May 28th

We headed out from our campsite at around 9 am to get our 10:45am ferry at Leverburgh (Harris) back to Berneray.

The ferry crossing was good and the sun did come out for most of the day.

When we got off the ferry at Berneray on our way back to Uist, we came to a T junction. We hadn’t programmed google maps yet and we couldn’t remember if we should go left or right ,so we turned right. We quickly realized we were on a road that goes up one side of Berneray Island. The scenery got better and better so we just continued on, passing cute little crofter cottages, beautiful bays, sheep on the road and finally, a stunning beach at the end of the road with an area on the gentle hill above it where we could park. We got out and sat on the hill enjoying the view and had a mid morning snack before we headed off again.

After the break, we headed back the way we came and in to the wee village of Lochmaddy on Uist. The scenery on the way up was incredible. We hadn’t been down this particular way the last time we were on Uist.

We got some fuel and then spent an hour or more at the local art gallery and museum.

By 3 pm, we were back at Balranald, the campsite we stayed at the week before. Guy promptly got to work painting and I headed off for a walk along the beach and around the headlands.

Guy made progress with his paintings that afternoon and into the evening. After dinner, we hit the hay reasonably early as we had an early morning start again with a 7:15 am ferry from Uist back to Skye.

May 29th

We were up at 5 am and on the road by 5:25 am. We are a fine tuned machine now when it comes to getting ready to go.

It was a rainy, misty morning with slight breezes after a windy night.

The 1 hour 40 ferry crossing across Little Minch was pretty smooth even though the captain said it could be a little rough. Once back on Skye, we drove the one track pot holed laden road to the Skye Museum of Island Life in the village Kilmuir, not far from Portree. We learned about the crofter way of life on Skye. The museum was setup in old black cottages.

After the museum, we took a walk out to an old graveyard up the road from the museum. There was a memorial for Flora MacDonald, a much revered woman in these parts. She helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from Scotland after the battle of Culloden in 1746 where the Jacobite rebellion was squashed. It’s a long story and I’m no expert so here’s a link. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Flora-Macdonald/

After the museum we went back on that crazy road we came in on and then went for a walk at Fairy Glen. We were not the only ones taking advantage of the sunny afternoon and it was quite busy. This magical place with interesting shaped hills and landscape “was formed over 100,000 years ago by post-Glacier landslides, while years of erosion and the elements sculpted the Torridonian sandstone be it into unusual patterns of cone-shaped craggy hillocks, random boulders, tranquil lochans and even a basalt castle.”(https://www.isleofskye.com/skye-guide/skye-places/fairy-glen)

The pictures do tell that story.

After Ferry Glen, we went to our campsite where Guy got to some painting. Time was running out for 10 paintings in the Hebrides as we only had one day left there.

May 30

Our plan was to visit the Old Man of Storr. I guess it was everybody else’s plan too. Going through Portree was a traffic jam. We thought it might be road works but it was traffic congestion from folks heading up to the Old Man of Storr. When we reached the main parking lot at Storr, we were told camper vans weren’t allowed. It was completely full anyway. We were told to park in the overflow or on the road. They were both completely full. It was so frustrating. We decided to forget it since we did not fancy hiking with 1000 other people and got some pictures from the road and left.

Afterwards, we went to Portree to look around. It is a picturesque little village. We pulled into a parking lot and found out campervans were not allowed. The town was plugged with tourists by this point so we took it as an omen to get out of Portree.

Our 3d option that day was Dunvegan Castle and Gardens. We had a lovely few hours there touring this beautiful estate and gardens of the MacLeod clan.

By bedtime, Guy had finished the last of his ten paintings of the Hebrides. Yeah, another bucket list item completed!! I will add pictures of the paintings to an upcoming blog.

May 31

We left Skye for the last time. Our destination was Poolewe in Wester Ross, part of the North Coast 500. We were on our way to the very top of Scotland.

The scenery was better than imagined.

After the three hour or so drive to Poolewe on Loch Ewe, we visited Inverewe Gardens. The gardens are cared for by at the National Trust of Scotland. The original owner of the property was Osgood Mackenzie. In 1862, he started the garden from barren land. He had to bring in masses of soil and plant dozens of trees with the goal to create a wind break from the harshness of the winds of the Atlantic. He had a passion for gardening. This area of the Scottish coast is impacted by the Gulf Stream so different plants including more tropical ones can be grown here.

One of the highlights of the day was a bag piper down at the jetty on the property who was piping in tourists from a cruise ship. They were being brought into shore by little boat to see the garden. I heard the pipes and we went to find them. It was so moving to hear looking out to the highlands. Love the bagpipes!