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Beginner's Guide to the Isle of Skye, Scotland · Travel Mug Podcast

• 0:00
  Hey everyone and welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast.
• 0:04
  Today we are here with a beginner guide episode to the Isle of Skye in Scotland.
• 0:13
  I visited here for five days back in 2022, and it's one of my favorite places I've ever been.
• 0:19
  It was very fun to go down memory lane when, uh, planning this episode, so I'm really excited to share it with you.
• 0:27
  But of course with our beginner's guides, it's meant to be a jumping off point so that you can plan your very own trip to the Isle of Skye.
• 0:37
  Meggan, before we dive into all of the amazing things to do and see, give us a little history of the area.
• 0:44
  Will do.
• 0:45
  So the history of the Isle of Skye, of course, very historical, let's say, because it does date back to the Mesolithic period, also known as the middle stone age, which was approximately 10,000 to 4,000 BCE, depending on which sources you cite.
• 1:03
  The first record of inhabitants were hunter gatherers also from this time.
• 1:07
  And they often passed through the area as forger.
• 1:11
  because of such deep history, there are fossils dating back to the age of the dinosaurs, of course, castles and Brochs.
• 1:18
  , that date back centuries and literally so much more.
• 1:22
  And we're gonna talk about some of that stuff.
• 1:23
  And the Isle of Skye has be, a very popular, actually tourist destination dating back to the 19th century.
• 1:31
  And travelers since then have visited simply because of the rugged coastlines, amazing views, and the Scottish adventure of it all.
• 1:39
  Yeah, I mean, it's still the same today.
• 1:43
  I.
• 1:43
  exactly.
• 1:44
  So you've been there, which is excellent.
• 1:46
  So I'd love for you to talk to us and let the listeners know like how to get there, what's getting around like Yeah.
• 1:53
  Yeah.
• 1:54
  There's a couple of options to get to Skye.
• 1:57
  Before I talk about that, I'm gonna say right off the bat that you need a rental car.
• 2:02
  Or you need to book a tour that's going to get you around.
• 2:06
  So we drove, uh, in a rental car from Inverness to the Isle of Skye.
• 2:11
  There are a few ferries as well from, Mallaig, that's how we left the island.
• 2:17
  Um, or from Glenelg.
• 2:19
  There are no trains to the Isle of Skye.
• 2:22
  There is a train station close to, uh, the bridge that we drove across.
• 2:28
  But, there's no train to actually get on the island.
• 2:31
  There are buses that run from Glasgow to Portree and to other stops on the Isle of Skye.
• 2:37
  But honestly, I'm gonna say if you're not comfortable driving yourself, you're going to be better off paying for a tour rather than relying on public transportation to get around.
• 2:50
  Some of the roads are very narrow and you need to like yield to oncoming drivers and parking was at times hard to find in Portree and parking can be really busy at some of the touristy spots that we're gonna talk about later.
• 3:07
  And like, just be aware that sometimes there's sheep or cattle on the roads.
• 3:12
  So that's just, that's just Scotland, that's just the Isle of Skye.
• 3:16
  It's just some things to know.
• 3:17
  Um, I think you're gonna have a better experience if you drive yourself or if you book a tour.
• 3:23
  I could see that for sure.
• 3:24
  And instead of sharing the road with bikers, gonna watch out for the livestock.
• 3:28
  Yeah, I mean, watch for bikers too.
• 3:30
  Just watch, just, just, just keep watching.
• 3:34
  Just watch.
• 3:35
  Just watch.
• 3:36
  So talk to us about where to stay.
• 3:40
  Yeah, so I think that Portree is the perfect home base, or that area is the perfect home base for exploring the island.
• 3:48
  Uh, it has everything you need, you know, like grocery stores and restaurants, but of course you can find hotels and Airbnbs and Airbnbs and rentals all over the place.
• 3:58
  Um, our friends stayed in like downtown Portree, which was super walkable.
• 4:04
  We stayed slightly outside of the downtown area, which is not something that I normally like to do as we've discussed.
• 4:11
  Right.
• 4:12
  But uh, we were staying with my best friend's parents.
• 4:15
  We required a bit of a bigger space and we found this place I. I'm gonna say that my best friend's mom found this place because I didn't do most of this work.
• 4:26
  Uh, but it's called Rowan Cottage Self-Catering in Achachork and I'll put a link in the show notes to it.
• 4:33
  It was absolutely perfect.
• 4:35
  It had beautiful views, a beautiful balcony.
• 4:39
  It was a fully contained, cottage, but it was, um, attached to the owner's house, so they were right there If you needed anything, we didn't, but absolutely beautiful.
• 4:50
  And, uh, I hope that someday if I make it back to Isle of Skye, I can stay there again, I actually remember specifically your pictures from the, I think it might have been the patio or the the balcony.
• 5:01
  Yes, I remember that.
• 5:03
  It stands out in my mind.
• 5:04
  So yeah, I definitely will share some of those with the listeners as well.
• 5:07
  But also, of course, the link in the show notes.
• 5:08
  So.
• 5:10
  know, getting there where to stay.
• 5:12
  Now obviously we're there.
• 5:14
  What are we gonna do in the Isle of Skye?
• 5:16
  Kick us off.
• 5:17
  Yeah, so Portree is the largest town.
• 5:21
  It's the capital of the Isle of Skye, so you're definitely gonna wanna spend some time exploring it.
• 5:26
  But I'm gonna say there isn't like a ton to do there.
• 5:31
  It's pretty small.
• 5:32
  There are some great restaurants and cafes that I'll mention a little bit later on in the episode.
• 5:37
  We spent some time wandering through the shops and checking out the harbor area.
• 5:41
  There's, uh, very beautifully painted, uh, colorful, storefronts on the, the harbor front that are like on the guide book pictures, you know, everywhere.
• 5:52
  Um, so definitely check those out.
• 5:54
  We bought some art from a shop called, we Frame It.
• 5:58
  So I assume they also frame things?
• 6:00
  I would Uh, yes, and I still, um, that art, we bought multiple pieces and it's up in our house now.
• 6:07
  Um, one thing we didn't do in Portree that I didn't know about until I was researching for this episode is called the Lump.
• 6:15
  And.
• 6:16
  Okay.
• 6:16
  Okay.
• 6:16
  It's, it's a spot that gives you panoramic views of the harbor, the loch and other Skye landmarks.
• 6:23
  It is an uphill hike, so just keep that in mind.
• 6:28
  Downhill on the other side though, so I mean, that's a plus.
• 6:31
  It can't be uphill both ways.
• 6:33
  Sure.
• 6:33
  It can't be.
• 6:33
  My mother talked about that, but I've never found it to be true.
• 6:37
  Alright, what's next?
• 6:39
  Speaking of uphill both ways, it feels like, um, old, Old Man of Storr.
• 6:45
  So if you've seen photos from the Isle of Skye, you've likely seen photos of the Old Man of Storr.
• 6:50
  It is one of the busiest attractions on the island.
• 6:54
  So if you want photos without people, um, plan to arrive early.
• 6:58
  We did not, we arrived at 12: 30 PM because you know, that was the time we could get all of our group out of the Airbnb.
• 7:08
  We did not, we arrived at 12: right, right.
• 7:09
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
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  We did not, we arrived at 12: So, uh, the Old Man of Storr is a 55 meter or 180 foot tall basalt rock formation, and it's all that remains of a 2,800 million year old volcanic plug.
• 7:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Wow.
• 7:25
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I know.
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  We did not, we arrived at 12: So the trail is medium to difficult.
• 7:30
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is pretty much constantly uphill until you head back down and it is steep ish.
• 7:37
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The first bit of the trail was like a wider like gravel path, and then as you got further up, it kind of became like a narrow dirt path.
• 7:46
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is about four kilometers.
• 7:49
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I think we took about an hour to get to the top and we were a bit faster coming down.
• 7:55
  We did not, we arrived at 12: one way or four kilometers round trip?
• 7:57
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I think it was round trip.
• 7:59
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah, so it is, it is beautiful like the, the green, green, uh, juxtapose with like the black rocks.
• 8:09
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is absolutely worth it.
• 8:11
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Of course, if it's, uh, not a sunny day, we got a beautiful sunny day, but it can be kind of entrenched in clouds and you might not get, uh, the views.
• 8:22
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But if you are able to walk the path, I would say it's definitely worth it.
• 8:26
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It was very beautiful.
• 8:28
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The parking lot is small and it is paid parking.
• 8:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's five pounds for up to six hours, so you have lots of time to explore.
• 8:39
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Uh, they tell you not to park on the side of the roads, but I'm pretty sure people are always parking on the side of the roads, you know?
• 8:47
  We did not, we arrived at 12: listen.
• 8:47
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yes, Yeah, right.
• 8:48
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But, uh, please don't officially.
• 8:53
  We did not, we arrived at 12: and that's a public service message.
• 8:56
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, okay, Meggan, tell me about the next spot that I actually did not get to.
• 9:02
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I would love to, and it is called the Fairy Glen, and I'm sorry that you missed it.
• 9:06
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Actually, too.
• 9:07
  We did not, we arrived at 12: are amazing, so it is caused or was caused by a landslide.
• 9:12
  We did not, we arrived at 12: This unique landscape of peaks and dips is a great, rugged landscape view of Scottish beauty and makes for some really unique pictures.
• 9:20
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is located in the hills above the village, the village Uig, UIG, in case I'm saying that improperly pictures online, like I said, are gorgeous and the best time to visit is the golden hour.
• 9:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I mean, the golden hour makes everything look lovely, but I'm Right?
• 9:36
  We did not, we arrived at 12: even more beautiful there.
• 9:37
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And Mm-hmm.
• 9:38
  We did not, we arrived at 12: also be used as a great jumping off point for other nearby landmarks on the island, such as Duntulm Castle and Quiraing, which I will also tell you about in a little bit.
• 9:48
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 9:49
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I did not make it to that part of Isle Skye, so we kind of missed a whole chunk, which was very sad.
• 9:56
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But you have to make choices when you only have a certain amount of days.
• 10:00
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You have, you can't, you often sometimes, but you often can't see it all.
• 10:04
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yes.
• 10:04
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Okay.
• 10:05
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So the next that I wanna talk about is the Fairy Pools, which is another classic Isle of Skye attraction.
• 10:11
  We did not, we arrived at 12: These are natural aqua blue pools and waterfalls that are about 30 minutes from Portree.
• 10:19
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You can even swim in them if it is warm enough.
• 10:22
  We did not, we arrived at 12: There were people swimming when we were there.
• 10:25
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Uh, the walk to to the pools is a little less than two and a half kilometers, but I'll let you in on a little secret if you can't do the walk to the pools.
• 10:36
  We did not, we arrived at 12: There are some that are close.
• 10:38
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Uh, to the further end of the parking area.
• 10:41
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So if you like, keep driving, this is where my friend got married and it was absolutely beautiful and, uh, it was nice to be in the kind of further away pools because there weren't as many, you know, tourists like gawking at you getting married.
• 10:55
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You know what I do.
• 10:57
  We did not, we arrived at 12: mean?
• 10:57
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:58
  We did not, we arrived at 12: There is a parking fee, which is six pounds.
• 11:02
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, but otherwise, like you don't have to pay to visit the pools just to park.
• 11:08
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Excellent.
• 11:09
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Now it's Scotland.
• 11:10
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I think we, it's time to hear about a castle.
• 11:13
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Uh, obviously like there's so many castles.
• 11:16
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland, and it's the home of Clan McLeod.
• 11:27
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The gardens were absolutely lovely to wander through, and I really liked wandering through the castle.
• 11:32
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I love wandering through castles.
• 11:35
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It was really funny because there were parts of this castle that were from the 1850s, which is the same year that my house was built.
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  We did not, we arrived at 12: So there was like similarities, which was really interesting.
• 11:46
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah, so it does cost 17 pounds to access the castle and the gardens.
• 11:52
  We did not, we arrived at 12: There are guided tours that you can take, uh, as well, so that you know what you're looking at.
• 11:58
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Big fan of a guided tour, so I know what I'm looking at.
• 12:01
  We did not, we arrived at 12: That makes sense.
• 12:02
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Awesome.
• 12:03
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So I wanna circle back to a place that I just mentioned, and I'm sure I'm saying it incorrectly, so please do, uh, forgive me.
• 12:07
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But Quiraing, uh, it's Q-U-I-R-A-I-N-G and this is a loop walk starting at the parking lot.
• 12:15
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So you will start and you will return and, As a photographer or a landscape enthusiast, this is going to be a dream spot for you.
• 12:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The loop is about 6.8 kilometers or about 4.22 miles.
• 12:29
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And with no stops, you will take, I don't know, maybe two hours to complete it.
• 12:34
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But let's be serious.
• 12:34
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You're gonna be stopping.
• 12:36
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Obviously, yeah.
• 12:37
  We did not, we arrived at 12: gonna be picture opportunities.
• 12:38
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, this area is located in the north of the island and is accessed through either Uig the, the village I mentioned earlier, or Staffin.
• 12:47
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Both villages are in the area, so the landscape, the views and rock formations are incredible.
• 12:53
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And, uh, we found a really great resource online that you should check out as well at the link in our show notes because it seems there are some specific instructions on where to go.
• 13:03
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And what you can expect, that's likely good information for you to have before you put this in your itinerary.
• 13:08
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So we'll definitely put those in the show notes.
• 13:10
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But again, it sounds picturesque a beautiful a walk of course.
• 13:14
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So making sure you're able to do that piece as well is something to take into consideration.
• 13:19
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But sounds amazing.
• 13:21
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 13:22
  We did not, we arrived at 12: All right, next up is Neist point Lighthouse.
• 13:26
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is one of the most famous lighthouses in Scotland and it's still an operation.
• 13:31
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is on the most westerly part of the island and offers some stunning scenery and apparently offers some amazing sunsets as well, which.
• 13:40
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I did not see sadly, uh, the walk from the parking area to the lighthouse is just over two kilometers and it takes like 45 minutes.
• 13:50
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It was difficult at times, but overall not too, too bad.
• 13:56
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It was free to visit.
• 13:58
  We did not, we arrived at 12: There were some sheep just hanging out that we got to take pictures with, so that was very fun.
• 14:05
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Always a highlight.
• 14:07
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Right.
• 14:07
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 14:08
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's a very beautiful lighthouse and it's, um, sort of different from what we imagine as Atlantic Canadians.
• 14:14
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's not the like red and white, it was, um, yellow and white.
• 14:20
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So interesting.
• 14:21
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Very much so in that.
• 14:22
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's interesting.
• 14:23
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's obviously other places, different colors because in Iceland they're orange.
• 14:27
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Hmm.
• 14:28
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Interesting.
• 14:28
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So it's gotta be obvi.
• 14:30
  We did not, we arrived at 12: We're just so used to the red and white here.
• 14:32
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 14:32
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Very used to it.
• 14:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 14:35
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Alright.
• 14:35
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The next one, uh, I didn't get to do it, is in that northern part of the island that I didn't get to, but it is Kilt Rock.
• 14:43
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It looks stunning.
• 14:44
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is a 90 meter high wall of basalt and dolerite sills, which makes it look like pleats of a kilt.
• 14:53
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So apparently it gets quite busy and it costs six pounds to park there.
• 15:00
  We did not, we arrived at 12: There's no walk necessary.
• 15:02
  We did not, we arrived at 12: This, I think this is the first thing that we're telling you.
• 15:05
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You don't need to hike to get to it.
• 15:07
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You can just get out of your car.
• 15:10
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, so you can see the cliff and the Mealt, , falls waterfall from there.
• 15:16
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It looks so, so nice.
• 15:17
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 15:18
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Well, I wanna mention something as well to go along with what you just said, no hike necessary.
• 15:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: continue on with that.
• 15:25
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So Yes.
• 15:26
  We did not, we arrived at 12: next talk about the Skye Museum of Island Life.
• 15:31
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So it is located in Portree.
• 15:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It opened in 1965.
• 15:35
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's opened usually from Easter until late September, Monday through Saturday.
• 15:40
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And it will cost you around eight pounds to visit at this museum.
• 15:44
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You can expect to go back in time, not literally, um, but visually and understand what the Isle of Skye was like a hundred years ago.
• 15:54
  We did not, we arrived at 12: , I wonder if in a hundred years that will then be now.
• 15:58
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Ooh.
• 15:58
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 15:59
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Uh, I hope not.
• 16:00
  We did not, we arrived at 12: We'll Yeah.
• 16:01
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, through a series of cottages you are whisked to back to what life used to be like and how regular everyday families went about their lives on the island.
• 16:10
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The goal of the museum is to preserve history and the memory of what life was like on the Isle of Skye.
• 16:17
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 16:17
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I can't believe I missed it.
• 16:18
  We did not, we arrived at 12: You know how much I love a museum, but, uh, I, I'm personally shocked too.
• 16:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It must have been a timing thing.
• 16:26
  We did not, we arrived at 12: We were very There's under the gun.
• 16:28
  We did not, we arrived at 12: No, uh, there are so many other hikes and walks and castles and beautiful things to see on Skye, but these are just sort of a general outline of the kind of major things, and these will definitely get you started planning your own trip.
• 16:45
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Wonderful.
• 16:46
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So moving on to some favorites of the podcast.
• 16:50
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Let's talk Food 'n' drink.
• 16:53
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Let's do it.
• 16:54
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So the first thing you need to know about eating on the Isle of Skye is that you need to make dining reservations, and you should make them as far in advanced as possible.
• 17:05
  We did not, we arrived at 12: We arrived on the island from Inverness.
• 17:08
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I can't remember.
• 17:09
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, what day of the week specifically it was.
• 17:13
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, but everything was either closed or full and we were like, oh, no, what are we going to do?
• 17:20
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So we had to go to the grocery store, of course, and buy some food.
• 17:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And luckily we had an, an Airbnb type situation with a kitchen that we could cook.
• 17:31
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So I did.
• 17:32
  We did not, we arrived at 12: hungry.
• 17:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah, so I know it sucks to like make those plans so far in advance, but like, you know, if you, unless you just wanna cook from buying food at the grocery store or you wanna get like takeout or quick service type food, then you know you really do need to to make a reservation, especially in the busier season.
• 17:54
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So it's also good to know that a lot of places are requiring a credit card to make a reservation and they are charging for no shows.
• 18:02
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So Well, just, busy, like it almo, it, it, it's, it sucks for the customer to have to like give your credit card and potentially a no-show yeah, But obviously it sounds to me like that seat could definitely be used by someone else yeah, show up.
• 18:15
  We did not, we arrived at 12: yeah.
• 18:16
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And I remember one of the spots we went to, it was like, okay, you have the table for two hours.
• 18:21
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So after that, like you need to leave.
• 18:23
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So.
• 18:23
  We did not, we arrived at 12: to you.
• 18:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah, it's time to go.
• 18:26
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So, um, I'm gonna mention a few places that we ate at that I really liked, and the first one is Antlers Restaurant in the Portree Hotel.
• 18:36
  We did not, we arrived at 12: They had lots of options for vegetarians, which I remember, and they had, uh.
• 18:41
  We did not, we arrived at 12: They had something for everyone.
• 18:43
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Everyone that I was there with, uh, really enjoyed their meal.
• 18:46
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It was a very like, cozy environment.
• 18:50
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, I really liked it there.
• 18:52
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So the next spot is Cafe Arriba and we had a really great breakfast here.
• 18:57
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It's like a funky cafe, and it was super busy.
• 19:02
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The menu changes daily, so it's not posted online.
• 19:05
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I don't think that they took reservations.
• 19:08
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I'm pretty sure that we just showed up and waited for a table, uh, and I'm sure you could get, you know, like a takeout coffee and leave as well.
• 19:19
  We did not, we arrived at 12: For a fancier dinner.
• 19:21
  We did not, we arrived at 12: We ate at the Marmalade Hotel.
• 19:24
  We did not, we arrived at 12: The restaurant's called the Chargrill , Everything was super good.
• 19:28
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It was my friend's wedding dinner, so quite lovely.
• 19:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And yes, a little bit more on fancier side and the last place we ate is the Caberfeidh bar and restaurant, which serves sourdough pizza, burgers, and tacos.
• 19:46
  We did not, we arrived at 12: That one is walk-in only so they don't do, uh, reservations.
• 19:51
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I think we were a party of six.
• 19:54
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And I think that we ended up getting split into like a table of four and a table of two in order to get in sooner.
• 20:01
  We did not, we arrived at 12: But those are all of the places that we ate, but there's one spot that's very popular.
• 20:06
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So Meggan, will you tell us about the Talisker distillery?
• 20:09
  We did not, we arrived at 12: I shall, but before I say that, I swear to goodness any menu I see if it says sourdough, I feel like I'm in.
• 20:17
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 20:17
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Like I just, I want that.
• 20:18
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Sure.
• 20:19
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yeah.
• 20:19
  We did not, we arrived at 12: want to taste that.
• 20:20
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Um, excellent.
• 20:22
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Yes.
• 20:22
  We did not, we arrived at 12: So the distillery, uh, the Talisker Distillery is located in Carbost on the Isle of Skye.
• 20:27
  We did not, we arrived at 12: Of course, you can arrive by car or by local bus, which would leave you with about a two minute walk to the distillery.
• 20:33
  We did not, we arrived at 12: To experience this distillery, you can visit the bar, obviously, try some whisky and innovative cocktails.
• 20:40
  We did not, we arrived at 12: They also have a restaurant on site with afternoon hours, so.
• 20:45
  We did not, we arrived at 12: 12 to four ish.
• 20:46
  We did not, we arrived at 12: It is recommended to book of course, in advance, like we've already discussed.
• 20:49
  We did not, we arrived at 12: And they also offer a variety of tours of the distillery as well.
• 20:54
  We did not, we arrived at 12: are open every day of the week, uh, but even in high season they are
• 20:59
  closed by 5: 00 PM So if you do want to visit, ensure you check them out online for all of the details so that you will not be disappointed, especially if they are on your list.
• 21:11
  closed by 5: Yes.
• 21:12
  closed by 5: And I do want to mention that Scotland has very, very strict, uh, drinking and driving rules.
• 21:19
  closed by 5: So if you are the person that is driving, um, they typically will give you your, like tastings in a to-go type situation where you can then take it back to wherever you're staying and have it there instead of drinking it on the site.
• 21:35
  closed by 5: Um, like.
• 21:36
  closed by 5: One drink will put most people over their, uh, their drinking and driving limit.
• 21:41
  closed by 5: So just something to keep in mind.
• 21:42
  closed by 5: We don't wanna break the law and, uh, we want everyone to be safe.
• 21:46
  closed by 5: Really 0% everywhere you go in the world Yeah.
• 21:50
  closed by 5: Yeah.
• 21:51
  closed by 5: terms of your blood alcohol level.
• 21:53
  closed by 5: Should, should be, yeah.
• 21:55
  closed by 5: it should be Should, not otherwise, yeah.
• 21:57
  closed by 5: Yeah.
• 21:58
  closed by 5: Yeah, yeah.
• 21:59
  closed by 5: Yeah.
• 22:00
  closed by 5: Absolutely.
• 22:00
  closed by 5: Okay.
• 22:01
  closed by 5: So like with all of our beginners guides, we are going to end off with some fun facts.
• 22:06
  closed by 5: So, first and foremost, the Isle of Skye has a nickname.
• 22:09
  closed by 5: Actually it has a couple of nicknames.
• 22:11
  closed by 5: Um, first the Island of Clouds.
• 22:14
  closed by 5: This is said to be because the word Skye is derived from the Norse Word "ski", uh, or cloud and ey, which means island.
• 22:24
  closed by 5: Hence for the island of Clouds.
• 22:26
  closed by 5: It is also called the Misty Island.
• 22:28
  closed by 5: As you can imagine, it is from the frequent, uh, fog and clouds, the island experiences.
• 22:33
  closed by 5: I feel like my island of birth should also be called the Misty Island.
• 22:38
  closed by 5: probably should be.
• 22:39
  closed by 5: Indeed, it should.
• 22:40
  closed by 5: it isn't, uh, somewhere you really visit in terms of the island of Skye.
• 22:43
  closed by 5: For the heat though, I do wanna mention the average temperature is 6.5 degrees Celsius in January to 15.4.
• 22:52
  closed by 5: July.
• 22:53
  closed by 5: Those are very specific, so I'm sure they vary a little bit, but that is about 43 degrees Fahrenheit through to 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 23:00
  closed by 5: So it is of course coldest in December and January, but they rarely see snow.
• 23:05
  closed by 5: Hmm.
• 23:06
  closed by 5: Yeah, I was extremely lucky when I was there and I didn't really rain.
• 23:12
  closed by 5: It was absolutely clear and beautiful.
• 23:14
  closed by 5: We were wearing t-shirts, so I, I know we just hit that very lucky spot.
• 23:20
  closed by 5: And it does Yeah.
• 23:21
  closed by 5: So hopefully that happens to each of you listening as well.
• 23:24
  closed by 5: Uh, the population of the Isle of Skye is around 10,000 people.
• 23:29
  closed by 5: Yeah, I assume, how much that increases in high season.
• 23:34
  closed by 5: yeah, with the tourists, I can't even imagine.
• 23:37
  closed by 5: Yeah.
• 23:38
  closed by 5: as we've been talking about this entire episode is tourism.
• 23:41
  closed by 5: That is also the main industry and primary economic driver of the island.
• 23:46
  closed by 5: Other industries being agriculture, fishing, and forestry.
• 23:50
  closed by 5: then finally, seafood.
• 23:52
  closed by 5: As you can imagine, it is an island is the most popular food.
• 23:56
  closed by 5: Did you notice that it was seafood heavy on all ish menus?
• 24:00
  closed by 5: I think that I'm so used to seeing seafood on menus because of where we live here that I probably wouldn't have noticed if it was heavy on seafood.
• 24:11
  closed by 5: Um, but yes, most places I found to be very like vegetarian friendly, which was quite lovely.
• 24:19
  closed by 5: That is good.
• 24:19
  closed by 5: That's excellent.
• 24:21
  closed by 5: that is it for this week's episode.
• 24:23
  closed by 5: We hope we have provided you with some great insights and info on the Isle of Skye to help you plan your adventure.
• 24:29
  closed by 5: Don't forget to always do your own research and plan a journey that works for you.
• 24:33
  closed by 5: Making sure you follow up on all details to make sure, that you're doing what you wanna do.
• 24:39
  closed by 5: We do appreciate your support of the podcast and you can find us on social media at Travel Mug Podcast.
• 24:44
  closed by 5: On our website, travel mug podcast.com of course, and you can leave us a review if you like what we're doing here on either Apple or Spotify.
• 24:52
  closed by 5: And until next time, bye.