The grey clouds do look threatening this morning as they roll in need to keep fingers crossed that we will have a nice day to travel round Skye. Quite cool outside and I don’t think the weather is going to clear up looks like we might have rain as we drive across the Loch Alsh with views of the Inner Sound waters over the huge Skye Bridge to travelling round the Isle of Skye. First impressions were lovely as we could see the village of Kyleakin to the left on the shoreline but then as we drove through the pines and woods there was a lot of logging, clearing of the land, replanting of pines and construction work a very rocky landscape.

Stopped at the little town of Broadford for diesel £1.119lt very good price plus top-up supplies. I don’t know if it is the damp weather but the Scots are a miserable mob, the chap at the old Information Gift Shop wasn’t much help of signs to see and map.

Seeing the Isle of Skye is very mountainous here is really only one main road round the coast to see the views so you clockwise on the first circle then either turn left at Borve or go back to the main town of Portree to do the second circle. It is very busy on the road so many coaches, motorhomes and cars plus sometimes the road is narrow and you have to be careful with oncoming traffic.

Pulled over just outside of Dunan to soak in the views of the scenery and the Island of Scalpay across the water everything looks so barren. Like everyone else we continued on the winding coastal road round Loch Ainot beautiful views of the lake and the vehicles travelling up the mountainside across the lake look like ants. When you see lots of vehicles parked you know it is a good view point, which we did and the panoramic views from the rugged mountaintops were magnificent overlooking Loch Ainot. Winding down through the Trotternish Ridge mountain range down through the valley or glen you could see streams of water flowing down the mountain, little brooks and in the distant the Tianavaig Bay with a car ferry sailing down the river into the Raasay Harbour at Sconser where the ferries come and go to the nearby islands.

Another stop was at Sligachan at the Cuillin Brewery where we joined the many other tourists to view the razor ridged, fierce and moody looking Cuillin Mountains a walker’s paradise and a spectacular backdrop. The walkers got a bit damp today with the rain and I wouldn’t want to tackle those huge mountains, not sure if the first one is the Red Cuillin so many mountains on Skye.

The whole of the Isle of Skye is so bleak patches of pine forests, lots of rivers and lakes with the water flowing of the mountainsides, marshlands only really good for sheep, cattle and dairy to graze plus potatoes.

Snuggled safely in its picturesque natural harbour is the main town of Portree here we had a rest stop for lunch before taking to the A855 to do the first circle, which was first off the extraordinary rock pinnacle of the Old Man Of Storr part of the Trotternish Ridge twenty miles of jaw-dropping rock formations. Many fantastic views of the rugged coastline steep red cliffs, the rocky Lealt Falls and stream flowing to the shoreline, the ruins of the Diatomite Mining, the red columns cliffs of Kiltrock and the Mealt Falls flowing down the Cliffside into the ocean below.

Just past Staffin on the coastline the scenery changed as we drove round the top end of Skye on a tiny one lane road don’t know how the coaches manage this road as it is very windy through a very barren looking countryside like going through a desert not much to see just mountains and marshlands with sheep, cattle and dairy cows grazing and the occasional house. What a wild and woolly countryside, nearly got blown away when we stopped to look at some ruins on the top edge of Skye and like other weren’t sure what they were something to do with the MacDonald Pipers, as it was too cold and windy we didn’t stop at the Museum of Island Life a little stone village of how people lived on the island centuries ago.

Winding our way down the other side of the top-end we have gorgeous views of Uig Bay the town of Idrigill and harbour. We thought this would be a good place to wild camp on the long pier but found it was the Ferry Pier and too busy with cars going to the other islands. So it was up the mountainside round the coastline along A87 instead of going back to Portree we took a shortcut down a narrow lane to A850 the other circle of the island narrowly missing other motorhomes doing the same.

It’s raining now as we pass Loch Snizortbeag and there is no suitable place to park for the night only little layby’s and lots of homes in this barren countryside till we found this little church with a carpark. Settled for the night Richard spots a farmer coming over to investigate and Richard being a good salesman makes friends with “Neil” and we are right for the night. Just wish it would stop raining, it’s freezing cold and there is no internet.