After driving past the entrance to the physical feature named the Old Man of Storr and seeing how…read morebacked up traffic was, I opted for a different approach to observing the landmark. On the night of Sunday 14 July 2019, I decided to go for a drive and see the sunset (which was about 10:08 p.m.) and see the moon rise. I watched the sun set from the upper West area on the Isle of Skye, then approached the landmark southbound at about 10:48 p.m. The rocks were visible from up the coast, so I pulled my rental car over to the side of the road so see if I could take a few landscape pictures with the protruding rocks visible. Upon exiting my car to find a good angle, I encountered a male urinator in my way. Passing the person, I was able to get the from-afar pictures I was hoping for. The landmark is marvelous up close as well as from afar. Subtracting out the vertical urinator, it was a good experience and lovely physical feature in the moonlight.

A must see if you are on isle of skye. There's a parking lot with plenty of spots. It does have a…read morecost , but you get six hours for a few dollars. The hike itself is a couple of miles and does have quite a bit of vertical gain, so just be prepared for that. There's an alternative route for the first part, which has an easier grade and just takes a little bit longer. Everything about the hike is picturesque, and it is worth taking the time to make it to the end of the hike to the viewpoint. Bring a rain jacket because the weather can be unpredictable. Overall, highly recommend this hike.

There is no shortage of wonderful places to visit in Scotland. The Fairy Pools are a great option…read morefor those who would like to do some moderate hiking while on the Isle of Skye. The Fairy Pools are on the far side of the valley from the parking area (which is also where you will find bathrooms) necessitating that visitors hike down into the valley and then up on the far side to get to the first waterfall that marks the beginning of the pools. The trail is 2.4 kilometers / 1.5 miles. The steepest portion of the hike is from the parking area to the "bottom" of the valley. This is not a difficult hike for most people, but can be taxing for those who don't get out as much as they might like, and may pose issues for folks with mobility concerns. The valley (Glen Brittle) is at the foot of the Black Cuillin mountains making even the view from the parking area stunning. Things to know: * As you work your way up past the first of the pools, take a moment to look to the other side of the path now and again. If the faeries favor you, sunlight and mist coming off the falls and the mountains may create an ongoing rainbow for your enjoyment. * The toilet facilities have limited hours so plan accordingly. * There is little in the area of the pools, part of what makes them a spectacular visit but means you will want to bring along anything that you might think you need on your outing. * The Isle of Skye is extremely popular during the tourist season, and the Fairy Pools are a big part of that. Plan to spend a lot of time dealing with traffic if visiting during that time. Our visit was early November - cool, typical Scottish seasonal weather, and while a good number of people where there, it was not crowded.

We drove on a single-track road to get here. We came in the late afternoon and parked in the lot-…read more£8. It's 2.4km to get to the first main waterfall, which is the highest fall and deepest pool. You can walk further down where the crowd thins to see more pools. The water was nice and clear.

Corrieshalloch Gorge is surprising. You park up in a dry little car park and start making your way…read moreinto the trees below you. Thats right, the trees below you. As you descend, you hear the sound of water. They as you look across, you realise, the ground has dropped away. If you didn't know any better, from the shape of the rock, you would think the gorge was man made, but it isn't. It's the result of glacial carving (think a rockier version of the Grand Canyon, or better still, Cheddar Gorge). The sheer depth of the gorge takes your breath away as you stand on a gently swinging suspension bridge overlooking the Measnach(sp?) falls before carrying on your walk to the viewpoint jutting out over the gorge below. From there you can walk back up the steep incline, or take the gentler amble to the left of the suspension bridge back up to the car park above. It's a lovely detour on an amble around the area and well worth stopping to take a look.

The Fairy Glen became quite popular the past few years. Social Media playing a part....but without…read moreI might have not know about it as well. We actually didn't expect much, but were surprised by this small, but oh so charming area. All the famous spots are only about a 10-15min walk away from the main parking lot. Even some visitors seemed out of breath and calling it a hike (!), it's actually just a short walk with a quick steep section that doesn't take a trained person to climb. It's really easy. Even though I would at least recommend sneakers, not sandals or so. And of course it's a near impossible task for strollers, wheelchairs and visitors with walking disabilities. The "Castle" Ewen is visible from far away. But it's not an actual castle, but a rock formation. Named for its looks, because it really resembles some tower ruins. Arriving on top you will meet the first stone circle and then a large natural platform with wonderful views of the Glen Conon. It was a foggy and cloudy day. But that in my opinion just added to the magical atmosphere. Even though there aren't Fairy at work here. The stones in the circles are place by visitors and this isn't appreciated for many (good) reasons by the locals. And they do remove them from time to time...but they get being put back all the time. If you go back the way you came up (the first path up) you will miss the second and bigger circle. Take the further path down to come across it. There were visitors, but not as many as we thought. And the green glen, the views and all the little sights (including a good number of sheep) were far more impressive than we hoped for. It is indeed an amazing, pretty and magical spot here on Skye. It's a nice little walk. Even our English Bulldog managed fine - walking both ways - up and back down.

I visited the mystical Faerie Glen (Fairy Glen) on the Isle of Skye for the first time in the…read moreevening on Sunday 14 July 2019. After spotting the picturesque tiered/stepped hills and rocks of the glen from the road, I pulled over and parked in a small off-the-road dirt area to the side of the road. A picture I took of my rental car with the tiered landscape and some of the rocks in the background I posted on Instagram (later deleted my account in the first half of 2021), and my rental car company (Enterprise Rent-A-Car) asked if I would send them the picture (which I did) to be included in their marketing. Still find that pretty neat as of writing this on Friday 9 June 2023. There are a couple of ridges with tiered/stepped ground and as I had not been here before I took off on a small footpath. I soon found I was on a tiered ridge one ridge over from the glen... One ridge to the north, sheep were grazing and baa-ing. In the other direction was a ridge with some rocks that looked like they might be part of the glen. As I made my way to the ridge/area with the rocks at the top, I encountered grazing sheep and found a number of their droppings. Trees and flowers were along the path to the glen, including pink foxglove. The glen area was warm in tone on my visit, partially the summer evening sun and partially the colours of the landscape. Trails and rings in the glen were very well maintained and clear to see. It was a little on the cooler side temperature-wise for the places I visited that day and I was happy I brought a sweatshirt.

We enjoyed our trip to the Dunvegan Castle and Gardens. While we did enjoy several of the garden…read moreareas, the midges were a bit bothersome so we didn't visit them all. They also offer a boat trip to see seals, fishing trips and loch cruises. Restrooms are located behind the parking lot gift shop. There are also a slightly hidden set of restrooms in the parking lot.

Historic, beautiful, well organized castle with many docents. An amazing place full of history,…read morewalks and a massive gorgeous garden!! The Dunvegan castle and gardens is the Oldest continually inhabited castle in Scotland. There is a cafe nearby, a short video on the castle, docent guides at the door and in several rooms... and everything has a short description to add meaning. In the warmer weather- April to September there are Seal tours. If you just can't bear to leave there are 5 holiday cottages for rent! That must cost a pretty penny ( or pound)! More info at www.dunvegancastle.com

1 1/2 hrs on a ferry from Mallaig took me to the Isle of Rum. It is a magical approach with a wide…read morebay and Kinloch Castle standing looking out to sea. A new jetty has been built and a short walk takes you into the small village. It's like time has been forgotten and all you can hear is the whirl of generators as there was no electricty on the island. Scottish Natural Heritage own Kinloch Castle which was featured on the BBC programme 'Restoration'. There are tours of the castle which shows you the amazing wealth that was once in place. It is very sad to see the way the castle is currently being left to ruin. There are many walks which can be undertaken but if you are catching a ferry later that day keep an eye on your watch. There are Highland ponies on Rum, all with distinct characteristics which are only found in Rum ponies, who work on the hills carrying the deer. B&B can be booked to stay in the castle, I went for the day and I would love to come back for a few days. Remember to pack your midge lotion as the midges are ferocious! :-)

A quirky castle on the Isle of Rum, and efforts are underway to restore it. If you take a tour…read moreinside or even peek into the windows you'll see a lot of eclectic decorations and ornaments. Very interesting!

When I visited the Dun Carloway Broch (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Chàrlabhaigh) area on Thursday 11 July…read more2019, the parking lot and main visitor centre were open, however the broch itself was undergoing restoration and hence temporarily closed to visitors. I opted to observe the broch from outside and check out the visitor centre. One aspect I enjoyed, here at the broch and in northern Scotland in general, is the signage being both in English and the native Scottish Gaelic. Inside the visitor centre were a few displays covering different parts of the interior of the broch and the different time periods of importance for their usage. Brochs were a form of residence in Scotland in BC times up to about 800 AD. They were used up until about 800 AD, however their routine construction ended in roughly the first century BC. I thought this was a cool, that ancient (pre-AD times) architecture was at least semi-intact in Scotland. A true testament to human curation and restoration efforts. A variety of items were available for purchase. I went with a guidebook in both the native Scottish Gaelic and foreign English. The interior of the visitor center was well designed for visitor circulation. Worker(s) were kind.

Dun Carloway Broch is an iron-age prehistoric site, about 5 miles north of Callanish on the Isle of…read moreLewis. Brochs are unique to Scotland, and their exact function is still not precisely known. Essentially, a broch is a tower, originally about 10m high, with a double wall with passages in it, and a central area presumed to have been open to the air. The towers taper slightly to the towards the top, giving them a shape akin to power station cooling towers. There was usually a single, low entrance to the tower from the outside, and no windows to the outside, but small openings to the interior. Some of them are isolated, but others form part of iron-age villages, but are nearly always by the sea. The most commonly accepted theory is that they were defensive structures, which could be easily sealed off from attackers: livestock would shelter in the central area, and the inhabitants in the spaces within the walls. As well as protection, their height may have provided a look-out function as well. Locations close to the sea were always vulnerable to pirates and other sea-faring enemies, so the locals would need somewhere to escape to quickly. They generally date from around the first century AD. The one at Dun Carolway is one of the best preserved of all, with one side standing some 5m high. The remains give an excellent insight into the overall structure. As well as the archaeology, the tower has a spectacular position overlooking the sea on Carloway Loch, giving amazing views and as well as a feeling of remoteness.

When visiting the approximately 5,000 year old Calanais Stones (Stones of Callanish) on Thursday 11…read moreJuly 2019, I took a gander about both the visitor centre, including the gift shop, and the standing stones. The visitor centre was very informative and provided historical and spiritual context for the stones and their importance for the people who have lived in the area for the past few thousand years. I found a number of very cool finds at the gift shop that I bought including small rocks, a book with information about the stones, and a leather bracelet. A stone circle trail led out to the circle and around the different stones. Informational placards were located at different points along the trail. Coos (some also call them cows or cattle) in a field neighboring the stones watched on as I walked past and took pictures of them. I managed to catch the historical site in a lull before lunch and found a few other people exploring as well. As a geologist, it was fun to see the textures in the rocks that composed the stones. On my way out (around 12:30 p.m.), traffic was picking up with some people parking about half a mile down the street.

As far as neolithic Stone Circles go, they do not get more enigmatic and prodigious than The…read moreCallanish Stone Circle. The Callanish Stone Circle is older than Stonehenge, and one of the oldest stone circles in Europe. This stone circle is set in a remote and wild section of Scotland that is as beautiful as it is rugged, and the Stones of Callanish add another element of wonderment to the backdrop. Geoff D. didn't think the stones at Callanish were that big or impressive next to Stonehenge, but the stones at Callanish are most certainly bigger than "3 and 4 foot tall rocks that one can walk around in about 30 seconds". I am 5 foot 1, and the stones were several feet taller than I. Besides that, a comparison between Stonehenge and Callanish strikes me as such a novice mistake: both circles are entirely different. A big difference is that Callanish appears to fall in line with a lunar calendar, as opposed to a solar one. Considering the weather is much wilder in the Outer Hebrides compared to southern England, and that Callinash was excavated from a peat bog in 1857, I think it is amazing that this stone circle is in such good shape. Callanish wasn't reconstructed as Stonehenge was, it stands now how it was hundreds of years ago. Also, aside from Callanish, there are several other stone circles in the area that are in plain eye's view from Callanish. The mythology surrounding the Callanish circles is also intriguing, as this stone circle has a few unique theories attached to it. Some people explain the presence of the stones as the giants of old who then lived on the island. The giants refused to be Christianised, so St. Kieran turned them to stone. Another theory is that the stones were carved to look like an army of giants to thwart any Viking raid in the island. Who wants to raid an island protected by an army of giants? The Isle of Lewis is out there, even by Scottish standards, but certainly worth the trek. Not only for the stone circles either, the area is full of amazing sites.

I am completely in love with this little place. You get some good views of it from the road but…read moreit's so worth going up to in person. I times it so I'd get here around sunset and take some photos- and it seemed like a lot of other people had the same idea, and a few were even camping here too. It's smaller than you would perhaps expect from the images, but that makes it cuter, and slot in to the surrounding beautiful settings on the loch even more perfect.

Anything you might want from the Scottish Highlands, condensed in one spot: high, superb mountains,…read morevast moorland, a huge loch surrounded by a legend about a mermaid, a ruined castle inhabited by ghosts, perched on a peninsula watching over the dark water, a turbulent history to discover, an amazing silence (if you are lucky enough not to get hordes of other tourists), and the majestic landscape all around. The free access makes it even better!

Skye has endless pretty sights, landscapes and views. Impossible to see them all on one trips. Last…read moretime around we've skipped on this waterfall, but this trip we had some time for it. There's a huge parking lot (fees apply), showing how popular this spot is. We came in the later afternoon though, plenty of space and only few visitors. A good time to visit. The ocean views are really pretty here, you can see for miles and miles. The cliff and the drop is massive. And then there's the waterfall of course, dropping over the high cliff down into the ocean. An amazing sight. Also depends a bit on how much water the waterfall carries. It's not the biggest, but probably the one with the biggest drop. There's a platform to see the fall, but still, the angle isn't great, even you put you head or phone out (don't drop it...). The best views you would definitely have from a boat. Or a drone. I'm happy though there weren't any drones....they are terribly annoying in my opinion. And loud. Still, you can get some decent views and pictures. And what your eye can catch is pretty spectacular. There are plenty of waterfalls on Skye and surely this one here is special.

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls are located on the Isle of Skye and share a viewpoint and parking area. I…read moream separating my reviews by medium (solid, liquid, gas), this review is for the solid, Kilt Rock. The rock consists of two easily observable structural units. On top is the vertical pillars formed as lava cooled following its ascent to the surface above the pre-existing land. Beneath this vertically structure "Kilt Rock", so named as the vertical columns form a texture similar to the pleats of a kilt, are roughly horizontal layers of sandstone rock. As a geologist who specializes in mineralogy and volcanology and was on a Scotland heritage travel trip when I visited on Sunday 14 July in 2019, I could not be more pleased to see a rock reminiscent both of the heritage/textiles of my ancestry and volcanology. A beautiful natural rhyme.