Showing posts with label Isle of Skye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isle of Skye. Show all posts

Friday, May 6, 2011

DUNVEGAN CASTLE AND GARDENS - ISLE OF SKYE


Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the North of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the chiefs of the clan for nearly 800 years. Originally designed to keep people out, it was first opened to visitors in 1933. Since then, the castle is consistently ranked as one of Scotland's premier visitor attractions. Over the years, the castle has been visited by Sir Walter Scott, Dr Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and the Japanese Emperor Akihito.

And also by Grandmère Mimi and Cathy.



Below are pictures of the lovely castle gardens, which were laid out in the 18th century, no doubt at great cost and effort to make them look as natural as possible. The walk through the gardens was the highlight of my visit to the castle.



The bridge and waterfall.



The waterfall up close.



Monkey puzzle tree.



Daylilies? (amyj says that the flowers are Asiatic lilies.)



More flowers...


...and more flowers. (Penny tells me these lovelies are lacecap hydrangeas.)



...and more flowers, including blue hydrangeas...



And a birdie, a sea gull with pink legs and feet. (susan s. tells me the speckled bird is probably a juvenile.)



The sea gull's mate?

All this on the beautiful Isle of Skye.

Text and top photo of Dunvegan Castle from Wikipedia. The other pictures are mine.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

DINING ON THE ISLE OF SKYE





On the Isle of Skye, Cathy (the gourmet cook) and I dined out at a fine restaurant every day or evening. We savored delicious meals at several wonderful restaurants. We were turned away, and not very politely, at the Harbour View Seafood Restaurant in Portree, but we finally had an excellent meal there another day after we make a reservation. From the description of the menu:

Oysters, lobsters, crab, langoustines, clams, mussels, monkfish, scallops, sole, salmon, trout... a truly outstanding selection of the purest, freshest, most nutritious and delectable seafood.

What's not to like?


 

Harbour View Restaurant

After we were turned away at the Harbour View and another restaurant, whose name I've forgotten, we ended up at the Restaurant @ the Rosedale, where we shared a seafood platter for two, which was quite tasty and which we cleaned in a very short time and licked the platter, too.



Check out the gull in flight that I caught in the picture of the Rosedale.

The crowning dining moment came when we dined at The Three Chimneys Restaurant, pictured at the head of the post, in the back of beyond "on the shores of Loch Donvegan" on the Isle of Skye. Cathy knew about the restaurant from an earlier visit to Scotland, but she'd missed out on having a meal there, so she was determined not to miss again. In fact, Cathy was so determined that she made the reservation for our meal a good while before we left for our travels.

Ever since eating outstanding Scottish seafood at the Western Isles B&B in Mallaig on the Isle of Mull and then eating langoustines that I would kill for, from the water right into the pot, at the Glenuig Inn in Arisaig, I gorged on les fruits de mer for most of the rest of the trip. I'm from south Louisiana, and I'm quite accustomed to excellent, fresh seafood, so for me to praise Scotland for its seafood is a compliment beyond measure.

By the time we went to The Three Chimneys, my fingers were so scratched and cut from grappling with shellfish that I knew I had to give them a rest and time to heal, so I chose venison for my entrée. I don't remember what Cathy ordered. In the midst of a dining experience like that offered at The Three Chimneys, who cares what others are eating unless you want a taste? I went at the food with gusto, my readers, as did my travel companion. It's refreshing to dine with another woman who appreciates good food and enjoys it without constant worry about calories. Time enough for that when the holiday is over.

For dessert we both chose the "Dark Chocolate Ganache with Blairgowrie Raspberries & Issy’s Crème Fraîche", which came in two courses, which confused me a little. First came the palate cleanser, the berries and cream and then the dark chocolate ganache. I express my profound gratitude to Cathy for insisting that we have a meal at the restaurant. Without a GPS, I can't imagine how anyone finds their way to the place. One day, I'd like to spend a few days in one of the "6 spacious bedrooms next door in The House Over-By", but I expect that will never happen. But then, I thought the trip to the Northwest of Scotland would never happen.


 

The harbor at Portree


 

A sea gull with pink feet at the harbor in Portree.

And MadChauffeur told us the Isle of Skye was boring! We now know that he is not infallible.

UPDATE: From Cathy in the comments - a reminder:

We had damn good fish and chips in Portree too - that's worth mentioning. (And in Mull, but that's maybe another story?) It took a while to get it at that place at the top of the hill in Portree, only because there was such a long queue though, but when it finally arrived it was everything fish and chips should be.

Indeed, we did.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

FOR CAMINANTE - ISLE OF SKYE

From the comments:

Caminante said...
Take a picture of the Isle of Skye as my mother's family is from there. Pretty picture.

Not one, not two, but three pictures, Caminante. I hope you think they're pretty.


 



 


 

A MAGICAL MOMENT

 

A beauty, yes? While we were on the Isle of Skye, Cathy stopped our car to photograph sheep in the field. It seems that my friend can't get enough of photographing sheep. Sharing the field with the sheep was the beautiful horse pictured above. When we approached the fence, she (I believe) came to us.


 

That's Cathy's arm and hand in the picture above. Beauty (my name for her) seemed eager for our touch. We both patted and stroked her, and she seemed to revel in the affection.


 

Beauty was eating the grass over on my side of the fence, and I pulled the grass and began to feed her. Very gently, she took the grass from me with her velvety lips and ate. Well, I suppose it doesn't take much for me to find magic, because surely having Beauty eat from my hand was a magical moment on the Isle of Skye.

The top and bottom pictures are Cathy's, and the middle photo is mine.