Ireland/Scotland, Day 7: Glencoe, Skye

We woke up near Glencoe and immediately did two short hikes, both of which were amazing:

Glencoe hike

One included a down and back trail by a creek, and the other was near the Glencoe visitor's center. Both included excellent moss also:

Thick moss!!

I got my entire fist into this moss! It was fabulous! I wanted to take it home with me, but alas, I could not.

Glencoe hike #2

Hike #2 had a lot more pine trees, and the visitor's center noted why the highlands are so bald - locals were cutting down the trees for centuries, and now there is nothing left. (Kind of reminded me of Iceland.) In a lot of areas, they are starting to plant more trees to bring back the landscape and wildlife.

Dave realized that we were not far from Castle Stalker, which featured as Castle Aargh!, where they are led to the Holy Grail in the Monty Python movie. It has an interesting history, including being lost in a drunken gambling bet by a local clan.

Castle Stalker

We did another hike in Invergarry that I didn't take any pictures on, but it was also fabulously mossy. Obviously.

On our way to the Isle of Skye, we also stopped to snap a photo of Eilean Donan Castle, which is also on an island, but at least this one has a bridge.

Eilean Donan Castle

Speaking of islands and bridges, we were headed to the Isle of Skye, which is reachable by ferry or bridge, and we picked bridge this time.

We were advised to book dinner tables at Skye in advance "or risk being disappointed." Thus it was that we were able to enjoy a tasty dinner at Dulse & Brose in Portree. Lots of fresh, local ingredients; I had fish & chips.

Our book recommends the ride from Broadford to Elgol, so we hit it at the magic hour.

Gorgeous stone wall on Skye

It really was a very nice ride, but I'm not sure that it was more beautiful than other rides we'd taken in Connemara or the Highlands. But it was very nice.

More gorse, of course