3 day tour of Isle of Skye and Scottish Highlands

DAY 1:
We got up early and left our hostel to take our week long luggage on a 3 day tour lol... The tour van left from the Rabbis tours shop on the Royal Mile which is pretty much where our hostel was situated so it was nice walking distance... but OH SO FREEZING COLD!! Got a hot drink from Starbucks just across the road for breakfast and waited for the tour guide to show up. He showed up and was quite a bubbley character. As we were blissfully unaware at this time, but soon to find out - he liked to repeat himself.... A LOT. every single time he said something, but it was more ammusing than annoying. We left the Royal Mile and headed out of Edinburgh and were loaded with local information straight away. Not a bad thing at all - its great to know about places you're going past or have been to or going to.

Our first photo stop was at Doune Castle. Here we were told that this is the castle which was featured in Monty Python's Holy Grail. Most the places and castles that we stopped at were in some sort of Hollywood movie. This castle was pretty kool for the first real sorta castle ive seen. It was in the middle of all this green grass and little rivers and trees. It'd be pretty kool to live somewhere like that I reckon, can play ur music as loud as u want!!! =D

The next was where we met Hamish, perhaps the most infamous local resident of Kilmahog. With his long red hair, bangs that cover over his eyes and big round tedy bear ears he was one sexy beast. Seriously, One. Sexy. Scottish Highland Cow. And boy was he in demand, everyone wanted their photo with him, me included of course!! Hamish was like the best cow ever! You know, like, good at doing cow things.

.. i guess.

This stop was the one that the tour bus driver was most looking forward to, we even stopped here on the way back to Edinburgh and we took a different direction home!! The Spean Bridge Whisky Distillary always have free samples of their products...It was really quite un necessary to stop here both times, for as long as we did. Most stops were photo stops, or toilet stops for a couple minutes. But not Spean Bridge... 20 minutes.. half an hour.. come on dude, theyr just tiny little samples lol

At loch Tulah we saw the resident red deer... Shell and I agreed to call him Charlie, it seemed to suit him well. His name is Charlie...and he shall be mine.
We had a photo stop at the most photographed mountain in the UK because of its Symmetry.

If it's viewed from a particular angle it is apparently perfect in its symmetrical value, kool, kool. I think that the snow still on the top of it made it kooler anyway lol

We stopped at Fort William for lunch at about 2pm and people from the tour went their separate ways to find something to eat. We found a little pub not far from where the bus was parked and had a good chicken burger with chips lol. I rang home to Australia to find out that I awoke the parentals as it was bout 11pm there. WHOOOPS... but hey - dad answered the phone so I may as well talk now that hes there lol. We had an hour off the bus for lunch before having to go back.

We went back on the road and passed the setting for Higrids house in Harry Potter the Prisoner of Azkerban.

It was just trees and mountains cuz they had to dismantle the set - not that i'd be able to recognise it anyway - I havent watched Harry Potter. We were also told a list of movies that had been filmed in the Scottish Highlands; Monty Python's The Holy Grail, Braveheart, Rob Roy, Highlander, Harry Potter - Prisoner of Azkerban

We finaly got onto the Isle of Skye island and made our way into the town Portree which is where our accommodation would be for the next two nights, set our stuff down, got something to eat for dinner and head to bed early for the next day's tour of the island.

DAY 2:
Day 2 was spent going all around the Isle of Skye having a look at the local famous spots. Our first stop was to Uig's fairy glen where the movie Stardust was filmed with Michelle Pfiffer, Clare Danes and Robert Deniro in it.

The bus driver kept calling this stop the "Fairy castle", we got out of the bus and walked up the green grassy hills surrounded by stones and small trees, even a little lake. It was beautiful - and of course freezing cold but still worth the treck!! No matter where the sun was at this place it was amazing and gave the place a magical aura. If fairys, elves and little pixie creatures did exist anywhere it would definately be here. After the bumpy walk up to the top of the main hill we looked down and saw that the stones on the ground were arranged in shapes. One was shaped as a star, and the other was shaped as ... wait for it... wait for it... AUSTRALIAAAAA!!
We then went up to the graveyard where Flora McDonald is buried, she's famous in Scotland for helping a prince escape the british governed soliers in the 1700's. Right on the same gravel road as the cemetary is a replica village of the thatched houses that would have been around in the 1800's.

We then made our way up to Neist point which is the most westerly point on the Island. This is where we got the most exercise EVERRRRRRR and the best views too. To get to the furthest point the road changed into a footpath so we either had the choice to stay at the bus or go on a really long, trecherous, rocky, steppy and hilly walk to the end of the cliff where there was a lighthouse, and lots and lots of sheep. So when we finaly got to the end as well as vertically standing sheep with red spots on their bum and suction caps underneath their feet standing on the sides of the hill, we saw a lighthouse, a few boat/ship things and a whooooooole lotta water and sunlight.

I got some great photos here and was really glad i chose to get some exercise and go on the hour and a half long walk to see some amazing scenery, even if it did kill me.

DAY 3:
This was the day we headed back to Edinburgh but it was still, none the less plenty of time for photos and spending time out of the bus. Our first stop which was one of the longest was at the castle we passed on the way in before we crossed the bridge. Eilean Donan castle on Loch Duich was the scene of some amazing photos both of the castle and its surroundings. One of my favourite photos that I've taken over here are from this place, just of a little tree lol but ooooooooh its so much more ;) you'll see!! We werent allowed to take photos inside the actual castle but hey - its all good, the outside was much prettier im wasnt fussed.

It was worthwhile going inside though, just to see all the different rooms and they way the place was built from the inside, and to see how life actually was back then. There was a different speaker in the two main rooms and they told us a bit about the history of the family that lived there and where people sat, depending on who they are and their level of respect as well as the funtion of each room. It wouldnt be normal if we werent told the  movies that were filmed here... so here goes again, one last time; The Highlander, Maid of Honour, and James Bond 007 - The World is Not Enough. Apparently is appeared in the beginning of this movie as the headquarters of... something.

We went home a different way than we had came so we had lunch at Fort Augustus where Loch Ness is.

We had about an hour and a half to stop for lunch and have a look around. Ok - we dont celebrate Halloween back home but they do over here, so Rachelle and I come up with this; considering that it is Halloween - we figured that of all days throughout the year, Miss Nessy would definately pop up and show her pretty little head, and yeah - she did, but just as we were about to take the picture - she got a little shy and disappeared underwater again... What?!! Dont look at me like that!! True story! Poor lil thing, i think we scared her off. lol Nah - we didnt get to see her so we put it down to her goin out shopping for lollies and stuff for the kids that would visit her humble little abode that night in their cute little costumes...yeah .. that must be it. ;)

The rest of the journey home was kinda long, and unexpectedly held up with road delays. We were getting a bit antsy as the train we were supposed to catch to get back to Manchester left at 8:15 that night (turned out to me 8:15 for a reason!!) We were stuck in traffic for aaaaaaaaaagggggggggggeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss. The tour was supposed to get back at 6:30/7pm but luckily we made it JUST in time. We tookour luggage aff the bus as soon as it stopped, thanked the tourguide and ran to the train platform with a couple minutes to spare. There was still a bit of stress going on once we were on the train because we still had another one to catch that connected to this one to take us in to Manchester. We ran and again - just made it as the train stopped.

We were THEN able to relax and enjoy being on our way home knowing that we were on our way home to a comfortable bed and good nights sleep. Ready to settle into living life for the next two years in Manchester.