When we left Staffin the next morning we stayed on the A855, a wonderfully challenging road around the top of the island to Uig where we were catching the ferry to the Isle of Lewis on the Outer Hebrides. The scenery was beyond imagination and it was hard for me to concentrate on the road, the temptation to stop every mile and take photos hard to restrain. We did stop at a pullout near the small settlement of Duntulm and walked along the mossy grass to a rocky promontory to see the fragmentary remains of Duntulm Castle. By the windy hillside ruin there was a cairn commemorating the MacArthurs, the hereditary pipers to the MacDonald clan. The castle is believed to have been fortified in the Iron Age, later refortified by the Norse and subsequently by their successors the MacLeods of Skye. Not much left now though, most of it fallen into the sea or been carted off to be used for local building projects. After Duntulm we came across a very interesting museum, the Skye Museum of Island Life which was actually a preserved crofter's village, celebrating in part the life of Flora MacDonald whose grave we walked up to nearby. She was a member of the MacDonalds of Sleat who helped Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and very famous in Scottish history. Keeping an eye on the clock, as we had to catch the 2PM Cal Mac ferry to Tarbert, we next headed on our way to the Uig pier, twenty minutes away. The sun was hot overhead and there was still the promise of good weather for the Hebrides! We were headed to Gress next, near the top of the island of Lewis to meet up with our next host and looking forward to the next three days in this magical place. GWS
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| remains of Duntulm castle, near Duntulm, Isle of Skye |
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| Skye Museum of Island Life |
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| monument to Flora MacDonald, Kilmuir |
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on our way to the Outer Hebrides!
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| our wonderful Airbnb in Gress, Isle of Lewis |
