Day 4 The Long "Road to the Isles"

In planning the Itinerary I knew I would be driving past places I would love to spend unlimited time. Today was the worst day for the need to ignore enchanting signposts.
On the map, the journey from Tarbert to Hallin on the Isle of Skye is around 220 miles.
I had "planned" just 2 stops. The map didn't allow for the Highlands!

By the time I reached Oban I need petrol (and advice on how to open the petrol cap!) After Islay's "flatness" Oban seemed to be built on the sides of hills. If I ever return to Scotland Oban needs 2 days, not the 20 minutes it receives.

The next couple of hours is like the scenery - shrouded in mist. I knew I was driving among the real highlands but it was difficult to see them. Only one photo opportunity presents itself somewhere above Fort William.

The first scheduled stop is Eilean Donan Castle.
It's the Castle in the setting, more than the castle itself, that is the attraction.
The setting doesn't disappoint. It deserves to be on every poster and tea-towel.
There is a magical enchantment about the place that the weather cannot supress. The Castle itself is closed for a wedding, and there is a tourist trap that serves hot coffee, yet I wander around in another postcard for an hour or so.

Anxious to keep moving I pull myself away, pay my 5 quid on the Skye Bridge and head to Broadford. Accidental prior research had identified the Broadford Hotel as the birthplace of Drambuie - the closest thing to a spirit I can handle.
I guess not too many other people are aware of it as I'm the first visitor to the bar for the year to mention the fact. Two did the trick on the miserable day.

Fortified, I soon discover why the Isle of Skye is famous. It's where Nature shows off! Well-timed temporary breaks in the weather at Sconser and Sligachen provide the chance to try and capture the spectacular scenery.

It's again pouring and getting dark as I arrive at my scheduled home for 4 nights on the Waternish Peninsula. 8 hours after leaving Tarbert, driving through rain for most of it, I arrive at the primary destination of the whole pilgrimage - Loch Bay, the ancestral home from which 2 great great grandparents emigrated in 1853.

Exhilaration despite the weather.

All I needed was to be greeted by a yuppie, hippie, vegetarian, New Age, smart-arse pommie ex-pat host!