Several toilet stops
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Time spent outside the vehicle can be broken down approximately as follows:
- 20 minutes at various stops by Loch Ness (right);
- 10 minutes at the Five Sisters overlook;
- 30 minutes at Eilean
Donan Castle;
- well over an hour at Armadale
Castle/Clan Donald Centre (admission fee included);
- 45 minutes at stops on north side of Sleat, with fine views;
plus many shorter stops to look and, if so desired, to photograph.
This tour takes you by some of the most dramatic scenery in the British Isles, including the Cuillin Mountains in Skye and the Five Sisters of Kintail in Glen Shiel. This is not specifically a Loch Ness tour, but we do drive along two-thirds of the Loch's length and make several photo stops, usually including one by Castle Urquhart (right).
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ITINERARY
We proceed southwest by Loch Ness, viewing Castle Urquhart (above) and other
features. One of our stops includes views across the loch to Boleskine House,
former residence of Aleister Crowley and
Jimmy Page. At Invermoriston we turn west by Glen Moriston and Glen Shiel,
following in the steps of Boswell & Johnson.
We pass the small cairn commemorating Roderick
Mackenzie who was slain in 1746 after the Battle of Culloden; according
to the most dramatic accounts of this episode, Mackenzie - who bore some resemblance
to 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' - deliberately drew government troops in his pursuit
to give the Prince more chance to escape.
Discover hidden spots with us missed by most other tours!
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We continue west to Glen Shiel, passing the site of the Battle of Glenshiel.We come in sight of the sea at Loch Duich. If it's clear, we'll drive part of the way up to the pass of Mam Ratagan (1,300') with spectacular views of the Five Sisters (below).
We drop back down to the sea again and follow the north shore of Loch Duich to Eilean Donan Castle (below) - click here for more photos
and information.
This is a pleasant spot to spend a half-hour. The tidal island has been the site of castles for centuries, maybe millennia. Alexander II built a strong castle here in the 13th century to repel the Vikings. The present structure was much damaged in the 1719 rebellion (see Rob Roy) and restored last century.
There is a café and shop. If you decide to visit the castle, there is an entrance fee of £ 3.40.
After Eilean Donan we continue west and cross to Skye by the bridge from Kyle
of Lochalsh to Kyleakin, then driving north, west and south to Sleat, the 'Garden
of Skye'. We stop at the Clan
Donald Centre for over an hour. Facilities here include a fine restaurant.
Those with picnic food may lunch in the beautiful gardens - entrance fee to
the gardens and Armadale Castle (ruined) included in our price.
Leaving the Clan Donald Centre we take the winding road to Ord, Tokavaig, and Tarskavaig on the north side of the peninsula. The views to the Cuillin - the most precipitous hills in Britain - are breathtaking on a clear day - see picture below:
We also get views of Rum, Canna, and Eigg in the Small Isles and as we return to the south side of Sleat we get - again weather permitting! - magnificent views across the Sound of Sleat to the little railway terminus of Mallaig; Loch Nevis; Knoydart; and Sandaig, where Gavin Maxwell lived with his otters in the late 1950s.
We return from Skye to the mainland and turn north, returning to Inverness via Achnasheen, making an almost completely circular tour.
The views on this trip - mountains, seascapes - are amongst the finest in the British Isles when it is clear. Alas, we cannot control the weather but we will make this trip as interesting for you as possible whatever the conditions - and they're often much better than many people imagine!
The itinerary as given above is our preferred route. A variety of factors may cause us to modify the return itinerary; but the outward route is always as described above.
Other people with loose associations with this route include John Cobb - the 50th anniversary of whose death was commemorated in autumn 2002 - and the controversial astronomer Fred Hoyle.
