As we were packing up to leave our Airbnb, the kids came upon this wee friendly duck in the parking lot. She followed us around for quite a while, seeming to want to join us on the next leg of our journey. I think if we had put her in the car she would have been perfectly happy to travel with us. Garin fetched her a few crackers and cornflakes we had on hand, which endeared us to her all the more.
Our first stop was in Glencoe. The infamous Massacre of Glencoe took place on February 13, 1692, An estimated 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, allegedly for failing to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II. Since we are descendants of Clan MacDonald, of course, we took a special interest in the history of this town.
From there we headed to Fort Williams where we had lunch in a cozy pub, We also wandered into a bookstore where I spotted these guidebooks on how to teach your dog and/or cat Gaelic. We almost bought one for Fitzy, but his hearing loss might make it difficult for him to learn a new language. Not to mention, I'm not sure he's interested in taking on a new language at this stage in his life.
Our next stop was Neptune's staircase. Neptune's Staircase is a staircase lock comprising eight locks on the Caledonian Canal. Built by Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822, it is the longest staircase lock in the UK. The system was originally hand-powered but has been converted to hydraulic operation, which the operator kindly allowed the kids to try out. They were thrilled!
At 3:45, we boarded the car ferry at Mallaig that would transport us and our Peugeot to Armadale, on the Isle of Skye. The kids have never been on a car ferry so they were very excited for yet another new adventure.
A few hours later, we were at our hotel in Portree, on the Isle of Skye. Skye is the largest and most northerly of the Inner Hebrides islands of Scotland and has breathtaking scenery. Our hotel was right on the harbor and had wonderful views. Our room was spacious, which always thrills us since we can spread out and get some space from one another.
Dinner reservations are hard to come by in town and we had not had much luck prior to arriving. We waited until a bit later to head out and had luck at the Portree Hotel, which had a nice atmosphere and good food. We didn't head back from dinner until 10 and it will still light out, as you can see in the photo of Garin gazing out at the harbor below