22/09/2026
WE SAILED from the Hebrides on Saturday. Phew. ⛴️
It was pretty hairy though. We were notified the night before that our sailing was subject to weather-related disruption and cancellation, so we went to bed with the car fully packed, our alarms set for 4.30am and notifications enabled on our phones in case anything changed.
After a turbulent night’s sleep, with one eye on my phone and a few sleepy checks of the sailing status, we left for the ferry port just before 5am. A slow and careful drive up the Uists to the terminal and, just over an hour later, we arrived.
We breathed a sigh of relief when our ticket was scanned and we joined the queue as the sun began to break over the mountainous horizon and we watched the ferry staff being buffeted around the harbour by the wind that had been pretty much relentless during our time on the Hebrides.
The bowl of porridge, Lorne sausage breakfast roll (food of the Gods) and moderately crappy filter coffee were consumed with considerable relief. The rest of our holiday was riding on us making that sailing.
We happily returned to Skye, albeit via a rather unexpected route. Our original ferry had been booked to take us to Mallaig, but instead we found ourselves sailing back to Skye as the planned crossing was cancelled. As it turned out, that wasn’t such a bad thing.
When we’d first been on Skye, the weather had done a very good job of hiding some of the scenery from us. This time, the clouds lifted and we got a completely different view of the island. We saw the Quiraing mountains without their misty shroud, stopped at Kilt Rock and the Mealt Falls, and managed to visit a museum that had been closed when we’d tried to visit earlier in the trip.
So what initially felt like yet more ferry pandemonium actually turned out to be rather serendipitous. We got an unexpected second chance to see Skye properly.
Once we’d finished our bonus time on Skye, we continued on to our next destination: a four-hour drive to a hotel in the Highland village of Taynuilt.
That evening we had dinner in the hotel restaurant, watching deer wander past as we ate, before collapsing into bed. It had been a very, very long day. And boy did I sleep that night. Asleep before 10pm and awake just before 8am. A combination of fresh Highland air and complete exhaustion, I think.
The following day we started the next leg of our adventure with a drive to Claonaig, where we caught the ferry over to Arran.
I’ve been to Arran a few times, but couldn’t remember much about it, so it was good to revisit. After having to rearrange nearly every one of our ferries on the trip because of the weather, we were particularly pleased to arrive at the terminal, drive straight onto the ferry and have a completely uneventful crossing!
Arran is often described as Scotland in miniature and it’s not a bad description. It’s got mountains, little villages, castles, distilleries, harbours and beaches all packed into one island.
We drove around the coast, saw seals and red squirrels and enjoyed some actual sunshine – a very welcome change from the wild Hebridean elements!
On Sunday it was time to head home, with another ferry journey to Troon followed by a four-hour drive home from there.
I finally arrived back yesterday evening. What an adventure.
I’m completely exhausted from all the driving, but I’d do it again in an instant. Scotland never fails to amaze me and, despite the weather doing its absolute best to disrupt pretty much every plan we made, we had an amazing time.
In fact, we’re already planning a return trip at some point. Although perhaps next time I’ll choose somewhere with fewer ferries. Or not. I do like a ferry crossing 😂
Anyway, enough Scotland waffle from me. I hope you enjoyed following me along. I’m back home, the suitcases are unpacked and it’s time to get back to the important stuff…
BAKING 😁
I’m open Friday–Sunday this weekend. And no, there won’t be Scottish tablet this weekend. But I am working on it. One of my customers has very kindly sent me her Aunty’s recipe, which is over 80 years old, so I’m going to give it a go. Keep ya posted on that.
Vicky
P.S. Guess how many miles we covered? The closest answer gets a Curious Cupboard goody bag. 🚗🏴
