In good weather, the island's highlight is a drive north of Portree around the Trotternish Peninsula. Hungry diners are forced to eat standing up against the wall…or else a gull will swoop down for a slab of cod. While Portree has several good sit-down restaurants, my go-to meal is fish-and-chips at the harborside "chippy." Its outdoor picnic bench is forever empty, though, as seagulls are famously aggressive here. It's important to book accommodations as far ahead as possible. But as Skye has gotten very popular in recent years, Portree is now jammed with visitors in the summer. The town center has a few hotels, hostels, and bed-and-breakfasts, and several more B&Bs line the roads into and out of town. Skye's best home base is Portree, with a picturesque harbor area but no real sights. While most travelers visit Skye as a harried day trip from Inverness, it's better to spend at least two nights here. Landless peasants were driven out and to this day the island's population is half what it used to be.Ĭonnected to mainland Scotland by a bridge, Skye is a two-hour drive from Inverness, the largest Highlands city. That's when wealthy landowners decided sheep were better for their bottom line than people. But it's sparsely populated - the island seems to have more sheep than locals - and it's been that way since the Highland Clearances back in the 1800s. Just off Scotland's northwest coast, Skye is the country's second-biggest island (it takes about two hours to drive it from south to north). Among Scotland's countless islands, the favorite among travelers is the scenic Isle of Skye, where fun-to-drive mountain roads weave among grassy slopes and rocky ridges. Scotland's islands may be at this northern nation's distant fringes, but those who venture to them are richly rewarded with dramatic landscapes, a taste of each island's rich heritage, and warm welcomes.
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