2 Day Isle of Skye and Eilean Donan Castle Tour From Inverness
Day 1
Meet your guide for a 9am pickup in Inverness. From Inverness the first stop is Loch Ness, one of the world’s great lakes. The beautiful scenery starts the minute you leave the city, you are in the Highlands! You will journey towards the mighty stronghold of Urquhart Castle. The castle commands splendid views of the famous Loch and the Great Glen, with views out to the main Nessie-sighting “hotspot”. Catch a glimpse of the famous monster! Travel through an area of soaring mountains, sparkling rivers and wild moorlands as you traverse through Glen Sheil under the shadow of the Five Sister’s of Kintail. Drive along the black waters of Loch Duich to the next stop, Eilean Donan Castle, where you can go into the Castle (£7.50 fee) or just hang around taking pictures. A short drive from here takes you to the unforgettable Isle of Skye. The views from Skye Bridge can be breathtaking, your first site of the wonderful Cuillin mountains. You will be driven to the Fairy Pools, where you walk with the supernatural through fairy-sized landscapes and forests, rock castles, and their most famous baths, the Fairy Pools. Weather permitting, you can swim in the pools of the river (a must for all wild swimmers), one of the UK’s best wild swimming spots. Travel to the far west of the island to Neist Point. This is the best place on the island to spot whales, dolphins and sharks. Here you are transported to the edge of the world, with its beautiful scenery, awesome skies and endless ocean.
Day 2
Start the day with a short drive to Fairly Glen. Wander between countless conical mounds, known in the Highlands as fairy knowes. Next up is the Quiraing, a landscape used in many sci-fi films, and known for its rock formations and stunning vistas. This is a place like no other, part of the largest landslip in Europe. Stop for lunch in the wonderful town of Staffin at the bottom of the Quiraing overlooking the island. Travel on southbound and make a stop at Kilt Rock, the dinosaur stamping ground of Skye with its rich fossil heritage. This whole coastline has been designated as an outdoor museum in stone. Interpretation panels bring the area to life, explaining the unique geology of this land and the history of it’s people. Next travel to the Old Man of Storr, one of the iconic natural features on the dramatic Trotternish Ridge. The Old Man is a 200ft stone pillar, which has detached itself from the highest point of the ridge, creating a fantastical landscape of twisted rocks. The tour takes in large parts of the eastern side of Skye with it’s awesome skies and endless ocean, before heading south and back over the Skye Bridge to the Kyle of Lochalsh. Finally head back to Inverness where the tour concludes via Lochcarron and Rogie Falls.
