Ferry Ride

Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,

Onward! the sailors cry;

Carry the lad that's born to be King

Over the sea to Skye.

We left Glasgow this morning, saying farewell to our host who had treated us so well, and was such fun to chat with the morning as well as the night before.  And we said goodbye to the extremely friendly Kimi, who just wanted to be our friend so much (and we his!).

Leaving Glasgow early, we headed up past Ben Nevis, which we didn't see, because the weather had tuned rainy and misty thanks to Charmaine putting goat-mouth on us with her comment on the matter.

And we couldn't wait around because we had to make the Mallaig/Armadale ferry by 10:40 if we were to cross the water on schedule.

So I was shouting "Sennit!" and Derek was cussing as the car went around the corners and along the straight bits much faster than the coppers would have approved of.  But though he was cussing, Derek would from time to time smile, pat the Jaguar on the dashboard and say "This is what you were made for!"

We arrived with about 60 seconds to go before the deadline, and the ticketing office was super efficient.  I walked in, spoke my name and was out of there with the three tickets in well under ten seconds!  (Three tickets. The car gets it's own ticket.)

And so, O'er the Sea to Skye we went, and I felt quite emotional, as we landed. It was a long drive from there, up to Dunvegan Castle, a place which I've heard about and wanted to visit all my life.  The landscape was hilly and misty at first, but the weather cleared up as we went along.

So, my first glimpse of Dunvegan, through the trees.  Quite a lump in my throat.

Pipes skirled as we approached the house, and in we went, visiting all the public rooms to see what we could see. Dunvegan has been the home of, and has been continuously occupied by the MacLeod of MacLeod for the last 800 years.  

You will see no photographs here of the inside of the house, because camera flashes are injurious to some of the relics, and I wouldn't endanger them even if I were allowed to. I will include two images borrowed from the Dunvegan website.  

We saw many paintings of past Chieftains, and their wives and children.  One of these, was a well known portrait of Dame Flora, and my eyes moistened to see the original painting, hanging on the wall.

Dame Flora was 28th MacLeod of MacLeod when I was a child.  I learned only today that she was born at 10 Downing Street.

There were many other artifacts, including the Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn.  And of course, the old claidheamh-mòr of the Chieftain. But when I saw the Fairy Flag, I began to cry.  Honestly, hot water spouted from my eyes.  (How embarrassing!)

It is in worse condition than any old rag, but it still meant a great deal to me, to see it with my own eyes. Because, after all, it is magical.

Exiting to the grounds, I took several shots of the castle from various angles, and even managed to get myself into one of them.

We visited the gardens of course, and I will put a few photos here,

More garden photos will be found in the Blog Album linked in the right sidebar.

Departing Dunvegan, we journeyed east and then south, to our BnB, passing through the now-to-be-expected bleak, mountainous scenery.

Our BnB was a small but sound house right on the ocean, and Derek keeps threatening to go for a swim. That, I want to see!

I bought a couple of nick-nacs at Dunvegan, but what I came away with that I value most is the memory in my mind of finally visiting, after wanting to do so for sixty years. 

And these stones, collected at low tide from the shore of Loch Dunvegan.  One for myself, one each for my brother's children, and one more for any one else who can convince me that they deserve to have it.  I will try to persuade my brother's kids to keep these simple mementos, and should they journey to Dunvegan themselves, to bring the stones back, cast them into the Loch, and collect new stones for themselves and their own children.

HOLD FAST