The Isle of Skye has has been occupied in prehistoric times and was originally settled by the Gaelic-speaking Scots from Ireland during the first centuries BC. Norsemen ruled the island from the 9th to the 12th century.
More “recent” history sees the island as the traditional homes of the Macleods in the North and the Macdonalds in the south.

We are staying in a lovely thatched cottage in the small town of Plockton, just above the, very Scottish-named town called “The Kyle of Lochalsh”. “The Kyle”, as it is locally referred to, is the gateway to the Isle of Sky, with a bridge that crosses Loch Duich.

We decided to tour the island, knowing it is a large island and impossible to completely navigate it in a single day. We decided therefore to do the Northern section, which ended up taking the full day anyway. But was totally worth it.

Our first stop was the quaint town of Portree. While very picturesque, it was heavily visited by tourists, tourbus loads full of them. We wondered around the main town square and managed to get a coffee, but our hearts were not “in it” due to the crowds, so we continued on.

Just out of town we spotted our first Highland Cow (locally pronounced as “Hee-land Coo”. They have log hair that is bright orange and have big horns giving them a somewhat ominous look. They are gentle giants though and did not mind us walking up to take some shots close up.

Traveling further northwards, we came upon “The Old Man of Storr”, a rocky outcrop on the side of small mountain that is a famous Isle of Skye landmark and a popular place to visit by hikers. Just like Portree, the parking spot at the trailhead was packed and you couldn’t actually see the Man of Storr from there. Hoping for a better view, we continued on,, but realized the best views were from the South, from where we had just come from.

We also came across lots of waterfalls, and sheep. . . lots of sheep.

Speaking of sheep, the sheep here have horns. No, they are not rams, they are sheep. The species is called “Scottish Blackface” and is the most common sheep breed in the UK (yes we had to look that up). Suffice to say “they are everywhere”, no matter how remote a location, there they are.

As seen throughout Scotland, we constantly come across these white-washed houses, in the middle of nowhere. Some might be farm houses, but many do not appear to be anywhere near a farm. We concluded that the Scots just like their solitude (and the remote locations of their castles seem to confirm that as as well).

As we turned a corner (we are now at the very top, northern-end, of Skye) we spotted a ruined “something” on the cliff-side.

We were hoping we could get closer so kept an eye out for signs. Sure enough, less than two miles further was a sign to the ruins of “Duntulm Castle” and yes, could go up to, and into, those ruins. Eager to find out more about the history, we did some research and found that the castle was built in the 14th and 15th century. Sir Donald MacDonald of Sleat owned it until 1732 when he built a new residence and robbed much of the old castle’s stones as building material.

The castle overlooks the Sound of Shiant, towards the Outer Hebrides, the most western island group of Scotland. You can just see them (that thin sliver of blue) on the horizon in the picture below. With the location where it was (right on the cliffs overlooking the sound), you can Imagine it could be very windy. Is it was when we were there, a quite bitter wind, making the scramble around and the stroll to, the ruins quite the challenge. We had an awesome time though and it brought back memories from my childhood, seeing and visiting quite a few of these kind of ruined castles.

Our final stop of the day was an open air museum not far from this castle. The museum consisted of a bunch of old buildings and reflected what life was this remote location on the island. It really makes you appreciate living in more modern times, with basic things like running water, heated rooms, electricity and functioning bathrooms.

We were now all the way around the top-end of Skye and headed back to our cosy AirBnB for a nice meal and glass of Mingle Malt Scotch Whiskey.