Over the sea...twice...to Skye

On our 2011 holiday in the UK, we visited Skye for a couple of days. That wasn't really long enough so we had decided that we would go back there again this trip...and today was the day. With a big day's travel in font of us, we checked out of our B&B nice and early for a big long drive...the length of the Tobermory quayside...to get in the ferry queue.

Unlike all the other ferries we you would be using this holiday, the ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan isn't booked...it's "turn up & go" assuming you get there before it is full...and with a couple of hours between trips, we didn't want to miss the first one. So we arrived half an hour early...and were first in the queue. By the time we left there were only four other cars on board...but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Our ferry from Tobermory

On board the ferry

Being first on meant, on this occasion, that we were first off...and off we went. However instead of turning right and heading for Mallaig, we turned left for a 6 mile drive down a single-lane road to Ardnamurchan Point...the most westerly point on the mainland of Great Britain. After looking around at the lighthouse and it's fog horn, we retraced our steps to Kilchoan and then headed east to Salen (the one on the mainland, not the one on Mull) where we joined the A861 to take us north.

It's official...the most westerly point on the mainland

Ardnamurchan Point Lighthouse

Now that's a fog horn

We wound our way up past Loch Shiel and Loch Moidart until we joined the A830...the main road to Mallaig...at the head of Loch Ailort. We were now traveling through familiar country as we were paralleling the rail line we had traveled on 3 years ago aboard The Jacobite. Approaching Mallaig, we found we were sufficiently early to allow us to take the old road around the beach front and for a brief stop to walk on the beach at Camusdarach...where Local Hero, a favourite film of mine, was filmed.

Along the way to Mallaig

The beach at Camusdarach

On arrival at Mallaig, we went straight to the ferry queue and checked in...we knew from the trouble we had finding a B&B that it was going to be a busy weekend on Skye and so we wanted to be sure we made it on. After a smooth crossing to Armadale, the unloading lottery had us off the ferry very quickly. As we hadn't made it to this corner of Skye on our last trip, we took the opportunity to drive to the Aird of Sleat at end of the road before heading north towards our B&B. On our last trip we had stayed near Broadford at the bottom end of the island but this time we were up past Portree. 

Waiting for the ferry at Mallaig

Not far to Skye now

Along the road to teh Aird of Sleat

Along the way to Portree

We stopped in Portree to buy some dinner...and that was easier said than done. There people everywhere...mostly queued at the doors of restaurants waiting for tables to come free. In the end we joined the queue at a fish and chip shop and had take-away fish and chips on the quayside...doing our best not to share any with the sea gulls. With dinner out of the way, we pressed on to our B&B in Treaslane on the road to Dunvegan.

Portree Harbour...our fish and chip shop is down there

The view from our B&B window