I did wake up in enough time this morning though to go for a wee walk around the sleepy little village as it began to wake up this morning. I walked through the town (about 1/4 of a mile) and down to some docks on the small loch. One of my favorite aspects of the lake is the Isle of Discussion where disagreeing parties were ferried to and not returned to the main land until their arguments were settled. (Can we get one of these at school?) Glencoe is a very small town, one road and one small loop road. A wee primary school, a pub, a village hall, and mini market compose almost the entire village besides the influx of Bed and Breakfasts thanks to its excellent location in the Highlands.
On my way back to our own B&B (Callart View was great!), I watched as a young deer crossed over the rocks in the creek that ran through town. Just a reminder of the serene setting I found myself in this morning.
We enjoyed a delicious full Scottish breakfast this morning, the perfect start to a full, busy day.
Our first stop was the Glencoe Visitor's Centre just a mile up the road where we would get advice on a walk we could do. The center was in a nice area, so our first walk was actually around there, just a short wander to get a taste of the scenery.
We opted for a walk that seemed to have great views, but wouldn't be too long nor too wet for our tennis shoes: Devil's Staircase. It was a strenuous 45 minutes of up, but it was so well worth it. The hike took us to a ridge that overlooked another valley and another view of mountains in Scotland's Highlands region. We enjoyed the challenge, but the views even more so.
The hike down was much less strenuous, and we were soon on our way to another adventure. Our drive north took us alongside the train tracks of a well-recognizable train: the train Harry Potter took to Hogwarts. We only saw the train briefly, but thankfully, we saw some other sites along the way. One national park along the way boasts being a Harry Potter filming locations, so of course we Harry Potter fans had to stop. The lake and its surrounding steep mountains was apparently often used as the location of Hogwarts and behind the lake, the train tracks ran over a picturesque bridge that could also be seen in the films.
After hoping the train would come as we watched the bridge, we realized we needed to book it to make it to the ferry we had reserved. Thankfully, our little car did beautifully and the ferry was much more laid back about timing than it claimed on the website. A short 30-minute ferry across a cloudy, drizzly channel and we were on the Isle of Skye!
I am so very excited to be on this glorious island and after listening to the helpful young lady at the tourist information, we could stay here all week and still not see everything. The Isle of Skye is a relatively small island, home to about 12,000 hardy, friendly people and even more sheep. It took us about an hour to drive north from the southern port to our home for the next three nights in Portree. Along the way, just like in Scotland's mainland Highlands, we were wowed by the incredible scenery and fabulous bagpipes thanks to the local Gaelic radio station. Large inlets of water surrounded by mountains of rocky cliffs and rolling hills that seem as though one day rocks fell from the sky rather than rain. There were water falls, rock formations, highland cows, and fluffy sheep.
After a delicious fish dinner, we wandered back to our lovely harbor "home," The Pink Guest House just as the sun was setting, about 10:30.
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