From Mythical Rocks to Flying Kilts: Why One Day on Skye Is Not Enough

The SoloTravelless explores the Scottish Highlands, a place that keeps you on the edge of your seat, or even pulls you off it in some cases.*

*Old habits die hard! I apologise, guys. and promise betterment in upcoming posts. This one was written shortly after finishing the Shetland story which rekindled my love for writing — offline writing that was, …conquering the online world, next!

Pointing towards a thick grey layer of clouds in the distance, Murray, our kilted tour guide, announced, “Over there you can see the rock formation we’ve all been waiting for, the Old Man of Storr, a 160-foot-high stack of rock, most likely the most photographed place in Skye.”

“Well, you could see it, if it wasn’t fully covered by clouds, my apologies, I swear it’s there though,” he confirmed with a little chuckle looking at our doubtful faces, something he deserved, in a good way, given a day filled with mythical stories, random fun facts and laughable moments making up for the weather mother nature had in store for us. But back to the Old Man of Storr for now.

The Old Man of Storr

Despite the lack of photographs, Murray made sure we would treasure the memory of that infamous sight as he continued, “Scientist suggest that lava flows created those rocky outcrops, but I have a few other theories I’d like to share.”

Stories do vary, but apparently one of the favourites involves a local couple who walked up the hill every evening sharing stories of their day while watching the sun go down, stories the faeries of Trotternish Ridge very much enjoyed as well. These faeries, you must know, are nothing like the cute little versions Disney brought to life. If anything, rather the opposite. Scottish faeries are deceitful and dangerous, they like to play tricks on people, steal their souls and trap them for eternity. 

The Trotternish Ridge faeries, unfortunately, weren’t any different. As the years went by and the couple grew older, they were no longer able to manage the hike which truly upset the husband who loved exploring the countryside with his wife — I mean, who could blame him, even covered in clouds and rain, this island is still a sight to see.

Having enjoyed their stories throughout the years, the faeries were also rather afraid of missing out, wherefore they made an offer to the husband on what he thought might be their last ascent. The faeries promised that the couple could keep admiring the view and sharing their stories for eternity. Full of joy, the husband accepted and before he knew it, they were turned into the pillars of rock we were looking at that day, or at least were trying to look at.

After a big long “awww” echoed through the bus, Murray swiftly moved on to another version to lighten the mood given the little twinkle in his eye. That one was rather short as it basically told the story of a giant going about his day on the island until he fell over and died, the end.

Well, there is bit more. Throughout the years, the earth covered the giant’s body and only a few pointy bits kept poking out. The polite version of the tale assumes the giant landed on his front and we are looking at his fingers, something locals assume bashful historians came up with when discovering that the original Gaelic name of ‘The Old Man of Storr’ translates to the ‘Penis of Storr’ — a fact Murray clearly enjoyed telling us as he had quite a hard time taming the corners of his mouth to even get the words out.

He added, “Some ancient Gaelic tribes supposedly even worshipped this large piece of rock as symbol of fertility,” a Scottish myth I believe I came across various times when faced with phallic rock formations and being instructed to walk around them in a certain direction — good thing the weather did not allow for too much walking that day either.

Either way, naughty or not, we definitely won’t forget about the Old Man even if we could not coax him out for a picture. Truth be told, a picture could probably hardly capture the beautiful Scottish landscape we were surrounded by with its forested mountains, legend-inspiring sea-lochs, and of course, fairy tale-like castles — no visit to Scotland is complete without a castle.

Eilean Donan Castle

That being said, we had the pleasure of visiting Eilean Donan Castle before setting over to Skye getting us geared up for some more fairy tales coming our way. Besides being located on its own little island, I would assume still being owned by a family might potentially make it one of the most popular ones in the Highlands. Just imagine someone walking up to you asking, “Fancy coming to my castle tonight?” Who says fairy tales set unrealistic expectations?

But jokes aside, for me personally, seeing pictures of the four generations of the MacRae family — past, present and future — who are still Constables of the castle today, gave the building a special flair. It made you realise that’s actually how people lived, something I feel is often hard to imagine when walking through dungeons that remind us more of fantastical TV shows instead of reality, but more on that later.

Despite the family connection, the castle itself is beautiful, so definitely worth paying it a visit and trying to get that perfect shot I’m sure I’ve come across on various shortbread tins and calendars before. All of us gave it whirl before rainy clouds pulled in setting the scene for the next section of our trip.

Until then, Murray had provided us with rather cheerful background music accompanying his stories and getting us accustomed to local bands, something I always appreciate being a true believer that you not only experience new places with your eyes but also ears and nose, wherefore pictures hardly ever capture the moment properly. Being a sucker for local specialties, I guess I should add taste to complete the array of senses as I can already foresee a post praising marmite-like haggis coming your way…

Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Battle of Culloden

But back to the music for now. Just as we were crossing the bridge getting us to our main playground for the day, Murray put on “The Skye boat song” sung by the Corries, a version with a few more historical references than the one some of the bus passengers were familiar with — have a listen (and if you’re an Outlander fan, do resist the urge to sing along and check out the lyrics):

Unlike the TV version, the song tells the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie, otherwise known as Prince Charles Edward Stuart, making a nightly escape after the defeat of his 1745 Jacobite Rising, an attempt to reinstate a Stuart monarch on the throne of Britain. Disguised as Betty Burke, an Irish maidservant, dressed in a calico gown, quilted petticoat and headdress to hide his face, the prince set over to Skye in a small boat with the help of Flora McDonald, a young Highland woman, who risked her life out of compassion for the fugitive being hunted all over the Highlands by government soldiers.

Timelines and details do vary around this little romantic interlude whereas the final confrontation of said Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Culloden, is rather well documented providing material in no need of dramatisation.

The battle was fought on the 16th April 1746, it lasted less than an hour seeing a well-rested Hanoverian government army led by the Duke of Cumberland, son of King George II, going against the exhausted and starved forces of the Bonnie Prince who attempted to surprise the Royal Army at their camp at Nairns where they celebrated Cumberland’s birthday the night before. Not making it close enough to launch an attack by dawn having man falling behind and getting lost in the boggy countryside, they were forced to return to Culloden to fight in the morning on less than ideal grounds.

I visited the battlefield myself the day before and walked the whole area, boggy corners and all, which made me struggle even during a rather dry day, fully fed, coffee in hand, wearing hiking boots, one I almost lost when trying to make my way through the marshes — an experience I highly recommend, excluding the near loss of a shoe of course.

The area is quite exposed to winds, so make sure to wear a rain jacket rather than bringing an umbrella — a dead give-away that you’re a tourist in Scotland by the way. But still go if the weather is grim as it gives you quite a good idea what it must have been like. The visitor centre also offers lots to read up on and many treats to warm yourself up before, after and in-between. It even has a 360-degree theatre showing both parties line up with you right in the middle of it, a pretty clever and at the same time intimidating experience I thought.

Kilt(s) Rock and Mealt Falls

Returning to the trip to Skye though, the winds actually did us a favour that day offering a sight that not many get to see, maybe two even because I can proudly reveal that some kilt wearers do no longer embrace the rumoured tradition. Perhaps it’s a tour guide pre-caution for blustery days but either way ladies, all I can say is that seeing a highlander having a Marilyn moment is definitely not something you’d forget for a while.

The actual unusual sight we got to see that day though appeared when making our way to Kilt Rock — how topical — and Mealt Falls, a waterfall that decided to rather splash up than plummet down the cliffs for us.

Driving into the parking lot, we could already see a fountain of water splashing about where you’d usually have the observation point offering views of Kilt Rock in the distance, a rock formation named after its layered look due to basalt columns resting on a sandstone base. Some might even say that the colours appear almost tartan but that’s up to the viewer.

Trying to check it out ourselves, I opened the door and quite literally got swept off my feet. Having heard a little crack in the door and seeing Murray’s terrified face, we decided to wait it out for a bit after he managed to get me back in the bus and closed the door which I was holding onto for dear life. Did I mention that the kilt undergarment was pink by the way? Saved by a manly man**, what can I say.

**A manly man who I hope won’t get too upset with me for sharing this. 🙂

Once we finally got to make our way to the waterfall, it was quite spectacular. They say even on normal days, there is an aural element to the site as winds blow eerily through the fencing which surrounds the lookout. Given our weather conditions, we got the full concert, water display, hair in the wind, all the bells and whistles accompanying the breath-taking view — literally breath-taking in our case if you faced the wrong direction.

After all this excitement and being rather drenched at that point, we made our way to Portree, a quaint little town known for its colourful harbour, to get some food in our bellies and warm up a bit before starting our journey home. When we returned to the bus, Murray surprised me with a Cuillin Mint Cake, a traditional handmade Scottish Tablet popular amongst mountaineers and hikers, as little thank you for not becoming his very first tour casualty and for keeping up with his jokes being the lucky one who got stuck in the front seat with him for the entire journey.

The Five Sisters of Kintail

While his jokes might have been questionable at times, Murray’s stories never disappointed wherefore he went straight into his final tale when passing Kintail, an area where once lived a clansman who had seven daughters, all very skilled and clever.

One day a boat stranded at the shore of Loch Duich where the oldest daughter happened to be fishing. Being good at fixing boats, she offered her help and invited the captain and his brother to the family home where both men fell in love with the youngest daughters.

As tradition demands to marry the eldest daughters first, the father refused the matches until the brothers mentioned their 5 elder brothers who would be happy to marry the other daughters. Satisfied, the father let his youngest daughters sail away with the two men who promised to return with their brothers in a year’s time. They never did.

After a year of waiting, the clansman went to see the wood witch and asked for help hoping to keep his daughters young and beautiful until the brothers returned to marry them.

As we were approaching a vast mountain range, Murray announced, “If you look straight ahead, you can see the Five Sisters of Kintail, still waiting for their future husbands to arrive.” Driving up closer, the sky opened revealing a rainbow that caught our guide by surprise hoping to use the grey cloud cover to underline yet another grim story of betrayal. Clearly, the sisters did not need any pity and presented themselves in all of their beauty providing a somewhat happy ending to a rather dreary day.

Kilt Trivia and Knobbly Traditions

Motivated by such sunny sight or knowing the end was near, Murray went into highest gear and dished out a few kilt facts after one of us dared to ask about Outlander’s popularity amongst locals. To our surprise, it was actually quite well perceived having increased tourism significantly around Inverness. Getting Sam Heughan to embody Scottish masculinity was a side effect they didn’t mind either. In terms of authenticity, it was rather spot on unlike movies such as Braveheart portraying warriors in kilts which weren’t popular until the 17th century – a wee bit later than the actual First War of Scottish Independence which took place in the 13th century.

Interestingly enough, the very first kilts were white, brown, green or black. Made out of wool, people used plants, mosses, and berries to dye them and only through the years developed plaids for specific clans potentially based on natural resources nearby.

While the manufacturing might have changed, the tradition lives on. Every family still has their very own colours which would be different to the ones you can see in the tourist shops, on school uniforms or Scottish outdoor stores selling ‘sports kilts,’ something Murray was wearing that day apparently, along with a Sporran which functions as a purse since kilts have no pockets — makes sense — and somewhat protects the wearer’s modesty one would assume.

Despite its humble tradition and originally rather practical use allowing to carry items or providing warmth when tossed over as blanket-like capes, kilts and their pattern have become fashionable and can be seen all around the world. “You might walk into an airport one day to meet your mates but instead find yourself surrounded by a bunch of school girls wanting to take a group picture as you happen to wear the same colours,” Murray reminisced about past kilt-mishaps, a sight to see no doubt, probably making us laugh as hard as his buddies back then.

Intrigued by the kilt culture, I did have a little google about it back home and was amazed how easy it is to get lost in the topic and its fascinating traditions. Having talked about Bonnie Prince Charlie quite a bit, did you know that there’s an actual competition in the Highland Games called ‘Bonnie Knees’? It involves blindfolding three women to judge the legs of kilted men based on how handsome their knees feel, knobblyness assumingly being one of the judging criteria. 

If that doesn’t get your blood boiling and make you want to move up to the highlands, then I don’t know what will. If not quite ready to move yet, do check out Skye though. With its gorgeous mountain ranges, thought-provoking rock formations and first-class storytellers in national dress, it’s definitely a place you wouldn’t mind being stuck in forever — or at least for a bit longer than a day, if the faeries approve.

A Little Bovine Bonus

The blustery weather messed with everyone’s hair that day, some highland cattle we passed by weren’t too mad about it either, but so much fun to look at, so here a few facts about those wonderful creatures:

The Highland Cow — or ‘Hairy Coo’ as locals affectionately call them — is the oldest registered breed of cattle in the world. Unlike the cows you’re probably used to, hairy coos gather in a ‘fold,’ rather than herd, named after the open shelters they can be kept in over winter due to their gloriously shaggy coats coming with two layers; a thick woolly undercoat keeping them warm, and longer guard hairs to shed snow and rain, along with lovely long eyelashes and that thick signature fringe protecting their eyes while completing that infamous just-out-of-bed look.

When was I there? 3 April 2019