Kyle of Lochalsh to Loch Nevis
What a day! Good things happen to people that believe they will. Our first full day on Lord of the Glens has been a good one. Two thirds of the group went to visit Eilean Donan Castle and Plockton in the morning. As the day progressed the clouds started to break up around about and gave way to clear blue skies. High tide at all this morning’s locations ensured excellent photo opportunities with glorious reflections of castles and sailing boats to be had. The other third of the group went over the bridge to Skye and along the road to Sligachan which is at the north end of the Cullin mountain ridge. A brisk walk out along a trail on the north side of these mountains gave us access to some stunning views and a real feeling for these areas of emote wild country.
During lunch Lord of the Glens departed from Kyle of Lochalsh and made her way south through the narrow waters of Kyle Rea. The tide was falling which meant we were going with the current and reached the impressive speed of 16.5 knots. South of Kyle Rea we still made quick time as we headed down the Sound of Sleat to Armadale. The gardens at the Clan Donald Centre this afternoon looked stunning in bright sunshine. Inside the interpretation centre, clear explanations of the Lords of the Glens and other phases of Clan Donald’s history continued our education of past events in this part of the world.
Back on Lord of the Glens we headed across the Sound of Sleet over to Loch Nevis on the mainland. The lighting on the hills to our north took our breath away as the low angle of the evening sun slowly reduced to the horizon. Captain Bob took Lord of the Glens deep into Loch Nevis on this beautiful evening to the tiny community of Tarbet, passing by Tom McLean’s croft and Cameron Macintosh’s mansion.
After dinner many of us went ashore to stroll through the village of inverie, some only making it as far as the Old Forge Pub while the hardier amongst us walked a mile or so out past the village to be rewarded with the sight of red deer settling down for the night on the hillside.
