The wonderful Isle of Skye, Scotland

We visited the Isle of Skye, Scotland during September and we were very lucky to experience great weather – above average temperatures and no rain.

The gallery below shows many of the photos we took during our five day driving holiday. We trust they will give you some idea what to expect on the wonderful Isle of Skye.

Shop Cluster
There is a small cluster of shops on the way north in Broadford. It includes the Take Away, SHE Shop and the Broadford Hotel.

Skye Home Entertainment (SHE Shop)
This little shop is amazing. It stocks a very wide variety of items. It is known locally as the "SHE Shop".

The Storr and Old Man of Storr
One of the most famous tourist climbs on the Isle of Skye.

Isle of Skye, Mt Storr - Loch Leathan
The access path to/from "The Old of Storr". Looks as though the clay type soil on the path could be slippery when wet. Loch Leathan is shown in the background.

Isle of Skye, Loch Dunvegan
This photo was taken from the front of the Colbost Museum, looking out over the top of the Three Chimneys restaurant towards Loch Dunvegan.

Isle of Skye, Colbost Croft Museum - Ticket Office
The novel unmanned ticket office at the Colbost Croft/Folk museum. An upturned wooden boat acts as the roof.

Isle of Skye, Colbost Croft Museum - Work Room
This is the second room of the two room Colbost Croft Museum. It is a classic example of an early 19th century "Blackhouse".

Isle of Skye, Colbost Croft Museum - Main living area
The visitor's book in the main living area.

Isle of Skye, Colbost Croft Museum - Outhouse Still
The outhouses at the Colbost Croft Museum are becoming overgrown.The National Trust is needed to ensure this important museum is maintained for future generations, or the owner needs to spend some money.

Isle of Skye, Uig Bay - Typical Skye Village
Such a pretty village.

Isle of Skye, Uig Bay - Ferry Terminal
Uig has an important ferry terminal servicing the outer Hebrides.

Isle of Skye, Uig Bay
Uig Bay is so picturesque - but it has to be seen in real life to be truly appreciated.

Isle of Skye, Uig Ferry Terminal - MV Hebrides
The MV Hebrides "cornering" on approach to Uig ferry terminal

Isle of Skye, Uig Ferry Terminal - Car Park
We couldn't believe all these cars would find a space on the ferry, but of course they did.

Isle of Skye, Skye Museum of Island Life - The Weaver's House

Isle of Skye, Skye Museum of Island Life - The Old Croft House and The Old Byre

Isle of Skye, Skye Museum of Island Life - The Old Barn

Isle of Skye, Carbost - Talisker Distillery
I wish these distillerys would sell 350ml bottles for the traveller to carry more easily, and of course sample!

Isle of Skye, Loch Bay - Village of Stein
There are many villages nestled in the bays around Skye.

Isle of Skye, South of Staffin - Mountain Ranges
The countryside between Mt Storr and Staffin is very picturesque.

Isle of Skye, Broadford Bay - A Crofter's House by a Creek
We noticed this picturesque sight of a crofter's house by a creek on our walk around Broadford Bay.

Isle of Skye, Broadford Bay - Shipbuilder's Front Yard
Interesting front yard to this house on Broadford Bay.

Isle of Skye, Armadale Pier - Ragamuffin Arts & Crafts Gift Shop
The Armadale Pier has an interesting range of shops: a leather shop, two gift shops and a cafe. They are worth a visit.

Isle of Skye, Broadford Bay - One Half of 16 House
We never did find the other half!

Isle of Skye, Loch Airnort - Fish Farm
The fish farm nestled at the foot of the hills on the pristine Loch Ainort.

Isle of Skye, Loch Ainort - The Head (looking north)
Still more ranges

Isle of Skye, Loch Ainort - The Head (inner most point)
More of the mountain ranges that surround Loch Ainort.

Isle of Skye, Loch Ainort - Fish Farm
Took as many as three or four drives along Loch Ainort before we noticed the fish farm, and it was marked on our map!

Isle of Skye, Loch Ainort - Cuillin Reflections
As this photo shows, we had some terrific weather during our "Five Days on the Isle of Skye".

Isle of Skye, Kyleakin - The "Yes Pub"
Another example of the high profile on the ground "Yes" campaign

Isle of Skye, Kyleakin Harbour
The sleepy harbour view at Kyleakin. There wasn't much action at Kyleakin when we visited.

Isle of Skye, Kilt Rock and Waterfall
The "toe tingling" view of the Kilt Rock and Waterfall just to the south of Staffin.

Isle of Skye, Armadale Pier - Grumpygeorge of Skyelark
Gift and canvas print shop on the pier at Armadale.

Isle of Skye, Armadale - "The Yes Man"
The "Yes" campaign was very visible on Skye.

Isle of Skye, Sligachan - "Circling the Wagons"
Exposed caravan park near Sligachan.

Isle of Skye, Broadford - "Yes sign" on the outskirts of Broadford
Although the "Yes" campaign was very prominent on the ground, it was ultimately unsuccessful.

Isle of Skye, Broadford Sign
Broadford sign on the road into the town.

Isle of Skye, Broadford Bay - Sunroom
Sunrooms are becoming so much more popular across the UK, no doubt as a result of improved insulation technology. This one is obviously set up to monitor shipping with the prominent telescope.

Isle of Skye, Broadford Bay
A view of Broadford looking across the bay, with Beinn na Caillich or the "Hill of the Old Woman" as dominant as ever.

Isle of Skye, B884 to Colbost
An example of the mountain scenery so common on the island.

Isle of Skye, Armadale Pier
This is the picture from the road on the way into Armadale. Vehicle ferries are still an integral part of life in the New Hebrides. We saw three ferry piers during our visit.

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In our ebook (13,000 words, 29 photographs) we discuss our five days on Skye. We present a day-to-day account of our sightseeing activities; discuss the key attractions we visited; and provide our impressions, key facts, selected photos, and relevant references. We also discuss how we would plan our holiday if we could do it all again.
With our daily driving excursions we visited the Trotternish, Waternish, Duirinish and Sleat peninsulas. The weather was exceptional for our time on Skye which added a rich dimension to our sightseeing.
Key attractions included the Skye Museum of Island Life, The Old Man of Storr, Uig, Colbost Croft Museum, Kilt Rock and Waterfall, Shilasdair Yarn Company, and Armadale ferry pier. Just being able to drive to new destinations each day and observe the unique Skye landscape was a rare experience.
Crofting was a theme for us and hence we visited the Museum of Island Life near Kilmuir and the Colbost Crofting/Folk Museum. We present a short account of crofting including references for further reading in an appendix of the eBook.
We rented a well-appointed self-catering crofter’s cottage in Broadford as a base for the five days. As the second largest township on Skye, Broadford provided access to all the supplies we needed, as well as a selection of good restaurants. Broadford is a lower key township than Portree which we appreciated.
The Isle of Skye has a well-deserved reputation as a very good travel destination.

We think you would enjoy it.

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Visiting the Isle of Skye this year?