We stayed in a lovely B&B on the Isle of Skye, with fabulous hosts. So we lingered over another amazing breakfast spread before hitting the road. There really wasn’t any rush this morning as we were doing less than 100 miles today and really only have one scheduled stop.

Eilean Donen Castle

The original construction on the site was believed to be a chapel in the 6th or 7th century, with the original castle being built in the 12/13th centuries.

It past through various hands and was destroyed in 1719 by the English during their conflict with the Jacobites as it was a Jacobites stronghold. The castle stood in ruins for the next 200 years.

In 1911 the McRae family purchased it and set about restoring the castle to make it their family home. The restoration took 20 years to complete and the family still use the castle today, although primarily for holidays.

From the 1970s parts of the castle were opened up to the public and made into a museum for the public to enjoy.

I doubt whether this type of restoration would be allowed today.

There were no photos from inside the castle as photography was not allowed in the castle. The castle was set-up like many other castles we’ve been through, with various period pieces over its time and information about its history.

There is so much fascinating history in these places.! I am finding that this gives a completely new appreciation of history as this just makes it real rather than something more abstract in a book.

However, this will always be the highlander castle to me as this was the castle used in “The Highlander” movie with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. Interestingly the Donvegan castle on Isle of Skye was owned by the MacLeods… so shouldn’t that have been their castle…? Although this does look cooler for the movie.

For more information on Eilean Donen castle- link

Leaving the castle and rolling down the highway to Fort William we came across a lone piper by the side of road at Glengarry viewpoint. So we stopped and had a wee chat. He then gave us an impromptu rendition of Waltzing Matilda.

Commando Memorial

To the Scottish commandos who died during World War Two.

Glenfinnan Viaduct

For those Harry Potter fans, this is the train, and this is the bridge crossing from the movie. Okay, I didn’t need to tell you that because you already know. And from the number of people who came out to view the train at the Glenfinnan viaduct this is clearly a very popular activityfor tourists/stream train enthusiasts/Harry Potter fans. And there are four crossings per day … so a lot of people come to see the train.

There are three viewing options. If you don’t want to walk far you can see the viaduct after a short walk, for the keen, there is a climb to view the Viaduct from above, which is a much better vantage point. 

But for the ultimate experience, if you have the time, you can catch the Jacobite steam train that runs between Fort William to Mallaig. The return journey takes about 6 hours.

For more information on the Jacobite train see – link

A couple of other photos of the train.

Oh and look what I found on the train.! As a chippie lover, I just had to try them.

What are they like..?? The cracked pepper was pretty strong but there was a meaty after-taste to them. Overall, they were pretty good.