On Sunday James and I set off on the remarkably long journey to Skye, to use the voucher for dinner, bed and breakfast for the Three Chimneys, which Jamie, Ally and Davie gave to James for his 60th birthday, the last of his 60th birthday vouchers I think. And oh boy was it worth waiting for! We were at the Three Chimneys for my 40th birthday (20 whole years ago, oh dear!) and we loved it then, so it was great to be back. The room, the service, and the food were all absolutely top notch. It just felt so luxurious, and yet friendly and personal.
The next morning, after a large and tasty breakfast, we decided to visited Dunvegan Castle and its garden; I know that we have been there before but it must have been at least thirty years ago and I think it was raining. This time it was sunny and although Dunvegan is not the prettiest castle (it has a pleasing shape but the rough cast surface on its walls is not very becoming) it was very interesting. It is actually five different buildings ranging from the 13th to the 19th century that have been joined together over the years. It has a long history and framed on one of its halls is the famous Fairy Flag, given to the MacLeod Clan by, yes you’ve guessed it, the fairies, to be used in times of trouble. Apparently it was examined by an expert in the 19th century who suggested that it had been looted from one of the crusades (and it does look like a crusader flag!) The Clan Chief at the time assured him that the flag had been given to his family by the fairies, to which the expert responded diplomatically “I bow to your superior knowledge!” I liked this story.
The castle gardens looked lush and gorgeous at the end of summer and we strolled around them in the sunshine.
Then we moved on to the island of Raasay, which we have visited twice before for distillery visits with our boys (and girls!) During our previous visits we had noticed that there are hotel rooms at the distillery, and we fancied giving them a try. We travelled the short journey across to Raasay as foot passengers on the Calmac ferry “Hallaig” and wheeled our cases up the hill to the distillery. Our room was small but smart, however in this lovely weather it was very, very hot, which concerned me. The staff must have noticed this because they had put a fan on the window ledge. However by bedtime I’m glad to say that the room had cooled right down and we got a good night’s sleep.
We had drinks sitting at a wooden table outside the distillery and then a gorgeous meal awaited us in the restaurant. The young waiter, one of the owner’s sons I think, was very friendly and knowledgeable.
We woke this morning to a thick mist coming in from the sea, which resulted in a most beautiful temperature inversion; the tops of the mountains appearing spectacularly out of the mist, with the blue loch below. Unfortunately this meant that two sailings of the ferry were cancelled, so James was unable to get across to Skye to go hill-walking as he had planned. Nothing daunted, he joined the 11 a.m. distillery tour while I sat outside in the sunshine enjoying a coffee. The mountains looked so amazing as the cloud shifted around their flanks, that lots of people, including James, came out of the distillery to take photos. We were sad to leave Raasay, but after a light lunch at Raasay House the ferries were running again and it was time to start our five hour journey homewards to see our cats. The mountains on Skye and then in Glencoe looked as lovely as could be as we travelled south.
The next morning, after a large and tasty breakfast, we decided to visited Dunvegan Castle and its garden; I know that we have been there before but it must have been at least thirty years ago and I think it was raining. This time it was sunny and although Dunvegan is not the prettiest castle (it has a pleasing shape but the rough cast surface on its walls is not very becoming) it was very interesting. It is actually five different buildings ranging from the 13th to the 19th century that have been joined together over the years. It has a long history and framed on one of its halls is the famous Fairy Flag, given to the MacLeod Clan by, yes you’ve guessed it, the fairies, to be used in times of trouble. Apparently it was examined by an expert in the 19th century who suggested that it had been looted from one of the crusades (and it does look like a crusader flag!) The Clan Chief at the time assured him that the flag had been given to his family by the fairies, to which the expert responded diplomatically “I bow to your superior knowledge!” I liked this story.
The castle gardens looked lush and gorgeous at the end of summer and we strolled around them in the sunshine.
Then we moved on to the island of Raasay, which we have visited twice before for distillery visits with our boys (and girls!) During our previous visits we had noticed that there are hotel rooms at the distillery, and we fancied giving them a try. We travelled the short journey across to Raasay as foot passengers on the Calmac ferry “Hallaig” and wheeled our cases up the hill to the distillery. Our room was small but smart, however in this lovely weather it was very, very hot, which concerned me. The staff must have noticed this because they had put a fan on the window ledge. However by bedtime I’m glad to say that the room had cooled right down and we got a good night’s sleep.
We had drinks sitting at a wooden table outside the distillery and then a gorgeous meal awaited us in the restaurant. The young waiter, one of the owner’s sons I think, was very friendly and knowledgeable.
We woke this morning to a thick mist coming in from the sea, which resulted in a most beautiful temperature inversion; the tops of the mountains appearing spectacularly out of the mist, with the blue loch below. Unfortunately this meant that two sailings of the ferry were cancelled, so James was unable to get across to Skye to go hill-walking as he had planned. Nothing daunted, he joined the 11 a.m. distillery tour while I sat outside in the sunshine enjoying a coffee. The mountains looked so amazing as the cloud shifted around their flanks, that lots of people, including James, came out of the distillery to take photos. We were sad to leave Raasay, but after a light lunch at Raasay House the ferries were running again and it was time to start our five hour journey homewards to see our cats. The mountains on Skye and then in Glencoe looked as lovely as could be as we travelled south.
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