IRELAND and SCOTLAND - Day 15 - October 15, 2023

AN ‘OFFAL’ GOOD START, RAINBOWS, FAIRY POOLS - Day 15, October 15, 2023

I overcame a food fear this morning. I’d heard of this stuff over the years, and it always gave me a little bit of a churning sensation when I thought of it. 

PS

Today, I had haggis for breakfast. And  -  it was pretty tasty!

It reminded me of the black and white pudding I’ve been eating off and on during the past two weeks. It’s kind of like a spicy sausage flavor with a mildly gelatinous texture. Yum!

After eating we jumped in the car and drove northeast on the A82 with the snowy Grampian Mountains to our east and the equally snowy Northwestern Highlands mountains to our west.

The two lane highway followed Loch Lochy and then Loch Cluanie, as we turned northwest onto the A87 and up into the mountains. 

Along the way, we had sunshine, wind, rain and rainbows in no particular order. Gorse, heather and ferns covered the hills and stretched up the craggy slopes while dozens of streams gushed down from the upper reaches of the mountains.

We made a quick stop at one of the castles, Eilean Donan Castle, to snap a few photos.

We got to Kyle of Lochalsh and left the Scottish mainland by crossing the Skye Bridge over to the Isle of Skye. An interesting tidbit about the bridge is that there had never been a bridge to the island until this one was completed in the mid-1990’s.

The bridge owners (based in the U.S.A.) made it a toll bridge. The toll was not received well by the locals. As early as opening day, people began refusing to pay when they crossed. For the next decade, and after many protests and much political wrangling, the toll was abolished. So, we crossed for free.

Our first stop was the Fairy Pools in the western part of Skye. On sunny days, the pools have a blue color to them. On days like today, with light rain and overcast skies, there’s not as much color. Still, it’s quite picturesque.

Historians say this is also the site of one of the last big clan battles in 17th century Scotland. It seems the MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacLeods of Dunvegan just couldn’t get along.

After our little walk to the pools, we drove to our small hotel near the northern tip of Skye, in the Eilean a’Cheo Ward, in the coastal village of Uig. From our room we have a view of The Little Minch, which is the sea just northeast of the Sea of the Hebrides.

To finish off the day, I had a wee dram of some peaty Talisker Whiskey and a pint of Skye Red Ale - each of these libations made here in Skye.

NEXT: Mealt Falls, then long drive to Speyside.