Week #3 Kyle of Lochalsh, Isle of Skye, Fort William,

We started our third week off in Kyle of Lochalsh noted for its castles, hills and lakes as well as the main entrances into the Isle of Skye and to the north west coast.

There's a large collection of white-washed buildings in the main commercial centre of Kyle with a wide range of accommodations to suit most budgets. Though in the peak of tourist season it's very tough to find a room of any description.This point is of particular interest when discovering our Guest House host double booked our reservation.  So the scramble began and as luck would have it we stumbled upon quite an exceptional lodging at Rock View Guest House - yes completed as a seasoned travellers all in good stride without missing a step. Whew!

The Isle of Skye claims to be the best of Scotland and what with likes of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald who can argue the point. We certainly enjoyed all the climbing and walking, listening to the piping and the fiddle, visiting the castles and of course getting to know the friendly people. The Isle of Skye is certainly at the very least a quite a magical place.

If you use your imagination the cliffs in the above photo will appear to have a Kilt like appearace - okay concentrate and try squinting harder then:) Oh! There are some amazing Cliff top views across the sea to mainland Scotland.

 We discovered a small crofting village where it was possible to see the individual crofts (small farms) marked out by the fence lines. The fenced areas contain the better ground for planting crops or temporarily holding animals. The rough hill ground outside the fence areas is shared or given to common grazing.

It was then was off to Armadale to catch the Mallaig ferry (Mallaig being a small fishing village) and then the train to our final destination to end the remaining part of the week in Fort William. FYI The hamlet of Armadale is on the Sleat Peninsula, at the south end of the Isle of Skye. 

Mallaig to Fort William is described as one of the great railway journeys of the world this 42 mile trip takes you past a list of impressive extremes. Starting near the highest mountain in Britain, Ben Nevis, (which we will soon plan on to take a bit of)

Fort William is the outdoor capital of the UK and also the largest town in the Highlands. This area is a mecca for hill walkers and mountaineers and our selected base for the next 3 days to discover these West Highlands. Sue and I both felt years younger when hanging with this group of enthusiastic hikers pictured below.

Our walks steamed from easy family strolls, through longer, wilder hikes to ascents of the rugged mountain range.

Okay guys hope you've enjoyed this segment of our trip we've certainly had a blast. Next week promises to be even better -as if that's possible as we prepare for travels into the town of Oban, village of Kilmarti and trips to the outer Hebrides.