We hit the jackpot during our 2 day visit to the Isle of Skye. Both days had brilliant sunshine and blue sky - the perfect weather to make the most of the stunning scenery there. I am told Skye is beautiful in all sorts of weather, but if cloud covers the hills it must lessen the views somewhat.  When we were in Skipton, one of the fellow B&B guests said when they were there they had only 'horizontal rain'. So we were lucky.

We had been particularly looking forward to visiting the Isle of Skye, as we had seen images and it has always seemed to have a rugged, romantic but unusual beauty. And then we saw a Grand Designs programme set here, and that reinforced our view. 
 
 
 
On our way there we stopped at Plockton, a beautiful almost tropical sheltered village by the sea (I didn't realise until afterwards that Hamish Macbeth was filmed here). The houses are strung in a row along the seafront, with a few pubs and cafes interspersed. The gardens here are wonderful, and it is interesting that many of the houses have a garden across the road from the house - so the house is on one side of the street, and the garden on the other (the sea side) of the road. Apparently crofters have rights to the land, and some owners cannot use the land opposite their house as they do not have permission. It is mainly a holiday place now and the people we spoke to seemed very relaxed. 

We then travelled over the Skye Bridge, and stopped at Kyleakin, just on the other side of the bridge. It was from here that ferries operated before the bridge was built (in 1995). On a hill in town are remains of Castle Moil, looking more like strange rocky outcrops than castle ruins. This castle was once the home of the Mackinnon clan, and from here they guarded their area and made it difficult for anyone else to enter the strait.
 
 
 
There was plenty of day left (especially when the days here are so long at the moment) so we drove to Dunvegan at the north-western point of the island to see Dunvegan Castle. Home of the MacLeod clan for the last 800 years, it sits on a slab of rock 10 metres above the surrounding land and Loch Dunvegan. Inside the history of the family is very well explained, and the water gardens, with bridges over the stream at various points are very pretty.

But on Skye it is really the scenery which is so glorious. It seemed that the colours were so bright - the water so blue, the grass so green, the flowering gorse so very yellow, and the mountains in the distance many shades of purple. The rusty coloured algae on the shores of the lochs gave just the right contrast and the lambs in the fields were a reminder that this is farmland and not some undiscovered land.

We took a tiny road further west on the Duirinish Peninsula to Waterstein Head and the Port Neist Lighthouse. Many of the roads on Skye are one vehicle wide only, so every few hundred metres is a 'passing point' where one party must wait (or back up) for the other to pass. So it can be slow going, but oh so worth it. The Waterstein cliffs here, at 300 metres are the highest on Skye, and Neist Point opposite is the most westerly point on the island. In between is Moonen Bay. We had beautiful views as we walked the many stairs up and down to the Neist Point Lighthouse. There are holiday cottages at the lighthouse. What a remote place to holiday!
 

 
At our B&B outside Broadford we had a view across Loch na Cairidh to Scalpay Island from our bedroom window. Lovely. And then to dinner. Our B&B host told us that the area is known for their local langoustines, so we set off to find some. Which we did. They were served hot, with warm brown bread and butter, and they were delicious.

Then another sunny day, so we took the drive to Elgol, as LP claims it to be the one of the most scenic on the island. And it was a lovely drive. The Cuillin Hills came and went into view, and there was a wonderful view of this range from the pier at Elgol. Sheep grazed, or slept on the road. Water trickled over rock filled gullies and wildflowers kept surprising us with their colour. Best of all was the view of Bla Bheinn across the reedy water of Loch Slapin.

We couldn't have wished for better weather, and the Isle of Skye certainly surpassed our expectations. Certainly one of te highlights of our trip so far.