Isle of Skye - Bride's Veil Falls, The Storr, Kilt Rock Mealt Falls, Uig Ferry to Tarbert, etc.

I've procrastinated on this because it was such a full day and it takes a lot of time in front of the computer, putting it all together.
Day 6 includes a LOT of activity on the Isle of Skye (LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!), including a very fearful ride (for me) that I'm calling the road of death ... 6 miles of stress. I tried to relax. I really, really tried. I KNEW I'd be ok. But genuine fear is so fascinating to me; you can KNOW you'll be ok but yet still be absolutely terrified. David was so patient with me, and kind; I could tell he knew I was really struggling with fear because he didn't even pick on me. 

We started off our day leaving Fort William ... we had to be to the ferry terminal in Uig, Skye, by a specific time, so we used that route and time limit as our guide. Corban and Megan spent several more hours on the phone today, sorting out their lost passports, so they missed the second half of our time on Skye ... David and I left them in Portree and continued up the east side of Skye, seeing all sorts of really amazing things that they (sadly) missed out on. We met up with them in Uig at the ferry terminal, right after the road of death. 

Things we saw today, in order (lots in the video at the end of this post) ..... 
Before Skye:
Invergarry Castle (not to be confused with Inveraray Castle yesterday!)
Waterfall River Shiel
The very famous Eilean Donan Castle (we did not tour it ... just walked around it and enjoyed the beauty)
Now in Skye:
A  yummy pizza lunch at Gasta Pizzeria within the Isle of Skye Candle Co Visitor Center
A quick trip around downtown Portree ... here's where David and I separated from C&M
Bride's Veil Falls
The Storr / Old Man of Storr
An Leth-Allt view point / Lealt Falls
Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls
The road of death - A855 our drive after leaving Kilt Rock and heading towards the terminal in Uig.
CalMac Ferry from Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris - FERRY: MV  Hebrides
Drive from Tarbert in Harris to our hostel at Grinneabhat in North Bragar on Lewis.

Things of note (video at the end).

Invergarry Castle (ruins - built in early 1600s)

Waterfall River Shiel - a nice little walk off the road. I wish I would have had it in mind to take pictures of all the interesting and creative ways we had to park!! This one was a bit 'iffy'. 

The view. Picture perfect. WOW.

Eilean Donan Castle - we had a nice walk around the grounds but did not feel like it was worth it to pay the fee and battle the crowd to see inside. We walked right up to it and around it, though.

Gasta Pizzeria - wood fired .... delicious!

Bride's Veil Falls (The Storr as seen in the distance in the second photo below) - this was a very nice walk and there were only a few other people there. I did not take pictures of The Storr (just a few videos) ... it was CROWDED. Really crowded. There were two big parking lots and both were packed with cars waiting for others to leave so they could have a turn parking. The Storr is definitely THE PLACE everyone coming to Skye wants to see.

An Leth-Allt viewpoint / Lealt Falls ... it was really scary for me walking out on the deck to the end of the viewpoint. I'm sure I looked ridiculous; most folks walk right out onto the end of the deck without a thought. I, on the other hand, tiptoed out carefully and held on to the rail tightly. The closer I got to the end, the slower I walked ... and the started kind of sliding my feet to the end. Fear. I said it above. So strange and irrational ... I think. I mean, I guess the decking really could give way for various reasons, but it was pretty new and felt really solid. No amount of talking to myself could stop me from scooting out like a big chicken. But the view!!!!!! So beautiful. I only snapped pictures of the falls - but I took videos of the falls AND the sea view (Little Minch, I think) to my left.

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls - And I think the body of water here is called Little Minch. This was very beautiful, too. The first few pictures I share here reminded me of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, only a bit smaller. The view of the waterfall is hard to see from the angle I was at ... I've seen really pretty pictures online, though.

Scenes from the road of death ... and now I know why one of the first bigger sentences you learn in Gaelic is "Sorry, there was a sheep in the road." ... apparently a very real excuse for being late. There are hardly any fences for the sheep here, so they roam free.
Even though I was really fearful, I kept taking a deep breath and praising God to be able to witness such a beautiful place. I was very thankful that I still had enough sense and presence of mind to notice the beauty all around me. I'd love to go back here some day, park, and take a hike. There are trails and hikers all around. I totally admired the hikers!!!! And I saw a legit Scottish dry stone sheep fank ... in the video I share below (no pictures). Maybe others would not be excited about this, but I felt like a kid in a candy shop.  :) :) :) 

THIS VIEW! Very normal here. And the single-track road. Scary.

See the helicopter? More in the video ...

A lamb nursing on the side of the road, of course!

Almost to Tarbert on Harris - it was neat seeing how we were turning into the terminal. I enjoyed this ferry just like the last two. Apparently ferries are my thing. I'll share one more ferry ride in the next post.

Check out the video. I literally had a big smile on my face the whole time I edited this video. I enjoyed our time on the Isle of Skye and enjoyed our time on the Isle of Harris and Lewis. The next post will be about Lewis ...stay tuned! Here's the video: