It’s finally March so I decided that it was a good time for me to escape Edinburgh and visit the countryside. My friend and I signed up for an Isle of Skye tour through an International Student Tours company in high anticipation that we were going to meet students from all over the world. Ironically however, a majority of the students were American. And some were even from the University of California system, the system that my university is under. Insane. Throughout the tour, there were times when I would forget which country I was in simply because I was surrounded by so many American accents. Despite that, it was nice to meet new people and hear about their experiences in Scotland.
The tour consisted of two days, most of which was spent getting on and off the bus, into the pouring rain and violent wind. This was my first time doing a bus tour and while I enjoyed being able to see an abundance of sights, everything felt incredibly rushed as we only had an allocated amount of time at each destination. Sometimes, we only had 15 minutes to stop, admire the views, take a few pictures and then get on the road again. I realized that I would much rather go at my own pace to spend more time admiring each location which led me to consider renting a car for a future trip. Who knows how I’m going to manage driving on the left side of the road and who would be crazy enough to join me though…
On the first day, we stopped at or drove through the following places: the Eilean Donan Castle, the 5 Sisters of Kintail, the 3 Sisters of Glencoe (a major location for many movies like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Skyfall and Braveheart), Fort William, Skye Bridge, Glen Garry, Great Glen, Loch Tulla and Loch Lomond. My favorite part of the day was seeing the many waterfalls that were flowing so abundantly – nothing like I’m used to in dry California.
On the second day, we hiked the Old Man of Storr, as seen in the left picture above. You may recognize it from Harry Styles’ Sign of the Times, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus or interestingly enough, Transformers 2. Apparently, even Kanye West has filmed an MV in this location. We also stopped at Lealt Gorge and Falls, Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, Sligachan Bridge and ended the trip with a visit to the charming town of Portree.
Overall, there was so much beauty to be seen!! If you enjoy being in nature, seeing astonishing views (like sheep) and can brave the wind and rain, I would highly recommend a trip to Isle of Skye! Maybe with me in my rental car? Haha cheers!
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