After our amazing day hiking on the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye, we woke up the next day at our beautiful Airbnb on the water outside Skye’s biggest town, Portree, to sunshine!
We headed the tiny town of Elgol, down a very small and windy road on the southwest coast of of the island, for a boat trip to Loch Coruisk, a beautiful fresh-water loch, accessible only by boat, or a day-long hike through the Cuillin hills.
On our drive to Elgol, we got caught up in a traffic jam, Skye-style
We patiently waited for the hairy coos to scoot to to the side of the road so we could get past.
Of course, not to be outdone, there were plenty of sheep in and near the road as well!
We also got some amazing views of mountains and lochs.
Once we got to Elgol, we headed to the marina, and onto the Misty Isle boat for a scenic 45-minute ride skirting the west coast of Skye, between it and the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides.
As we approached Loch Coruisk, we came up to rocks with lots of sunning seals.
After checking out the seals, we arrived back on land, and the boat dropped us off for 1.5 hours to eat lunch and explore the loch.
We had a little scenic walk, next to the smallest river in Europe (according to the boat guide), to get to the loch.
C took us straight up a big hill, I followed, despite my reservations after the previous day’s trek up Castle Ewan. He didn’t let us down – we had great views all around!
view towards the loch-side (with a big boulder in the way)
view towards the sea (with a boulder-head in the way)
After lunch, we headed down to explore the area around the loch some more. First, we headed across the river, using rocks as stepping stones (a little tricky for little-boy legs!)
We stopped at a big rock in the middle, but C decided to venture further. After watching him struggle with it, we decided the rest of us would stay put!
in case anyone is wondering about his colorful backpack, he has N’s Paw Patrol backpack (full of toys, which N insisted on bringing with him) clipped to his
He did get some nice views of the loch, and survived the trip, so I guess it was worth it 😉
He even got a cool picture of the rest of us on the rock in the middle of the river!
can you spot me and the boys on a rock in the middle of the river?
C from across the river
We started to walk around the loch a little bit, but we were short on time, and it was very boggy, so we didn’t get very far, but enjoyed the walk we were able to do. Put this on the list as another place we’d love to come back to and explore more!
Then, it was time to head back to the boat – this time with new captains at the helm!
After we left the boat, we drove back towards Portree, but took a little detour to visit…
The Fairy Pools
Being that we have young kids and wake up early anyway, most of our activities tend to be done early in the day. So, arriving at the fairy pools in late afternoon felt a little strange to me. Certainly the shadows on the pools didn’t help. This ended up being a little bit disappointing. Expectation > fairy pools.
The walk to the fairy pools was a long downhill climb, with views of mountains in the background. It was very scenic, but I have to admit my quirk – I really prefer hikes that start uphill, cause that means I know I can look forward to downhill at the end. Strange, I know, but it just started this hike out on a bad note. Add a hangry kid, and a less that impressive first impression (you can see the fairy pools in the middle of the pic – I was skeptical that would turn into something amazing), and we were just half-hearted at this point.
I think in the right light, the pools look amazing (they have very clear water), but in the late-afternoon shadows – not so much!
That said, N deciding he needed to dip his hands into the fairy pools to get them “magic” might have made it all worth it!
the water is so clear, it is hard to tell it is there!
He insisted the magic fairy pool water gave him super powers to help him zoom up the hill on the way back to the car. He shared it with us, so the hike back up was no problem at all 😉
Our last stop was at The Cafe in Portree, where we had delicious beef burgers made with local Portree beef. So good! Here is A attacking his Nacho Man burger.
We can’t wait to get back and spend more time on the Isle of Skye!
