Castles · Tour

Skye with the Fairy Pools and a Dram at Talisker

Two things on this itinerary that the other Skye days do not have: you can swim in the Fairy Pools, and you stop at the Talisker distillery for a dram. Before booking, note the terms: all sales are final and cancellations are not refunded. The coach leaves Inverness along Loch Ness, where the earliest account of a monster appears in the Life of St Columba, written in the sixth century. On Skye the road runs up the east coast, with the Red and Black Cuillin mountains on one side and the islands of Scalpay and Raasay offshore, then turns southwest down single track roads to the Fairy Pools. The pools sit under the Cuillin, fed by the River Brittle, and the water is clear and green. Weather permitting you can get in: this is one of the best wild swimming spots in the UK, with natural arches and waterfalls to duck under. Talisker is at Carbost, a single malt with a peaty, smoky character, and the visit goes through the visitor centre with a sample if one is available. Portree comes next, the island's capital, a small harbour town with painted houses along the water. The name commemorates a visit by King James V in 1540; before that it was Portray, and the site has been inhabited since the Mesolithic. Eilean Donan closes the day, on its island where three sea lochs meet, with the forested mountains of Kintail behind it. Meet at the bus stop next to St Andrews Cathedral, Ardross St, on the corner of Kenneth St, Inverness, IV3 5NS.