What I did on My Holidays - Isle of Skye

Skye is one of those places that I've wanted to visit for along time, but never have, so I decided that this was going to be the year!  I invited my parents to join me, and we settled on the last week of June as being outside of (Scottish and English) school holidays, and as having a reasonable chance of good weather while avoiding peak midge season! 

My parents, being retired and with time to spare, decided to drive up to Scotland, taking their caravan and taking 10 days or so to do the trip. I, not being retired, had to travel more quickly, and decided to get the Caledonian Sleeper overnight train, mostly on the basis that I've never travelled on a sleeper train (and the alternative was EasyJet) 

Sleeper Train

Since this meant leaving London at 9.15 in the evening, I booked the full day off work and spent the day in London, lunching with a friend and going to the British Museum to visit an exhibition. 

Then to Euston Station and a visit to the First Class Lounge, before heading to board the train. Which is very very long - it splits up part way through the journey with sections going to Inverness, Fort William, and Aberdeen, but starts out with about 15 or 16 carriages! 

My Cabin

The Inverness section, in which I was travelling, was at the front, so a long way up the platform.  However, I found my cabin, and dropped off my bags, then headed back to the 'Club Car' as I'd read reviews that suggested it gets full, fast, and it's sensible to grab a seat early! It paid off, and I was able to order some macaroni cheese with haggis crumb, and a mini bottle of wine, and to dine as the train pulled away from Euston. 

After which I headed back to my cabin and to bed. It's not the best night's sleep I've ever had, (in oart as the door to my en-suite loo didn't close proper;y, and as the light inside came on automatically when I opened, I was disturbed until I worked out how to use a coathanger as an improvised latch!  but it was an interesting experience and some wonderful scenery as we reached Scotland - there are some compensations to waking up at 4 a.m.! 

Once I reached Inverness, I picked up a hire car and headed to Skye, only a little intimidated by the car hire place telling me that they had not only upgraded me to a larger car (Which I'm not sure was necessarily an advantage given the narrow roads) but that the car they were giving me was brand new, that I was only the second person to drive it... (It only had 170 miles on the clock when I picked it up!) So no pressure!!

I had planned a break in my drive, to visit Urquhart Castle, on the shores of Loch Ness, which is now a ruin, but was fortress from the 12th to 17th Centuries, before being blown up by Jacobites in 1688. 

It started to rain quite hard as I arrived, so I didn't stay long! 

Urquhart Castle

I then moved on, pausing (once the rain stopped) for sandwiches on the lochside, before crossing the Skye bridge and driving to our rental cottage. The last 7 miles of the trip were very narrow, single tracks roads, with passing places, which was quite challenging as by this stage it was pouring with rain, so visibility was poor and there was a huge amount of surface water - it was a great relief to arrive ! 

The house we rented was in Gen Brittle, under the Black Cuillins and about 1 mile from the sea. When we arrived, the rain meant that the mountains were completely hidden, and a walk down to the beach was not appealing.

The following morning was still rather damp, but we went out to visit Portree, and then later, as the weather continued to improve, walked down from our temporary home to the beach.

view of 'our'house

The beach is stunning, almost empty, with views out to the Isle of Canna. For the most part, the beach is black shingle and sand, but towards the farther end it has some white sand, where the outgoing water leaves patterns like water in the sand.

Glenbrittle beach, this is sand, not water.

Glenbrittle Beach

The Cuillins

After the rain, the evening was clear, giving us amazing views as we walked back to the house.

Over the next few days, we took a fairly relaxed approach to things. We did not climb any mountains.

The Old Man of Storr, which we admired, but did not climb!

We did, however, go to admire several lochs and places with beautiful views - we went to Portnalong, which is a pier with lovely views, and where we saw, in the distance, a group of about 3 or 4 dolphins (or porpoises) on the far side of the loch, leaping out of the water. 

We took a trip on a boat - it was advertised as a 'whale trail' and  having a very high chance of seeing dolphins / porpoises, and maybe minke whales, and 'almost guaranteed' seeing seals and Sea-Eagles, but sadly on our trip, we didn't see any of them! 

It was a nice sunny morning and the was lots of lovely scenery, but I was a little disappointed, especially as I would love to see whales or dolphins up close, as I never have.

I did see a herd of wild Red Deer, near the house one evening, though.

Red Deer

We took a walk up to visit the Fairy Pools, one evening - they were only about 3 miles from where we were staying, they're very popular so we decided that going up in the evening might be a bit quieter. It was, but it's obviously been a dry Spring, as the pools were not very full. I'd been thinking of taking a quick dip, but none of the ones that looked like you could safely get in and out  seemed to have enough water to swim in! Obviously I need to go back another year! 

We had one extremely wet day, when my parents very sensibly stayed in the house and read, and I went on a very wet and exhilarating walk at the Fairy Glen

The Fairy Glen

We visited Staffin beach, where there are fossilised dinosaur footprints, and, (like practically everywhere else on Skye), glorious views.

Fossilised dinosaur footprint

Lovely view, from Staffin Beach

We also went for a walk at Neist Point, where there is a lighthouse.

Neist Point Lighthouse

We went to Dunvegan, where there is a castle, the ancestral home of the MacLoeds. 

Dunvegan Castle

The Castle was originally built in the 13th Century, although it's been extensively extended, rebuilt and restored and it mostly Victorian Gothic now (although parts of the older castle are still there) 

Dunvegan Castle and Loch

The castle has been occupied by the MacLoeds for around 800 years, and the castle holds some of their treasures, most famously the Fairy Flag, which is a flag or banner which was (depending on which version of the story you prefer) either found when a passing fairy wrapped the infant son of the chief in it, or given to a  MacLoed passing through the Holy Land on Crusade, by a hermit in gratitude for slaying an evil spirit, or given to a MacLoed as a farewell gift by his fairy lover at the end of their relationship. The V&A, who examined it back in (I think) the 1920s, concluded that it have been woven on Syria, possibly as far back as the 4th C. There are various legends about he banner giving the clan protection or victory when unfurled in battle.

They also have various relics relating to Bonnie Prince Charlie, as Flora MacDonald, (Who famously helped him escape to Skye after his defeat at Culloden) was the mother in law of the chief of the MacLoed clan, and lived there in her old age, and the castle has retianed, and displays, a set of her stays, as well as a waistcoat which is said to have belonged to Charles Stuart, and a pincushion made by Flora. 

view over the loch from the castle

After out visit to the castle, the finished the day with a visit to the Three Chimneys restaurant , where we had an excellent meal, and some rather nice drinks (I certainly enjoyed my marmalade martini!) 

The restaurant specialises in locally sourced ingredients, cooked with huge skill. I've never had pickled herring icecream before, nor, for that matter, mussel ketchup, but they were both part of my pre-starter, and were delicious, as was my main of local venison! 

View of the shore outside the restaurant 

Sadly, all good things come to an end so we found our week drawing to a close. On our last day, in between packing up, we went to Kylerhea, where there is a tiny car ferry to the mainland, as well as a wildlife walk from which we were able to see seals and otters in the water (they were too far off for photos, but did see more seals from the ferry!) 

Seal!

We didn't take the car over on the ferry, not really having any need to cross to the mainland, but we did decide to take a ride over and back as foot passengers. The ferry is very small, and has a very clever rotting deck to allow vehicles to get on and off using the old slipways and regardless of the state of the tide.(apparently it is the  last manually operated turntable ferry in the world!)  

Ferry

We saw seals swimming along the ferry as we crossed, and also spotted the Sea Eagle which nests nearby which made up for not seeing one on our earlier boat trip! 

Old and New bridges at Glen Sligachan

I was sorry to leave, although the fact that the last morning was grey and wet helped a little!  After dropping my hire car back I had a little time in Inverness, and then caught the sleeper train again - my cabin this time was set up with the top bunk folded away which made it seem more spacious. 

Homeward bound on the Caledonian Sleeper

I spent the first part of the journey in the 'club car' enjoying a cheese board and a G'nT, and watching the scenery go past, then headed to my cabin - I enjoyed a better night's sleep than when going the other way - possibly in part due to the G'n'T! 

The train back from London to Bath was a little less exclusive, but I was home by late morning, so had plenty of time to unpack and face up to the fact the holiday was over! 

I definitely want to return to Skye... perhaps at a different time of year next time, I believe that it can be a good place to see the stars and the Northern Lights, in winter.

Another post about Venice (Mostly San Marco)

The day I flew to Venice, I checked on the weather forecast for Venice, and it told me that it was due to rain pretty much constantly while I was there. It didn't, but on Wednesday it decided to fulfil the prophecy.

It turns out that rain does discourage people a little, so St Mark's Square was a lot less crowded than usual.

I'd planned to visit St Mark's, and booked a 'skip the line' ticket so I didn't have to queue in the rain, although it simply means that you join the queue inside the basilica instead of outside! 

The sheer volume of people does mean that it's  bit of a conveyor belt; you shuffle along on little fenced paths through the basilica, and can't really stop and take in the atmosphere, and not all of the mosaics are lit, all of the time, but despite this it is still pretty impressive. After walking round the church itself, you get to go upstairs, where you can visit the museum. The original horses of St Mark's are there, now. 

Cavalli di San Marco

The horses have had a long and varied history. They were created (probably) in the 2nd or 3rd C AD, (originally pulling a chariot) and were displayed at the hippodrome in Constantinople for many years, before being looted by the Venetians in 1204 (when they also got their collars, as the heads of the sculptures were removed for transport, and the collars added to cover up the join, when they were reassembled)

They then took up their posts on the facade of St Marks, in 1254. They stayed there until 1797, when Napoleon had them removed, and they spent some time in Paris, before being returned after Napoleon's defeat, and reinstated on the Basilica in 1815. They were moved inside to prevent damage from pollution, in the 1980s, and the ones outside are now copies.

I hadn't appreciated how old they were, until I read about them in the museum! 

The museum also give you the chance to see some of the mosaics up close, and to look down into the church.

And of course there is also the chance to go out onto the loggia and look down into St Mark's Square, and out to the lagoon.

(That line of umbrellas are over all the people queuing to get into the basilica, an excellent reason to use the skip-the-line service!)

On the way out, are the best views of some of the mosaics, and they seem more relaxed about you taking photos of them, in the porch. They are very impressive!

I spent the afternoon mostly admiring modern art, as I visited both the Ca' Pesaro museum of modern art, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

My favourite piece in the Ca' Pesaro museum was their Klimt, Salome, although I also enjoyed the Kandinskys and the Rodins.   Not to mention the views out over the Grand Canal.

The same building also houses the Oriental Art museum, which has some rather lovely netsuke, and Japanese screen, and also an amazing Chinese Ivory chess set, which reminded me of the one which Lord Peter Whimsey buys as a gift for Harriet Vane in Gaudy Night..

Then there's the Peggy Guggenheim Collection , with more Kandinskys, plus Man Ray, Jackson Pollock, Picasso and Dali, not to mention a sculpture garden with pieces from Moore, Hepworth, Anish Kapoor and others. Even in the rain it is well worth exploring! 

Despite being distinctly soggy by this point, I did stop off with some other rubber-neckers, on the Ponte d'Accademia to watch another piece of artwork being delivered or installed. I hadn't really thought much about how the lack of roads or trucks would affect that kind of thing - there must be a whole extra set of challenges when even your cranes need to be on barges...

Venice, Or What I Did on My Holiday, Part 2

One of the things many visitors to Venice do is to go up the Campanile of St Mark's, to see the views over the city. However, you have to queue, and the queues are long. I don't like to queue.

So, instead, I decided to get the ferry across to San Giorgio Maggiore, which *also* has a Campanile with great views, and which seems to be a little of the beaten track, so far as crowds are concerned. Plus, bonus boat ride!

There are nice views back across to St Mark's, from the boat.

When I got to San Giorgio, it was still closed (there does seem to be a certain unreliability about information places provided regarding opening hours, but there are worse things than pottering around a marina and looking at Venice in the sunshine!)

But being early did mean that when I went up the tower (there is the luxury of a lift) there were only 2 other people up there. And some bells. The views are pretty great.

It turns out also that 25th April is the feast day of St Mark, and St Mark is pretty popular in Venice.From the campanile I could hear the brass bands in St Mark's Square.

After leaving San Giorgio I decided, on a whim, to go to Murano, another of the islands, famous for its glass-making.

The Beast from the Lagoon

There is a glass museum, which has some interesting exhibits. I liked the sculpture garden, where I found the creature from the lagoon, and some glass cuttlefish (or maybe squid).

Glass Squid (or Cuttlefish) : Murano

The museum also has displays showing the history and development of glassmaking in Venice . I ave to admit that Murano glass doesn't actually do a whole lot for me, but the museum was interesting, and some of the exhibits are pretty impressive. I mean, I'm not entirely sure why anyone would want a glass trumpet or a glass celestial globe, but it's quite impressive that people are making them...

Mosaic peacocks, Chiesa dei Santi Maria e Donato, Murano

After the museum I visited the church of Saints Maria and Donato, which is one of the oldest churches in Venice. St Donato apparently killed a dragon, and brought the bones with him to this church, where they are displayed behind the alter. It would be churlish to suggest that they look a lot like whale bones..

The church also house some rather nice 12th Century mosaics on the floor, including  a very nice pair of peacocks.

Back in Venice itself, I spent some more time exploring the quieter streets, and came upon the Ponte del Chiodo, the bridge without parapets. Apparently, originally, none of the bridges in Venice had parapets, but this is the only one left in the city itself (there's another on Torcello) 

I ended up back at St. Mark's again. There was still a lot of celebrating going on. I'm not a big fan of crowds or crowded places, but it was all very good tempered and non-threatening. 

There were also nuns selling red roses - apparently it s a tradition, that Venetian men give roses to their wives or girlfriends, a rose on St Mark's day, so the nuns sell them on behalf of the Red Cross.

Museo Correr

I  spent the evening visiting the Museo Correr, which is at the far end of St Mark's Square from the Basilica. It is, as you can see, another subtle and understated building!

 

It was originally built in the 1620s and then updated and extended under Napoleon, who wanted a suitable palace for his brother-in-law. 

The museum has a collection of Canova sculptures, and also some beautiful 17thC globes, with little painting of ships to decorate all the oceans.  The building also houses the city's archaeological museum, so there are some Roman sculptures and Egyptian sarcophagi, as well as the more modern stuff, and a whole suite of rules decorated in the 18th Century with images inspired by Pompeii.

I finished the evening with a stroll down to the Rialto to enjoy the views over the Grand Canal in the dark.

It was a good day.