hairy thing in question is on the other of the fence, chances are high it might be a highland cow …

 

 

If the furry critter is on your side on the fence, most likely not …

 

[liuzhou]

1 minute ago, Duvel said:

So, they are usually fenced in. If the hairy thing in question is on the other of the fence, chances are high it might be a highland cow …

 

If the furry critter is on your side on the fence, most likely not …

 

 

They have fences now? Modern life!!

[Duvel]

One of little ones goals on Skye was to see some dinosaur footprints. The best ones are supposedly to be seen on An Corran beach. As with many Scottish natural sights, there is veeeery little public guidance. Here, at least, there was a small signpost.

 

 

It didn’t help much. Little one discovered several holes that might be the shape of a dinosaur paw, but I was not too certain …

 

Luckily, my wife had another ace up her sleeve and we drove on to Score bay. Overseing the bay were the ruins of Duntulm castle, which we briefly visted before descending to the beach.

 

 

 

 

On the beach, some prints were visible and we could all agree that we got our share of dinosaur related activity for the day. Little one was happy.

 

 

 

Some kilometers down the road there were some older huts roadside …

 

 

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Fairy Glen. The pictures do not do the atmosphere justice - being surrounded these strangely shaped hills felt quite weird (in a positive sense of the word).

 

 

 

 

Of course we passed our daily waterfall …

 

 

 

My highlight of the day was Skye Seafood, basically a tiny cooperative of fishermen that operate a vending machine stocked with freshly cooked langoustine tails. Dinner !

 

 

 

If not clearly visible from the pictures before - it was raining. Before dinner, a well deserved aperitif (sorry for the “bare knee” shot, I only brought shorts to the holidays)

 

 

Due to said vertical humidity we had to eat inside the tent.

Crackers with mackarel patê …

 

Yeah !

 

 

 

 

Little one did not feel too much excitement over the langoustine tails, so I made some grilled ham & cheese sandwiches.

 

 

 

They were appreciated by a tired kid 🤗 …

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Duvel (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

Good food always tastes better after a day outdoors. Your photos do give a real sense of the terrain. 

 

[gfweb]

He is at a great age to travel with and seems a great companion.  Savor these moments.

 

[Shelby]

5 hours ago, Duvel said:

fishermen that operate a vending machine stocked with freshly cooked langoustine tails

You have now blown my little mind.  This. Is. So. Cool.

[Duvel]

The next day we left Skye. To no-ones surprise it was raining, and I had to disassemble the tent and pack the car in the rain. Got a bit wet in the process and was not in the best of moods …

 

After leaving Skye via the Kyle of Lochalsh brdge, we drove on to Eilean Donan castle, picturesquely located in the sea lochs. Unfortunately it was low tide, which on one hand provided a different and no lesser dramatic view on the castle, but at the same time provided a certain olfactory assault onto the visitor, not to speak of the gazillions of tiny mosquitoes that obviously live exclusively on rotting seaweed and tourist blood.

 

 

 

We drove on, along the western shore of Loch Ness and the clouds slowly got lighter, and my mood improved gradually. I found a lovely camping site south east of Inverness. By now, the rain had subsided and with some sun temperatures reached 20 oC. I was ecstatic 🥳

 

 

The camping site was well maintained. I was especially happy with the showers 🤗

 

 

We cleared the car, put everything to dry and headed out to Inverness …

 

 

I was tempted to buy some local clothing, but was strongly discouraged by my wife. 
 

For dinner we opted for a pub with the typical fare. When the waiter came to take our orders, little one started with “Ok … for starters I’d have the soup of the day with the garlic bread, …”. We stopped him there, had a chat and haggled him down to one main course and one dessert. 😝

 

First some libations …

 

Mrs. Duvel decided for the Angus steak …

 

 

I had the steak & ale pie …

 

 

 

Little one had the cheese & bacon burger …

 

 

… followed by a sticky toffee pudding, share with his mom (as the pudding had more calories than all our main courses combined).

 

 

I had a brown ale - also yummy.

 

 

I am not sure if this is the case, but in some European countries the rest rooms are equipped with condom vending machines. In Scotland, these contain local specialties 🤔

 

 

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Happy & full we returned in the sunshine and enjoyed a lovely games evening for the first time outside of the tent …

 

 

[Anna N]

9 minutes ago, Duvel said:

When the waiter came to take our orders, little one started with “Ok … for starters I’d have the soup of the day with the garlic bread, …”.

Love it. That’s my boy. 

[Shelby]

17 minutes ago, Duvel said:

tiny mosquitoes that obviously live exclusively on rotting seaweed and tourist blood.

🤣

 

18 minutes ago, Duvel said:

I was tempted to buy some local clothing, but was strongly discouraged by my wife. 
 

I'm on her side although I think you should have tried it on and taken a picture for posterity.

 

20 minutes ago, Duvel said:

put everything to dry

I love that you can leave everything out like that and no one will steal it.  I'm afraid that wouldn't be the case some places around here.

 

20 minutes ago, Duvel said:

sticky toffee pudding

Those are some huge raspberries!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@Duvel did you bring home any of the what looked like stuffed Loch Ness monsters?

 

[Duvel]

2 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

@Duvel did you bring home any of the what looked like stuffed Loch Ness monsters?

 

Nope … we have a strict “one toy per holiday” policy and little one already got Axl, the axolotl.