Highlands and Islands: Isle of Skye Day 2

After our busy first day on Skye, this is what we got up to on the second day!

We decided our first stop for the day would be the Fairy Pools, since they get really busy in the summer.

We stopped at Sligachan Bridge, which is at the point where you turn off towards the Fairy Pools from Portree. I remember last time I was there, the mountains were all covered in snow!

We arrived at the Fairy Pools and managed to find a place to park. We trekked into the glen and up towards the mountain towards the amazing pools. 

I think last time I was there we didn't go as far up the hill and didn't see as many of the pools. This time we stayed for a long time and really explored. 

The pools were amazing! This would have been my favorite spot on Skye, but there were so many people! It was hard to enjoy the scenery because it was swarmed with people - I can't imagine what it's like in the afternoon. We also planned our entire road trip around being on Skye in the middle of the week - I'm so glad we weren't there on the weekend!

From there, we headed to Neist Point. Last time I came to Skye, we spent a long time there and I hiked to the top and to the lighthouse, so I didn't feel the need to walk around - I decided to read in the car (which turned into a nap). 

I did get out and walk up a short hill to overlook the little peninsula. 

My family came back and my mom had fallen after hiking all the way to the top and almost all the way back. She fell off the little ledge of the walking path (an inch or so) and hit her shin. By the time she got back to the car, she had a lump the size of a golf ball on her shin. We went to the little village, where there was a coffee shop. They gave her some ice, which helped a lot. 

We then drove to Dunvegan Castle. Because it was nearly 5pm, we didn't have time to see the castle, but we got tickets to see the gardens, which were extensive and in full bloom!

We walked around the back and saw the cove where they kept ships. 

We also heard there was a really nice beach just down the road from the castle, so we drove there and did the 2-mile walk down to the beach. 

I was really excited to see some of the white-sand beaches of Scotland's West Coast - my family got kind of annoyed at how desperate I was to see the beaches. 

Look at that!

We then drove back to Portree!

We stopped at the co-op because we had had a hard time finding room at a restaurant the night before. We decided to get some groceries and make our own dinner at the Airbnb, which was super nice and restful. I took a picture of the co-op because the sign was in Gaelic! That was a highlight for the highlands and islands - all the signs are bilingual. The language nerd in me will never die. 

The next day would be our last day in Skye and we would head north!