Stupidly excited - visiting the Isle of Skye.

Wigwam looks like excellent fun! My dad is from Portnalong so know exactly where you'll be staying. In fact I think the guy that runs in is marrying my cousin! His mum is an artist and they have the Loch Harport Gallery close by.

Closest thing nearby is the Talisker distillery, they do tours etc and the pub in Carbost does nice food. There's also a pub in Portnalong called Taigh Ailean which does food which I was at recently (at a funeral sadly but they had good grub!).

On the road to Portree is Aros which has a resturant, gift shop and cinema/theatre.

Portree isn't very big as towns go but has loads of wee shops to potter in and out of and its really pretty. Really nice hotel called the Cuillin Hills just a bit outside where you can have fancy food in the restaurant and pub grub in the bar with fantastic views.

In Uig they've got the Uig Pottery shop and Isle of Skye Brewery. Uig really isn't that nice to look at as it's the ferry terminal and very much the end of the road!

Skye Serpentarium in in Broadford is good if you like that kind of thing! I'm sure there's also a Skye Jewellery shop in Broadford.

Other things I can think of are Dunvegan Castle, Museum of Island life but I haven't been to them.

You can also go off the island and visit Eilean Donan Castle which is stunning.

I'm sure there will be all sorts of tours, boat trips etc available and no doubt more craft shops than you can shake a stick at but we've always stayed with family so haven't really done anything like that (and more usually I'm driving through Skye frantically trying to catch the ferry in Uig so don't stop to appreciate it!).

We are off to Skye next month, we are renting a cottage with some friends. We don't really have any plans at the mo, although the boys of the party want to go climbing at some point.

I can't really help with what to do as I haven't been before, I am really looking forward to it. I hope you have a good time.

*sigh* Skye is lovely! If you are looking for some walks that aren't too strenous but have beautiful views you can try the Quirang (sp) and the Old Man of Storr. Just stunning. The islands of Scotland are like another world!

I just came back from a weekend in Mull and Iona. Just bliss! Helps that we had stunning weather of course - the beaches in Iona were better than the beaches in Cuba - so clear and clean and the most beautiful blue.....of course a bit colder......what with it being the north Atlantic *sigh*

I would also add a trip to the mainland to Plockton is highly recommended - just lovely and the Plockton Inn does the best Langoustines........

The "Slig Inn" is fab for whisky and the food. If you want a fish restaurant then the Creeler's restaurant near the Serpentarium is really worth the visit...

Wow, thanks everyone. You've given me lots to go on, now I wish we were staying longer.

Huss, how funny! He sounded lovely on the phone, very laid back and friendly. We wanted to have a camping element but don't own a single piece of camping gear so the wigwam is a great compromise. We'd definitely visit the gallery. The Serpentarium - not so much ? After several escapees from the petshop below us, I'd be happy if I never saw another snake again in my life. ?. Special thanks from H for the info on the nearest pub.

Penguin, that sounds amazing. I've a feeling once we've finished this trip we'll be visiting the other Isles and the rest of the North quite often. Of course I actually meant Plockton in my OP, I think I made up Portnock - Doh!

Bah - I'll do a mini report when we get back.

Ashke, the Creeler's sounds ideal. Can you see the serpentarium from there though? *shudder*

I just wish the B&B would hurry up and let me know if we can book. It's ideal but if they don't have any availability we need to get cracking on somewhere else. I hate B&B's as a rule but this place looks absolutely stunning.

x