Roadtrip: Scottish Highlands Part Three

Other articles in the series:
Roadtrip: Scottish Highlands Part One
Roadtrip: Scottish Highlands Part Two

We vacated the Nevis Range Mountain Resort at around 4pm knowing we still had an almost 80 mile drive to our next base camp which was the Kings Arms Hotel in Kyleakin, Isle of Skye.

It was some distance to travel considering the roads are quite twisty and not always good for a 60MPH constant speed. We really didn’t want to arrive too late.

Driving a little north we came upon the Commando Memorial, which was full of tourists. The statue didn’t do much for me but from this vantage point I could finally see Ben Nevis. There was a little snow on the peak even in this hot weather.

The road from Invegarry to the Kyle of Lochalsh was very pretty with many Loch’s, mountain ranges and a constant barrage of scenery to take in.

There was one point where I noticed a ‘scenic view’ but managed to drive past it.

A few hundred yards further I looked to the left and noticed the view. With screeching tyres I brought the car to a stop, got out and took a few snaps. I had to semi-mount the car on a grass verge which brought me a few honks from disgruntled drivers. The snaps unfortunately didn’t come out too well as the bridge was a little far away for my iPhone to pick up.

A few miles before we reached the Kyle we came upon Eilean Donan Castle. Now this is a ‘proper’ castle, ancient, intact and open for tourists, except it was later than 6pm and we couldn’t visit as it was closed.

Vowing to return the next day, we headed west and had our first view of the Skye Bridge.

If you read about this, it seems before 1995 a ferry was required to cross, and then the bridge was built with a toll. The toll was very unpopular and protests were made by the locals, some of which where heavily fined or imprisoned. The toll was eventually abolished in 2004 and so we sailed across the bridge and into the Isle of Skye.

Our hotel was literally just across the bridge in the village of Kyleakin. Getting any accommodation in Skye at this time of year is expensive and this hotel weighing in at £120 a night I had to consider a bargain. I checked others and was being quoted £300 a night. The Scots it seems love Skye as a holiday destination.

The King’s Arms was a large residence and the first thing I noticed is was the staff were Eastern European and not locals. Was I in London or Skye?

The hotel doesn’t have a great reputation if checked on Trip Advisor but it was ‘cheap’ and available. The room was adequate and clean so no complaints there.

Food was the thing on our minds, and again using Trip Advisor we found The Kings Arms came in at the 5th best restaurant out of 5 in the area. Maybe it wasn’t that bad but I didn’t fancy another Balloch experience.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g551880-Kyleakin_Isle_of_Skye_The_Hebrides_Scotland.html

King Haakon was at the number 1 spot, and it was only a few hundred yards away, so we made our way to it on foot. Getting a table was the next challenge, there were simply none available and we got turned away because they were ‘too busy’. People certainly know were to eat around this area!

We had to settle for the 4th best restaurant out of 5, which was Saucy Mary’s. The restaurant part was almost empty, never a good sign really but we were hungry and the reviews were not so bad if you were quite drunk while reading them.

Haggis was on the menu, in more than one place!

@bingbabe ordered a plate of Mussels with a side of chips, and a bread roll. We had to ask for butter for the roll and received a starter size of Mussels instead of a full one. The staff were very friendly to give them credit and sorted out the problems right away.

I had better luck with my Pizza, and a pint of local Skye Red . Now this beer was something I hadn’t tasted for years. It was like drinking a pint of draft bitter from the 1980’s, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I loved it, and the Pizza wasn’t bad too. It complemented the décor well that also looked like it was around 30 years old.

We left Saucy Mary’s feeling not too aggrieved. We were full and quite sure we weren’t going to be poisoned.

It was getting a little late by this time, and I really wanted a sunset shot of the Skye Bridge. Considering we were looking westward toward it, I was in the perfect spot.

We retreated to our room, and I made a dash out around 9.45pm to catch the scene. A few clouds had arrived and made the potential for a good photograph all the better.

I think I left it a little late to get the perfect shot but it was quite decent.

To be continued...

This post was created in #esteem thanks @good-karma

All photographs were taken by myself.