Are you ready for a massive blog post? This was SUCH a beautiful day that I couldn't rein myself in. Photos and joy overflowing in all directions. Okay, let's do it. :)
In the morning we said goodbye to Portree and I took yet another photo of the bay with all the boats, because I can.
That big dark building just above the row of houses is the community hall where the cèilidh was held the night before, by the way :)
We left Portree and went to Glen Brittle to see the Fairy Pools. Liam was not feeling like seeing any more nature at all so I went for a walk down to the falls by myself.
"By myself" meaning me and plenty of other tourists, of course. On this photo it looks like the path past the falls would be crowded, but it wasn't bad once I got down there.
The Fairy Pools are a series of small waterfalls in the burn that runs through the valley, and the path leads past them all. It's a really pretty place.
But the biggest reward for me came when at the top of the last little pool, the wide, paved path turned into a narrow, winding, rocky path, more like something you'd find in the Swedish mountains. I could see that the path continued to follow the burn further up in the valley, called Coire na Creiche, and I decided to keep walking.
It was such a lovely walk. It felt so much like being in the Swedish mountains - the closest I've ever come to it without being in the actual mountains. The temperature was perfect, the nature wonderful, the air easy to breathe, and I was so happy. I made the most of the few hours I had here. In the end I turned back at the cairn at the foot of the mountain, but at some point I'll come back and do a longer hike here.
Then we continued driving and stopped to take photos ...
... of extra pretty views, like this one ...
... and this one.
We went to check out the Talisker destillery on the way which was fascinating - the air in the whole area smelled so peaty and bready!
And then it was time to head to the mainland to not get to our accommodation too late. But you can imagine that it was hard for me to leave a place where every road leads through landscape like this.
But at Eileen Donan we had to stop to have a look around. How can a castle BE this picturesque?!
All of these photos are just taken from the side of the road we were driving on; we didn't even have to go "anywhere special". The Highlands is a ridiculous place and at the end of the day, I was completely emotionally exhausted from trying to take in all this beauty. This is Loch Linnhe.
And these last two are taken from the Ballachulish Bridge.
This is our delightful bed & breakfast, Orchy Bank House.
There's no restaurant in the area so we bought some dinner on the way and ate it in the lounge.
We were asked to hand in a little note with our breakfast order before bed. Liam hoped that by drawing a fried egg with hearts around it, he would be able to get a full vegan and a fried egg. Turns out, he absolutely did. :)
Jalen Ngonda | That's All I Wanted From You
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