The northernmost island in the Inner Hebrides, Skye has suddenly become sexy. Not, however, because of the gobsmacking beauty, the food or the wonders of Lewisian gneiss — which is a rock, not a traditional pudding. As with many other places, its new-found sex appeal comes thanks to American television.
This time it’s Outlander, the tartan-noir drama, which is shot in Scotland and has made the Highlands and, in particular, Skye, a new hotspot. The series, now in its third season, has mist-shrouded glens, Jacobite-era conflict, a signature tune that is a reworking of The Skye Boat Song and two beguiling leads: Jamie, the handsome laird, and Claire, his time-travelling Sassenach love. Seldom has persistent drizzle looked so seductive.
So when we crossed the Skye bridge late last month we were anxiously prepared for congestion amid the ancient landscapes that have recently served as a backdrop for a Kanye West video and the film of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender.
Thankfully, there were fewer coaches and motorhomes on the single-track roads than we had expected. Though, when we did encounter such vehicles, I couldn’t help but remember somewhat wistfully how quiet the roads had been in my childhood, when I spent summers admiring Lewisian gneiss, the oldest rock on Skye.
As it happens, my geologist father gave daily lessons on the importance of the Cuillins, the island’s main mountain range, and the Quiraing, an extraordinary collection of peaks and crags. But you do not need to be familiar with the forces that formed the Quiraing — basaltic lava from the Jurassic mixed with Tertiary age magma — to be awestruck by these places. As my husband and I scrambled down the Quiraing trail, I tried to stop saying “wow” every minute — but failed.
Advertisement
Keen to make the most of our two-day stay on the island, we pressed on from the Quiraing to another highlight, the Fairy Pools at Glen Brittle in the Cuillins. The pools, so-named for their mysterious green water, are a top-rated venue for wild swimming. Even in the height of summer, you need to be brave — the water temperature hovers at about 11C at best — and I preferred to zip up my parka against the chill and simply gaze at their wonderment.
From there, already feeling as if we were in a fable, we drove 40 minutes north to Dunvegan Castle. It’s a moody, turreted structure on the shore that could easily have been designed solely for Instagram, but was built in the 13th century for a more bellicose purpose. It is “all so Outlander, so Macbeth”, as an American visitor observed when admiring the baronial decor.
The history of the castle, the seat of the Macleod clan chiefs, emerges in a vivid fashion from the tour of the interior where cards in each room tell the story of past residents. The castle’s gardens provide an element of exoticism amid the rugged glamour.
For a glimpse of how the other half lived, we continued to the Skye Museum of Island Life, also in the north. The museum is based on a number of thatched cottages that were the homes of crofters, subsistence farmers, in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most cherished member of the household seems to have been the cow, on whose survival the family relied for milk and cheese.
Times of such hardship are tricky to imagine in Portree, Skye’s main town, which has emerged as quite the foodie haunt. Could the crofters have imagined that, in the 21st century, Skye would become known for restaurants such as the Three Chimneys?
Advertisement
Also fêted is the five-course tasting menu by the chef Marcello Tully at his restaurant at Kinloch Lodge, the most luxurious hotel on the island, which features dishes such as seared wild pigeon breast with Stornoway black pudding, beetroot and crème fraîche, followed by Shetland cod with a caper and pistachio pesto, alongside Drumfearn mussels (five courses, £80). I overheard one person remark: “I couldn’t work out which was lovelier, the stuff on my plate or the view from the hotel over the loch.”
Such establishments have received global coverage, although we also found a high standard of cooking at places where no interior decorator had toiled to create a faux-distressed environment — and for a fraction of the price.
In Portree harbour we dined at the Pier Hotel, where the restaurant serves local specialities such as a salmon and Cullen skink (a haddock, leek and potato soup) for no more than about £5. Did we sample the cranachan, a traditional Scottish pudding of whipped cream, whisky, honey and fresh raspberries? No. But only because we knew that the next day we wanted to enjoy the full breakfast at our hotel, the Marmalade.
The hotel has been impeccably refurbished this year, incorporating textiles from Skye Weavers, one of the local companies that is giving the island a hipster edge. Late this year the Marmalade is adding new rooms to keep up with demand from tourists flocking to the island in search of the scenery, great food and metropolitan chic.
At the hotel it is possible to start the day with whisky on your porridge, a touch that will doubtless appeal to those who will combine a visit to Skye with a trip to the new whisky distillery on neighbouring Raasay, a short ferry ride away, which opened this week. The first bottles won’t be ready to drink until 2020, but tours of the new facility start on October 16.
Advertisement
We didn’t get the chance to visit Raasay on our whistle-stop tour. Instead, the next day we took the ferry from Armadale on the south of Skye to Mallaig. The drive down from Portree is one that is made for meandering. In part of the island the surroundings turn from brutal to bucolic — even the ruins of Armadale Castle are somehow benign. This was a minor culture shock, but we had a last fix of wild Skye from the stretch of shore close to Mallaig. We stopped the car to gaze on the sun setting on Skye’s hills, a view that supplies a shot of adrenaline to the soul.
Where to stay
B&B doubles at the Marmalade hotel are from about £215 (01478 611711, marmaladehotel.co.uk)
How to get there
The nearest airport is Inverness, which is served by airlines from London and regional airports
More information
For further information see visitscotland.com. A good guidebook is Lonely Planet Scotland (£13.99)
