Why don't you keep a few more cards in your hand?

We wanted to make the most of this day on Skye, so we had a quick breakfast and started out early from Broadford, and made such good time we found ourselves in the carpark of Dunvegan Castle a bit before the 10am opening time. The people in the campervan parked next to us were cooking their breakfast on a little camp stove, right there in the carpark.

Although the gardens are a major tourist attraction we decided just to spend our time in the castle itself, seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod.



Unfortunately we couldn't take photos inside. It was pretty cool, with public areas set up as a museum of MacLeod family history. There were lots of portraits of the various chiefs and their spouses - mostly wives but the clan was lead for 40 plus years last century by the formidable Flora MacLeod. Later I heard a few tales about her from my newly-met relatives - that she was born at 10 Downing Street, and apparently as clan chief she used to sit on a stone in front of the fire, instead of any kind of chair, to write letters.

There were also some mementos relating to Flora MacDonald and her passage to Skye with Bonnie Prince Charlie (theme of the Skye Boat Song).

And the Fairy Flag! A fascinating and ancient textile, whether or not of actual fairy origins.



There was an area downstairs with some history and artefacts from St Kilda, the now uninhabited archipelago waaaay out in the North Atlantic Ocean, formally evacuated in 1930. There were some fascinating photos of groups of islanders in the late 1800's, like this famous one of the St Kilda Parliament - note the bare feet, and groups of children with their very proper Victorian school teacher.



The MacDonald and MacLeod clans seem to have done a lot of fighting over St Kilda. What I've since learnt is a well-worn Gaelic myth (see Red Hand of Ulster) was lovingly retold here: a boat race between two clans, first to touch the land - in this case St Kilda - claims ownership. One boat is ahead, so a brave/foolish/berserk soul in the other boat cuts off his hand and throws it ahead, thus being the first to touch land. I can see why this is a popular story. Probably no way of knowing if it ever happened - anywhere!

After Dunvegan we moved on to Carbost, home of Talisker Distillery, on Loch Harport. Most of the distilleries had their own distinct malty smells, some stronger than others. This was a strong one! Such a strange smell. Very drinkable whiskey though! We just had a brief look in the visitor centre, bought some small bottles for the road, then moved on to the pub for what turned out to be the most amazing chick pea curry. I really had some very good quality vegetarian meals in Scottish pubs. At this one we sat out the back in the beer garden with lots of people and a few lovely big dogs, including one hanging out with his master who was putting in a new deck. I always think it's lovely when a dog can go to work with its person. 



More driving and admiring the bare hills. I loved them so much.





Then a brief stop back in Broadford just before we took the bridge to the mainland, for me to spend a while in a lovely shop, The Handspinner Having Fun. Along with commercial yarns they stock a lot of independent and local handspun and millspun Skye wool. When I asked if there was anything from Raasay, the lady I spoke to said they would love to stock some but had not found any supplier. I did buy some Skye wool (and wished I had tried harder to source something from Islay).



Once we reached the mainland, it was getting late in the afternoon but we were determined to squeeze in another castle before heading to Inverness for the night.



This is Eilean Donan. Also known as the one from the Highlander film. It is in an incredible location, the meeting point of three sea lochs.

Interestingly, it's actually a 20th century rebuild. The castle was destroyed by the English Government during the Jacobite risings, in 1719. It lay in ruins until 1911 when Lt Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island and spent 20 years rebuilding it. Now it's a major tourist attraction. 



We arrived in just in time to pay our entry fee and have a look inside. The public areas had a mixture of historical artefacts and MacRae family history. I did wonder how some of the family members feel about so many of their family snapshots from weddings and other events being displayed for random tourists.

As we drove off towards Inverness, I was still desperately trying to capture my Highlands feelings in photos. Desperate enough to take pictures like this. "Four white vehicles parked in front of a hill; owners in pub across the road". We got coffees for the road at that pub and they were kind enough to run my KeepCup through the dishwasher first. The server at the bar was from New Zealand.