Eight Days in Scotland - Day 5 Skye

Skye...It sounds exotic to me.  Lonely Planet listed the Isle of Skye as one their top destinations in Scotland and it was highly recommended on a travel podcast I listen to.  And then I started reading about how crowded and overrun Skye has become. 

So then I wasn't sure if we should even go, the other option was Inverness and Lock Ness, but we did and it did have some really spectacular scenery.  However it didn't wow me more than Arran or Mull, and since it was April, it wasn't too crowded.  But I think it would be pretty awful during high season.  The roads are narrow and there's not a lot of parking for the popular sites.

We took the first ferry from Mallaig to Armadale and I expected  it to be crowded, so I insisted on getting there pretty early, but there were only about 5 cars.  Once off the ferry, we drove straight to the northeast corner to the Quirang.  

After our windy, cold walk, we headed back down to the coast for some great views.

And then it was time for lunch at the Skye Pie Cafe, it was good timing too, because I was really hungry.

After lunch, we drove past The Storr rock formation.  It was easy to see from the road and there were already lots of people there.  Then we continued over to the west side to Dunvegan Castle.

The castle has a self-guided tour of the first floor, but the upper floors are still inhabited and it is surrounded by a pretty garden.

Back at the south end of the island, before taking the ferry back to Mallaig, our last stop was at Armadale Castle.  Which is a ruin with a great view of the water and has some really big old trees.  There's also a small history museum.