The Isle of Skye stole a bit of my heart

My Scotland adventure didn't end in Edinburgh! I took a trip with MacBackpackers up to the Isle of Skye. I looked at travelling the area myself but it would have been very challenging to visit all the spots I wanted to see on Skye by myself without hiring a car (and a bank loan to go with it).

The bridge that connects the magical Skye with the rest of the mundane world!

This tour was perfect as I got to see everything I wanted plus some extra hidden gems. As always with tours I found myself some instant travel friends, some of which made great dinner companions when I decided I was going to brave haggis for the first time! (I loved it!)


The tour departed from and returned to Edinburgh, and the drive up through the Scottish Highlands over to Skye was surprisingly short, even given that it was summer and prime tourism season. The towns we stopped at along the way there and back for lunch and snacks had their own interesting characters, too.

Enjoying a refreshing toe-numbing swim with Nessie!

A brave group of my new friends went for a swim with Nessie! Of course I went to! There was no way I was missing out on the chance to say I went swimming in the Loch Ness! Our tour guide explained that it was a quick stop and "don't do laps of the loch, you get in, have a paddle, then out". So we thought we only had a quick swim with Nessie because of our time schedule, but once we touched the water we quickly realised doing laps of the loch was only for people who like hypothermia. I didn't want to get my hair wet but I did get neck-deep so I can assure myself I went for a proper swim!

Kilt Rock rainbow 

The Isle of Skye should be on everyone's bucket list. The views in any and every direction are unbelievable. The locals are proud of their land, and hearing their stories made it a completely different experience than just going to sightsee.

A castle I found on an evening walk on Skye

Walking to the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye

The Fairy Pools was one of my favourite stops on the Isle of Skye. I walked along the trail, again with the mist and the mountains making the view and atmosphere something of a painting. Once we had climbed through a bit of mud in our hired wellies we got some gorgeous photos of the water rushing over the rocks.

The Fairy Pools working their magic

I loved the Isle of Skye!