Skye: As world falls apart, this quiet, green and cold Scottish isle was worth half century of wait

(This is the last of a three-part series on Scotland.)

RAASAY, Scotland – The tall grass felt like clouds resting on the earth as Marina and I laid down and bathed our faces in the sun breaking through the clouds. A rocky ledge lay between us and Loch Dunvegan, looking almost as calm as we were. No one else was in sight. Nary a car.

As I closed my eyes and contemplated a life of tranquility in this far northwest corner of Europe, Marina fed her news addiction on her cellphone. Iran and Israel were dodging bombs. Minorities in the United States were dodging ICE. Two hundred and thirty shattered families wondered how a jet could crash 30 seconds after leaving an airport in India. She turned off her phone and looked up again.

In the Internet Age, it’s hard to leave the world behind. But while the planet seemed to collapse around us, we found a pocket in the world untouched by hatred and cruelty and death.

The Isle of Skye.

The Scottish isle is appropriately named. It seems close enough to heaven.  Skye is an island surrounded by an endless string of lochs splicing between green meadows and forested mountains stretching to the clouds. Castles date back 800 years. Cute country inns dish fresh seafood caught outside their doors. Hikes go into gray mist and past waterfalls.

We came to Skye at the tail end of our week-long trip to Scotland last month. I had been to the Inner Hebrides before. I backpacked around Oban and the Isle of Mull back in 1978 after college but never made it north to Skye, their biggest island. I’d been hearing about its wonders for nearly 50 years and was determined to see it this time.

If we weren’t killed first.

The journey

Research told me public transportation on Skye hasn’t changed much since Scotland’s Battle of Independence in 1296. The island has no trains. Buses are rare. Car rental is a must. That didn’t intimidate me. I’ve driven all over the world. Neither did driving on the left side of the road. I’d done it in New Zealand and the Caribbean. 

But when we drove the three hours west from Inverness, after we crossed the Skye Bridge the island’s roads went from narrow, curvy, two-land rural roads to … one lane. Every 5-10 miles, the two lanes would shrink into one.

A small outcrop of pavement was carved out of the trees nearby so the driver late to the shrinkage could move over and let the oncoming car pass.  Or, if you enter at the same time, the driver who loses the staredown must back up into the opening. That is, if you both don’t smash head on first. 

The roads also don’t have guardrails. That makes driving up windy mountains an exercise in white-knuckle fear but a necessity as they’re so narrow you’re liable to sideswipe the metal with every passing car.

Instead, many shoulders have foot-high drop offs that, when your rear wheel falls in them and spins in the gravel, shoots your car at a perpendicular angle into the middle of the road. That is highly inconvenient when cresting a hill and seeing a whiskey-toting semi bearing down on you.

The roads have holes deeper than any divots in Scotland’s 550 golf courses, and rain and fog make visibility akin to scuba diving in the North Sea.

“Africa has better roads than this,” said the well-traveled Marina as she squeezed another two inches of foam padding out of her arm rest.

She swung her arm so many times to the left, motioning me to move over from the center, she came home with Carpal tunnel syndrome.

When I returned the car three days later, I told the rental clerk about the lousy roads.

“Oh, yes,” she said matter-of-factly. “We’ve had a few fatalities over there.”

Thanks for the warning.

Raasay House Hotel

But after 3 1/2 hours and 110 scary miles, we finally made it to the ferry dock. It took us to Raasay Island, our base for exploring neighboring Skye. The Scottish Highlands have become hugely popular and prices reflect it. Skye, about the size of Guam but, with 13,145 people, one-13th the population, gets 650,000 visitors a year. Tourism employs one quarter of the population.

Every hotel in Skye was booked. Nearly every hotel was expensive. We settled for Raasay which, in rural terms, makes Skye Island look like Manhattan Island. Raasay’s population is all of 180. It has two four-star hotels which have the island’s only two restaurants and two bars. Raasay has one market.

Our Raasay House hotel, however, was a palace. We drove just up the road from the ferry dock to see this gorgeous stone Victorian mansion topped with seven steeples. I ordered a beer in the elegant bar and sat in front of floor to ceiling windows looking out over a huge green meadow, the ferry dock and the Isle of Skye beyond. Sheep grazed in the grass.

A beautiful garden sat out back where wire fences kept the plethora of wild bunny rabbits from eating the plants. A cold wind tore off the Sound of Raasay. Marina and I buttoned up our rain gear while back home Rome broiled in the summer’s first heat wave.

After unpacking, we made a beeline for Raasay’s main attraction. The Raasay Distillery is a five-minute walk from the Raasay House. The distillery is also a hotel, making it convenient for the busloads of tourists who come for tours and can’t negotiate the ferry ride back without falling in the sea.

Whiskey is the only alcohol I don’t like. I blame it on ODing on it in 1992 in suburban Denver with an old girlfriend who had a taste for Chivas Regal. But when in Scotland …

… I told the bartender my dilemma and she gave me a sample of the distillery’s mildest whiskey. It almost came right back up, as if it hit my throat and ignited a match. I settled for the distillery’s signature gin in something called a Spring Gin & Tonic: Raasay gin, grapefruit liqueur, tonic water and a blood orange. It was 7 pounds, about $9.50.

What we came to Skye for, however, was free.

Hiking in Skye

Hiking trails snake around Skye like blood veins. The main artery is 80-mile Skye Trail which stretches from the northern tip to the southern.

Not nearly as ambitious, we drove 11 miles across the island to Talisker. It’s a settlement on the Sea of Hebrides and may have the easiest hike in the entire United Kingdom. Marina, her nerves frayed to linguini from our drive, was all in.

We parked on the side of the road next to only five other cars. Curiously, beautiful turquoise peacocks from a nearby farm shepherded us down a flat dirt road past sheep peacefully baah-ing on a steep hill.

We passed a gate and soon came to a Georgian mansion, looking as out of place as a skyscraper. Talisker Farm was built in 1717 and twice expanded into the base for its 2,475-acre farm. We passed a bearded caretaker with a bandana and I asked how many people live in Talisker.

“How many people in your town could fit in a space like this?” he asked.

Looking around I said, “Oh, maybe 50,000.”

“Five live here,” he said with a bit of comeuppance.

I was going to ask how many great Italian restaurants and 2,000-year-old back-lit monuments are in Talisker, but I noticed he stood near a large power tool.

We continued walking and about 45 minutes after we left the car we came to Talisker Bay. The rocky beach stretched for 100 meters along a blue-green bay framed by two towering green, rocky cliffs. We saw only a couple sitting on a piece of driftwood.

That was our exercise for the day. Obviously having worked up a massive appetite, we drove east and came across a little country inn outside the village of Struan (pop. 300) on Loch Beag. The Bog Myrtle Cafe is a kitschy little place once featured in a BBC program entitled Designing the Hebrides. It’s decorated with big wooden tables, bamboo lanterns and antiques. A library was in the back.

We took a table next to a big window looking out at the water with soft music playing. I had an excellent Scottish reuben sandwich and Marina had a cheese sandwich with soft drinks for 33.85 pounds ($46). Unlike in ‘78, Scotland is not budget travel.

We skipped one of Skye’s many major attractions. For 800 years Dunvegan Castle was the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod, perhaps the greatest force in Scotland’s revolutionary history. Put off by the 17-pound ($23) price tag, we instead walked the pretty gardens outside. A walkway went past a babbling brook and two foot bridges and a couple waterfalls. A big gazebo offered cover from the rain and a peaceful rest stop on a 62-degree day.

Few, however, know about one of the best views in all of Skye. Driving past the castle about a mile down a narrow, almost hidden road, we came to a clearing on Loch Dunvegan. We got out and saw a beautiful back view of the castle, its image shining off the water, surrounded by a blanket of green. We sat in the grass. We closed our eyes. We forgot the world’s chaos.

Into the mist

The joke about the Scottish Highlands is it has two seasons: rainy season and July 15. The town of Glen Etive, about 100 miles south of Skye, gets about 130 inches (3,300 millimeters) a year. Skye gets about 70 inches (1,780 mm).

We lucked out. We may be the first couple in history to travel in Scotland for a week and not see rain. However, that doesn’t mean we saw everything. On our third day, we traversed the island on a cold, windy, gray day in the mid-50s. Clouds seemingly hung over the hood of our car. Mountains to the west were near rumors. But looking east along the Sound of Raasay, the views were right out of an Instagram promo.

We stopped at Kilt Rock, two huge basalt formations with greenery hanging down in undulating waves like the pleats of a kilt. A vicious cold wind knifed through our clothes. We leaned against it as we trudged to the cliff’s edge for photos deserving of our walls.

We continued on to Quiraing, a mountain near the northern tip a few dozen switchbacks up. Next to a parking lot stood a sign showing hiking trails zigzagging all over the area. A group of about 15 intrepid hikers walked up the hill and in a few seconds disappeared in the mist.

I walked along the green cliffs overlooking the massive forest leading all the way to the beautiful sound a few miles away. A small group of Asian tourists brought a golf bag for a photo op atop a cliff. I told one of them, “You could drive the ball 500 yards!”

Hiking more than a couple hundred yards was out of the question. Mist hung over the mountains like a thick hoody. We returned to the car and headed back.

Despite Skye’s popularity, it has not exploded with summer homes and development. Driving around, we saw 100 times more sheep than people. At one time in the 19th century, Skye had a population of more than 20,000. But famine hit. Then improved agricultural technology made landlords force suddenly disposible farmers off the land, mostly to the New World.

Between 1840-1880, 30,000 people were evicted from Skye. As early as 25 years ago, Skye had only 9,200 people.

Most are in Portree, Skye’s capital famous for its gumball.colored houses on its picturesque port. Tourists and fish ‘n chips shops were everywhere. We warmed up in the Cafe Highland Cow where they sold souvenirs of the island’s signature animal on everything from pillows to calendars.

That night at Raasay Distillery, we had lamb and lobster from its mandatory fixed menu and I chased it down with a Blood Orange Sour. Yes, dinner cost 137.25 pounds ($187). In Raasay, you’re a captive audience.  But forgetting about the world, in a place like Skye, is priceless.

If you’re thinking of going …

How to get there: Drive. Public transportation is almost non-existent. Skye is 3 ½ hours from Inverness and 5 ½ from Edinburgh. I paid €207 for four days from Arnold Clark Car & Van Rental in Inverness. 

Where to stay: Raasay House Hotel, Isle of Raasay, 44-147-866-0300, https://raasay-house.co.uk, e-info@raasay-house.co.uk. Four-star hotel built in a renovated Victorian Mansion a short walk from ferry dock. Elegant bar and restaurant with big rooms and pretty garden. A center for Raasay’s outdoor activities. However, to reach the island you must pay a car ferry 27 pounds ($37) for each round trip of the 25-minute journey from Sconser on Skye.  Raasay House is overpriced. For three nights, I paid €1,092 – with no breakfast which is €20 per person. It’s best to stay on Skye which is connected by bridge to the mainland.

Where to eat: Bog Myrtle Cafe, Struan, Isle of Skye, https://www.instagram.com/bogmyrtleskye, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Pretty, cozy family run cafe 11 miles west of Portree on the sea. Uses local ingredients for delicious dishes and pastries in a relaxed atmosphere. Breakfast and lunch dishes range from 12.95-15.00 pounds ($17.50-$20). Closed for holiday until July 23.

When to go: Skye gets rain all year but May is the driest month. October-December are the wettest with 21 days a month. Like everywhere else in Europe, I recommend avoiding July and August. Although they are the warmest months, with highs averaging 61 degrees, Skye also gets very crowded. We were lucky in June. Only sprinkles on our last day and temperatures in 50s.

For more information: Portree iCentre, Bayfield Road, Portree, 44-147-861-2992, https://www.visitscotland.com/info/services/portree-icentre-p333111, portree@visitscotland.com.