Isle of Skye, Scotland

Scotland, Wales, England together form Great Britain, Great Britain along with Northern Ireland form United Kingdom. Had a great chance to visit Scotland especially Isle of Skye during our trip to London. We rented a car in London and drove first to Glasgow. It was about 450 miles (650 kms) from London and took six to eight hours with frequent breaks. It was bit challenging for the first half an hour because they drive on the opposite side of the road unlike Europeans and sign boards shows Miles instead of Kilometers.

The drive from Glasgow to Broadford (Isle of Skye) was breathtaking with wonderful landscapes. The mountain range along with beautiful lakes on a sunny day was simply awesome. Probably one of the best road trips in Europe next to Bergen to Oslo in Norway. Norway and Scotland are different landscapes where the mountains in Norway are bit high and fjords add extra beauty to it. Scotland has got some lovely medium high mountains and many lakes. Benn avis the highest mountain range in Scotland gives panoramic view of the lovely landscape. 

The movie Harry Potter was taken in Scotland and one gets a chance to see those shooting spots while driving to Isle of Skye. Eilean Donan castle is worth visiting on the way to Isle of Skye. The bridge connecting the mainland and Isle of Skye is breathtaking. Portree is the biggest city in the Island followed by Broadford where one could stay overnight. The round trip along the coastline was a great experience and Dun vegan castle is a must in Scotland. What one shouldn’t miss in Scotland are the boat trips and seals tour. 

 The boat trip takes you to the middle of the sea and gives a great chance to see the seals. It was indeed an experience which will reside in my memory for long time. There were quite number of sheeps in the middle of the road and driving amidst them was a different experience altogether. Thank god we had three drivers who could frequently switch so that nobody is tired. The return trip from Isle of Skye was to Edinburgh where we could connect our flight back to Germany. We were lucky that it never rained during our stay in Scotland. Definitely for nature lovers and road trip adventurers, Scotland especially Isle of Skye can offer lot of attractions. 

I must honestly admit that it was bit difficult in the beginning to understand Scottish but with time, you realize it’s yet another dialect of English. I heard from my cousin there were quite of lot of Scottish settlers in New Zealand. I could presume both the countries have similar landscape one in the northern hemisphere and the other in southern hemisphere. Scotland wasn’t that expensive when compared to London. All in all we all had a great time in the Island, drove around 1000 miles (1600 kms) and thanks to weather god; she was so kind enough for us for the whole trip. 

Cheers,

Sathih Kumar S