Exploring Scotland: Road trip to the Isle of Skye

‍‍Good morning, lovely dreamers! Today, Andy and I (being Maya) want to share with you some tips and tricks from one of our recent road trip through Scotland and hope that you will learn something new from our experience.

Related:

1. Experience Edinburgh, Scotland almost for free – the perfect Edinburgh travel guide

2. Exploring Scotland: Visiting Linlithgow Palace for a day (or two)

3. (At least) 10 Awesome spots to geek out over in the UK – part 1

But first, a little backstory.

Since we moved from to Scotland, got settled, and got jobs, we also made a promise to ourselves. We have to explore as much as we can, as often as we can, because back home and in Spain, we couldn't afford to do much, and we missed on a lot of things.

Ah, regrets.

But it's not too late, so we'll surely get to do it in the next years.

Because we don't want you to miss on stuff as we did, or not know if and why you should explore some places, we want to guide you through what's worth it. Are you with us?

What to know before you go to Skye

Before you visit Skye, you need to be prepared for the Scottish weather, obviously, but go for a bit more hiking and nature explorer, than city break attire.

This means hicking boots for him and her, thick leggings for her (for comfort), rainproof trousers for him, and rain and windproof jackets for her and him- preferably thicker, and definitely with hoods.

Also, even in August, you might need beanies or at least something to cover your ears, because the wind is outrageous sometimes.

Another tip is to always, always, always have at least one change of socks and tops with you. We got rained down 3 times on that day, and on one occasion we were without our jackets on. Ouch!

Never trust the sun in Scotland, that's for sure!

The Summer months, from May to August, are the best for visiting because Scotland and Skye do get a lot of rain, but at least now you get a chance of sun now and then.

How to get to the Isle of Skye

From Perth, you just have to follow the A9 and A87, and you'll get there in a little over 4 hours of driving. You won't need to worry about a ferry or anything, you just cross the bridge and you're there.

Where to stay on the Isle of Skye

If it is in your budget, and you are very, very fast ( at least 3 months in advance) you could get a lovely spot like The Hobbit House on Airbnb, or a spot at other BnBs and hotels around the island, perfect for couples.

From June to August it's busiest, so if you want a spot, make sure to book way in advance.

Also, using our Airbnb link helps you save some money, so check it out today!

But if Airbnb is not in your budget, you could try wild camping for a change. We wanted to do just that, but unfortunately for us, we couldn't find a good, safe spot this time, and the weather was extremely unfriendly for wild camping in a small car.

Maybe someday we'll get a caravan, and try this again.

If you do have a caravan, or you are very comfortable sleeping in your car for a night or two, there are several spots you could wild camp in.

There's an app called park4night that is super useful when it comes to finding the best spots for camping, updated by campers, with photos and all the info you need.

Careful if you have a small car, though. The wind is really, really tough, and it might not be the best or safest idea to wild camp on rainy periods. We ended up just driving back to Perth on that night, to stay on the safe side.

You just do you, lovely dreamers, and stay safe.

But enough with the chit-chatting! Let's get to it!

Exploring Scotland: Road trip to the Isle of Skye

1. Explore the Scottish Highlands

Driving up from Perth, you will inevitably explore the Scottish Highlands, no matter what road you take. High hills, green grass, and of course - clouds, clouds, and more clouds. But the views are just breathtaking, and worth every drop of the inevitable rain.

Take a few moments and if it's safe to do so, park somewhere and just admire the beauty! You can find very cool spots along the road where you can do just that, like dams, for example, just look for them. Also, don't forget to take some pictures!

Look at this little guy! found on the road from Fort William to Skye.

2. Visit Eilean Donan Castle

If you've read our other articles, you should know one thing about us by now - we LOVE medieval architecture and history, so of course we had to, just had to talk about at least one castle in this post as well.

The Eilean Donan Castle is such a gem, it would be a pity not to stop and take a tour. This one is not included in the Historic of Scotland Explorer Pass, but for just 10£, it is worth it.You'll get an audio guide on a phone thingy that kind of looks like a remote from outer space, which is always fun, and you can visit in your own rythm while learning about the history of the castle.

The interior is filled with pieces of time, to be admired and not photographed (sadly), but it is put together beautifully.

From Vikings who raided the lands, to Spanish soldiers who supported the Jacobites, this little island has seen it all. Raided, bombarded, left to be torn apart by the elements for almost 200 years, and then eventually bought and rebuilt, this is truly a gem you cannot just pass by.Plus it also served as a filming location for various movies, including Highlander, James Bond - The world is not enough, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The private life of Sherlock Holmes, amongst others.

3. Climb to the Old Man of Storr

Why is this weird looking piece of a mountain so important, that people from all around the world come to see it, and climb (a good while we might add), just for it?Because it's one of the most beautiful ancient lava rock formations in the world. I read somewhere that it supposedly is 145 Million years old! Wow! The view once you get up there is breathtaking, and it just feels like you walk through time, or another planet.

Now we know why they decided to film Prometheus here.

The Old Man of Storr is located on the north of Skye in the area known as ‘Trotternish peninsula’, the largest formation of its kind in the UK.

One legend says that the Old Man of Storr gets its name because the rock outline and the protruding pinnacle resemble that of the face of an old man. “Storr” itself is Norse in origin and is thought to mean “Great Man”.Another legend has it that the Old Man of Storr was a giant who resided on the Trotternish Ridge. When he was laid to rest upon his death, his thumb—the “Old Man”—remained partially above ground.

Whatever the true legend is, the Old Man of Storr really deserves your attention while on Skye.

The start of the walk is by the main road from Portree to Staffin, it's about 2.3-miles (3.8-kilometers) long, and it takes roughly one hour and 15 minutes to complete, depending on your pace.

We didn't do it all, because the weather wasn't friendly enough and it got a bit dangerous at some point (we saw rain falling perfectly horizontally), so we only admired the Old Man from afar this time.

4. Follow in the footsteps of dinosaurs

While at the staring point of the walk up to the Old Man of Storr, we encountered a map, with different points along the North East coast of the island that are worth exploring, and of al of them, we decided to try and find where the dinosaurs once lived and walked.

We found two major dinosaur-related points.

One, at Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, which, by the way, is a very very beautiful spot to photograph, and it has a surprise "soundtrack"- the protective fence you see at the edge of the rock is basically a giant musical instrument and it does create an amazing experience when you are up there looking out.

The second one is on a small beach called An Corran, that is accessible from Staffin. Just make sure to follow the road to Staffin beach, and go there when the tide is low, because the actual footprint was in the water at the time we got there.

Still, it is amazing to see the beach and think that dinosaurs actually were there at some point in our Earth's history. (Yes, we geek out about dinosaurs as well, not just pop culture)

5. Admire the surroundings

Last but not least, don't forget to admire the beauty of Skye. It is truly out of this world, and you will end up feeling like you are on another planet at some point. But hey, there's nothing wrong with that!

Now, we know that Skye has so much more to offer, and yes, one day is not enough to go through it all, but we hope that this gave you at least a taste of how amazing Scotland is. It sure did for us! And you won't believe where we go next (but more on that later).We hope you enjoyed our adventure for today, lovely dreamers, and if you did make sure to share it, pin it, tweet it! We would really appreciate it.

Our question for you is: What's your favorite local legend from where you live?