Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland – 20 July 2015
The first tender port of this journey, Portree being located
on one of the Isles of Skye, greeted us with calm waters and a little Scottish
drizzle in the sky. It is a settlement of about 2,500 year round residents, but
has evolved into a jumping off point for outdoor adventures like highland
hiking, fishing and ‘car touring’. The name of Portree is a derivative of Port
Rey, the King’s Port, named for King James who visited here in 1540 to try to
persuade the local clans to support him.
It is home to the Royal Hotel, where Bonnie Prince Charles
dined with his then lady friend, before fleeing back to France. His lady friend
never heard from him again…
I made my way to Eilean Donan Castle, which actually is
located on the Scottish mainland, and is without a doubt Scotland’s most
photographed castle….I added a few more photos to that number.
The castle dates back to the thirteenth century, but today
serves as a popular tourist attraction as well as a favoured location for
weddings.
To reach the castle from Portree, one drives along the
shores of a number of Lochs, over the oldest bridge on Skye, past thousands of
sheep who seem to own the road (they graze along the grassy edges and cross at
will; also get trapped on grassy islands in ‘sea lochs’ when the tide is
rising) to get to the romantic location of Eilean Donan Castle.
The location is stunning, with rugged mountains surrounding
the tranquil Loch; the castle rising in it’s severe beauty just off shore on a
rocky outcrop.
