Skye - Armadale
We got up early this morning at seven o'clock because breakfast would be served at eight and we had to be ready before that. We slept well until about 05.30 when these two musicians decided to come home, stayed in the car for about 15 minutes, having a smoke and playing music. A bit of an annoyance it was. It woke me up but only for a few minutes but A. was wide awake for a while... and so was Jean and her husband.
After breakfast we packed our stuff and got on the road to our first destination; the Clan Donald visitors centre and the Armadale castle and gardens. We spent quite some time there walking around the garden and taking pictures of the plants, flowers and the castle. We went on this 'nature trail' taking us all around the forest and land surrounding the castle. It was a one hour trail.
------------------------------
Located on the Isle of Skye, Armadale Castle is really a mansion, not a true fortress. The original stone tower is in ruins, but outbuildings house the Clan Donald Centre amid large and very attractive grounds. The climate here on Skye is (strangely) almost tropical, and there are flowers on the grounds that would seem more at home in the rain forest than Scotland!
The newly restored stable houses a shop and restaurant, and is still new enough that the blueprints and plans for the restoration are posted.
The castle was built in 1815 for Lord MacDonald of Sleat.
The true tower of Armadale is empty and looks to be burnt. The folly that is build nearby is constructed of stone and roof slates taken from the tower house as it collapsed. Many of the castle sites have a folly built in the 18th or 19th century that is designed to look like some romantic reconstruction of a castle. The entire site of Hume Castle is an odd looking folly built in the last century.
------------------------------
A. got bitten by something that the people on the Island of Skye call a clag [horsefly]. He didn't see it and it must have been sitting on his jumper or something when all of a sudden it stung A. in his thumb. A nasty sting! A.'s hand slowly started to swell bigger and bigger and it was painful too! We asked the lady who sold us the ticket if there was any hospital in the area to have it checked but A. didn't want to go there in the end so we left the gardens and went to the museum to have a look around. Very interesting things were shown there! I bought A. a little gift, a cork with a funny sheep on top, so he can seal off his bottle of wine every evening, I bought the same sheep for myself but with a [key-]ring instead of the cork.
A. found a cool CD by the Peatbog Faeries; when I came to Scotland three years ago, Inge had arranged a 3-days guided tour and Nick the driver of the mini bus rushed out of the car into a record store and came back with a CD of the Peatbog Faeries that he played for days... When I told the lady at the counter she said that one of the musicians actually works at Armadale and that's why they sell the CD at their shop. The Peatbog Faeries where on tour and I noticed that the CD has been recorded at the Isle of Skye... Now isn't that a coincidence? After our visit to the museum we went to the restaurant nearby to have lunch there and relax for a while.
This morning when we woke up the sky was a bit cloudy, but by the time we were having lunch it was a nice bright and sunny day! Just beautiful! From Armadale Castle we went to Broadford to see the snakes and amphibians. The owner, a very nice lady, explained some things about these creatures and passed on a baby snake to the visitors to hold for a while. She told us that all the reptiles in there were found in luggage that was smuggled into the UK. Most reptiles had died because they didn't survive the trip but those who did ended up in a zoo or in this case with these people, who have put their own money and effort in saving these creatures.
This lady and her husband started this reptile centre in Broadford called the Skye Serpentarium to make people aware of the horrible things done to reptiles and to give them care and food. All of this done by sponsorships and their own money. These days they need the donation of people to survive and maintain this . So after her interesting story and holding the snake I asked her if it was possible for me to adopt a reptile. I could! So today I officially adopted 'Gizmo' the White's Tree Frog. In two weeks I will receive my adoption papers. The owner was so happy that I adopted Gizmo, she spontaneously gave me a kiss *grin*. If you'd like to take a look at their website, this is where you can find it...
------------------------------
The Skye Serpentarium was opened in 1991 by Catherine and Alex Shearer as an exhibition and educational centre. Since opening, they have been featured on BBC, Scottish & Grampian television and have won several awards. Catherine is an experienced herpetologist and has helped rescue over 500 abandoned or rescued reptiles and amphibians. There are over 50 animals on display from White's Tree Frogs to Large Green Iguanas. Catherine and Alex or an experienced member of staff is always in attendance and frequent snake handling sessions are held.
Aims of The Skye Serpentarium
-To provide an educational centre and to help soften people's attitudes to snakes and reptiles.
-To provide a safe, secure home for rescued or abandoned animals.
-To help prevent the trade in wild animals by supporting a captive breeding programme,
especially in endangered species.
-To encourage responsible pet ownership and provide advice, food & equipment to pet owners.
------------------------------
From Broadford we left for Carbost to go to the Talisker Distillery which is nearby this tiny little village. We wanted to see the distillery on the inside and have a wee dram as the locals would say. We signed up for the tour which took about 40 minutes. It was not new to me since I've been to the smallest distillery of Scotland a couple of years ago, but to A. it was quite an experience. The whisky was very good as usual [I finished a few Talisker bottles in the past...;)] but it was just a bit too early for me to have a drink. I also needed to be careful with drinking because of the diet.
From the Talisker Distillery we went all the way up north to the top of Skye to Uig where we took this road along the coast, amazing views out there! From Uig to Idrigill to Totscore, Linicro, Balgown, Kilvaxter, Kilmuir, Bornesketaig to this remote place where we saw crofts; old houses where so called crofters used to live. It was a mini village of some of these old houses next to each other; walls that are almost 80 cm wide so the cold wouldn't come in, tiny little huts built out of rocks and big stones, very interesting place to see!!!
------------------------------
Skye Museum of Island Life has an interesting collection of thatched cottages showing how people in the island lived a century or so ago. The first cottage was opened to the public in 1965. There are now 7 cottages, including the Croft House, the Barn, the Weaver's Cottage, the Old Smithy and the Ceilidh House.
The Croft House Kitchen
The kitchen was the main room of the house, and was where the family cooked, ate and sat. All the cooking was done on the peat fire which burned day and night, summer and winter on the open hearth. Heavy pots of cast iron were used, and the three-legged pot was often to be seen suspended over the flame by means of the 'swee'.
The cruisie, a lamp burning fish liver oil, was used before the paraffin lamps became common. The furniture consisted mainly of a bench or settle, a table, a barrel chair by the fireside for 'the man of the house' and another two or three chairs or stools for the family or visitor.
The Croft House Bedroom
In the middle of the house and leading off the kitchen is the parents' bedroom, containing an old-fashioned box bed. The mattress is filled with straw as was customary in days of old. The linen sheets are all hand-made, as are the blankets which have been spun and woven in a local croft house. An unusual exhibit is the curtain which drapes the bed. The flax for this was locally grown and the coarse linen woven by hand, some 200 years ago. The strong crimson colour was derived from a certain type of lichen from the rocks nearby.
The Barn
The agricultural system of Skye is crofting, and a 'croft' means a small-holding or a piece of land ranging in size from one or two acres to fifty acres and upwards. There are almost two thousand crofts on Skye but only a hundred or so are large enough to allow the 'crofter' to earn his entire livelihood from the land. The majority of crofts today provide a family home and a sideline to whatever job the crofter can obtain. Sheep and cattle are reared on the croft land, and since the beginning of the century very substantial improvements have been made in croft houses.
In the barn there is a very comprehensive display of such tools and implements, many of which are from one to two hundred years old, and which were often made by the crofter himself or by the blacksmith in the local smithy.
The Weaver's House
The weaver's cottage could often be seen as a very busy workshop. The village weaver could always find plenty of work to keep his shuttle going, as he produced not only the tweed for all types of garments but also all the blankets and plaids. The old handloom on display is over one hundred years old and is typical of the type used in the homes of the Highlands before the automatic looms were introduced.
The Old Smithy
A smithy could be found in every community in the past. The smithy was a very popular meeting place for local folk - young and old alike. The smith was never to be found alone, and all the happenings of the place were discussed in his hearing by those who called in.
In the Islands, farriery was the mainstay of the smith's income. Every crofter had a horse, or sometimes two, and in the busy seasons of spring and summer there was always a horse in the smithy being shod.
The Ceilidh House
The word Ceilidh in Gaelic means a small homely gathering of friends. In the days before the arrival of radio and television, it was customary for neighbours to meet together in the long winter evenings and to make their own entertainment. Songs were sung, stories were told and discussion on many and varied topics took place. Young and old engaged in the congenial proceedings, and as they sat happily around the peat fire the long dark night soon wore away. This old 'ceilidh house' contains many old documents and photographs of Skye.
A Short History of Crofting in Skye by Jonathan MacDonald (curator, Skye Museum of Island Life)
------------------------------
From here we moved on to Duntulm Castle which was nearby. Duntulm Castle was just a ruine alas but still very nice to see although crowded with small screaming children which was quite annoying at times. But I guess since this is a tourist route it will be almost impossible to avoid that...
------------------------------
Duntulm Castle.This site on the Isle of Skye originally had an iron age broch that was used by the Norsemen in their forays down the coast. Later, a stone castle was built here by the Macleods, although most of the remaining ruin dates from the 17th century.
The castle was abandoned in 1730 for nearby Armadale Castle, a more comfortable residence. The last masonry wall fell in 1980 during a storm, although the vaulted basements are intact.
Duntulm has some pretty horrific history. Hugh MacDonald was imprisoned in the castle dungeon, and purposely starved to death after he tried to seize the lands of his family. He was given only salted beef and no water and died stark raving mad -- one horrid story says he tried to eat his own hands before the end.
The castle is rumored to be severely haunted. The ghost of Donald Gorm can be seen brawling with other ghostly miscreants in the courtyard, and a screaming, raving Hugh Macdonald also haunts the castle dungeon. Occasionally, the weeping of Margaret (who was shunned by her husband after she lost an eye in an accident) can be heard. The hysterical screams of a nursemaid who 'accidentally' dropped a baby out a window and onto the rocks below can also be heard sometimes.
Supposedly, the Macdonalds abandoned the castle because of the ghosts.
------------------------------
From Duntulm Castle we went to Kilmaluag, Flodigarry, Elishader, Valtos, Breckrey, Achachork, Torvaig and Portree where we took a little break, having some ice cream and filling up the tank. From here we went back to Broadford which took about an hour. When we arrived in Broadford we tried to look for a B&B but there weren't any vacancies. We talked to a guy who asked us if we were looking for a B&B and he told us he might have had one but these people didn't answer the phone. It turned out he was Dutch, he gave us directions on how to get there so we could check it out for ourselves and see if these people were home. Unfortunately there was a sign out there that said 'no vacancies'... So we had to continue our search for a place to stay.
We found another one near the sea but that woman wasn't really willing to make us a decent breakfast so in the end I asked A. to try to call the couple were we stayed last night to see if the room was still available. I tried to make a phone call using my cell phone but that was completely dead and I couldn't get any network. So A. went to the nearest phone cell and called from there. The room was still available for us so we didn't have to look for one anymore. We decided to have a nice meal in a restaurant that was nearby. The food was wonderful but the service just sucked! I told the waitress [she was also the owner] that I couldn't have any carbohydrates, and asked for extra vegetables instead of potatoes.
That really seems to be a major problem out here and I really don't see why... No one seems to be willing to prepare a bit of extra veggies without making a fuss about it. I just don't get it... In the end, I had the salmon which was excellent but I found out it was still on a pile of noodles; that really pissed me off. Also the vegetables she promised me weren't there, I had one more carrot than A. [two in total] one more piece of cabbage [two in total] and one more tiny piece of broccoli [two in total]. When I ordered the veggies, she told us that basically people had to call in advance if they had special wishes. I wonder though what is so special about having a bit more veggies than normal?????
A. and I decided to leave so he asked for the bill. One of the waitresses asked us if we would like to sign the guest book. It made me laugh. A. said no and asked me if I wanted to sign it and I said 'I don't think so'. So the girl left and mentioned it to the owner. When A. had to pay, he politely told the woman that I asked for no carbohydrates and that there was still a pile of noodles under the salmon... She apologised and told us that we didn't have to pay for the meal I had. It was a really nice gesture of her but I guess I would've been happier if she would've just listened to me. I really don't understand why this has to be such a big deal... *still*
This is what I found on the internet after doing some research:
------------------------------
The Rendezvous Restaurant
Breakish
Isle Of Skye
Price For Leasehold Interest; Offers Over £50,000
Under Offer
Just South of the Village of Broadford on the edge of the main road between Kyleakin and Portree sits the Rendezvous Restaurant. It was formerly the Village School with the Teacher's House attached and has been operating as a Restaurant for many years. The present Owners have been in residence for over six years and each year trade has increased although there is still ample scope to improve as it is only open from April to October, in the evenings only, and closed on Tuesdays.
As much as possible ingredients are sourced locally and Fish and Shell-Fish probably make up more than two-thirds of the Menu. Near the Restaurant are numerous Guest Houses and Hotels which supply much of the trade. In the right hands and with the correct attitude this Restaurant would prosper as only one of the Owners takes a fully active part in the running of the Business. We would highly recommend viewing.
------------------------------
Anyway, we're back at the B&B and I'm crashing at the moment. A. is already asleep and I should be soon. It's nice to be here again, the bed is very comfy and the people are really friendly! So for now, I'm off to bed cuddling up with my sweetie... Tomorrow we're off to the mainland again and I have to get up early! Good night...
Recent Tickles