Scotland Road Trip: Isle of Skye, Day 1

Publishing this after 1 million year.

Went on a roadtrip to Isle of Skye with my family, last year after my graduation. This is a blog post on our first day - which mostly consisted of driving and stopping by some attractions for a wee while! In case you ever want to go on a road trip to Skye, I hope this will be useful!

Isle of Skye is dubbed as one of the most beautiful places on earth - a trip to Scotland is never complete without a road trip to Skye. Isle of Skye is known for its rugged landscapes, picturesque lochs and medieval castles.

A drive from Edinburgh to Skye will take roughly around 4.5-5 hours without stopping. However, during my recent trip in June 2017, we took almost 9 hours to get from Edinburgh to Skye - because we just had to stop by so many times by the road side/take a detour as the views were simply too beautiful & breathe-taking! (Refer to above map for the road we took!)

After picking up our rental car from Edinburgh Waverly, we dropped by Mark & Spencer Food at Chesser Avenue to pick up some groceries and ready made meals. If only I have a picture of our car hood: it was packed to the brim with food! Prior research indicated that there are not many grocery store in Skye, and foresaw that by the time we reach Skye it might be late & most stores will be closed.

Hit the roads and stopped by Callander for lunch and Mhor Fish. Mhor Fish is a sit-down and takeaway fish and chip place at the quaint little town of Callendar, a popular stopover place for peeps heading to the highlands 

Prices were reasonable and the fish were fresh! The chips are deep fried in lard oil, which gives the chips some extra "oomph" 

Some really good and creamy seafood chowder, packed with chock full of seafood! Heavily buttered bread mmmmhhh

Also by the same company, Mhor's Bread, is just down the street across the road. I paid a separate visit to Mhor's Bread back in September 2016, and I have to say, they serve some really awesome pies and sourdough bread!

As we continue our journey from Callendar through The Trossachs National Park, you'll start to notice the gradual change in scenery, a switch from bright green landscapes to a shade darker, and loch everywhere. 

A random loch we stopped by just to take five.

A must-go: The Three Sisters Mountain Range at Glencoe.

Things I would have done differently if I get the opportunity to go to the highlands again: Camp a night around the Glen Coe, go for a short hike/highland walk around the area, and proceed the journey to Skye! The Three Sisters are named as one of the finest view in the UK! 

Next, we made a detour to the Glenfinnan Viaduct. A little off our track but a must-see, especially for Harry Potter fans.

There are only two steam trains that passes by the Viaduct every day. Make sure that you plan the timing of your trip properly to catch the trains! The steam train passes by Glenfinnan Visitor Centre at 10.55 am and 3.00 pm daily.

For more info: https://www.secret-scotland.com/Attractions/jacobite-steam-train.html

We drove by Eliean Donan castle, but it was tad too late and hunger pangs struck us so we decided to drive straight to Camus Cottage, the AirBnB we rented.

Most people would choose to spend a night at Potree, as it is one of the most "happening" town. (By happening, I meant that it has more restaurants and small grocery shops. Camus cottage is about 30 minutes drive to Potree, at a quieter part of Skye.

But anyway, Camus Cottage was amazing. The kitchen is very complete - you can even use their tupperware and thermos to pack food! We had our own fireplace. Some firewood is provided, but you got to get some more from the gas station if you finish your supply!

Other practical info:
- Mobile network signal in Skye is horrible (Giffgaff & Three). Make sure you download an offline map!
- If you opt to stay out of Potree, stock up on food as most likely there aren't much choices of food available!