Skip to main content

Thistly Cross Strawberry Scottish Cider

 Today we spent the whole day exploring the Isle of Skye! Skye is a very touristy island, with 2 in 5 housed being either vacation homes or rentals… but luckily we have a great guide who is able to still get us to cool places, no matter how busy it is!

We started the morning by driving to hike An Stòr which is famous because of the Old Man of Storr rock spire. This imposing rock formation is made of volcanic rock and was formed by detaching from the nearby cliff side around 6100 years ago. 

Our guide told us the legend that this mountain is actually a fallen giant, slain by the Christian God on behest of the recently Christianized locals from whom the giant was stealing. And the spire is well… a part of the giants anatomy that would protrude upwards if he was lying on his back.

An Stòr mountain from below

Old Man of Storr (furthest spire to the left)

This hike gave us absolutely gorgeous views and took about 2hrs for a round trip. We had another warm sunny day… who knew that I would get a sunburn in Scotland! 

Selfie with the Old Man of Storr on our sunny day

Views after hiking up ~300m

Next we drove a bit further up the road for a walk to Brothers’ Point. In Scotland peeople have the “Right to Roam”, meaning that you can walk on private property without consequences (within reason of course). For us, this meant walking down through farmers’ sheep grazing fields… and I finally got to see some sheep up close! It was so tempting to pet them.

Happy to finally be with the sheep!

Mamma and baby sheep

We climbed up a nice mossy hill and got a wonderful view of the Kilt Rock. Aptly named, this cliffside has spires of basalt that make it look like the pleats of a kilt from afar. 

View of the Kilt Rock

I’m constantly stunned by the beauty of Scotland. The colours of the deep blue ocean, the mossy green fields with the white sheep speckled across them, the strong gray rock… it’s absolutely breathtaking.

Scottish colours

And of course, after a hot day of many walks we visited the Isle of Skye Brewing Company. Liam got their Skye Red Beer, which was very fruity and smooth… quite refreshing! I got their Thistly Cross Strawberry Scottish Cider because well I’d never even heard of strawberry cider. And it is delicious, it really does taste like fresh strawberries.

Isle of Skye Brewing Company

Skye Red Beer

Strawberry Cider

Honestly, this group trip has been so worth it, if just for the people! It’s only been three days but it feels like everyone is already fast friends. Becoming close with folks who were absolute strangers is such a unique experience to travelling… we’re all in this together. 

Two more days to go!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pastel De Nata

We had an absolutely stunning day today! Although we spent about 3 hours driving from Lagos to Sintra on Portuguese tolled highways, our time in both those cities was incredible. We had a fantastic breakfast spread in our hotel today, and we we spent about 45 minutes tasting Portuguese delicacies, including tomato and pumpkin jams, honey fresh from the comb, and many breads and baked goods. Delicious breakfast We were now fueled to take a walk on the beautiful boardwalk in Lagos. We walked along the Atlantic towards the Ponta da Piedade, a rocky outcrop where a small lighthouse stands. The water was a gorgeous blue, the sandstone cliffs a calm beige, and the weather was on our side gracing us with a nice cool breeze.  Gorgeous cliffside Made it to the end of the boardwalk! This is definitely a place we’ll have to return to…I would love to do a kayak trip along the coastline and explore the beautiful rock formations from below. Steps down to the water Going down the stairs Turquoise...
Post a Comment
Read more

Francesinhas & Port Wine

 Today was our first full day in the city of Porto! The name Portugal actually originates from the name of this city. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a pretty miserable travel day, but the taste of port wine helped us forget about late busses, lost things, and exorbitant ATM fees. Port wine originates in Porto, but was actually invented by the British as a way to help wine survive the journey from Portugal to England. This fortified wine comes in several varieties. The main two are “Ruby” and “Tawny”. Ruby is generally more fruity and has a more vibrant colour, whereas tawny is aged in oak barrels and is more nutty and honey tasting. We both enjoyed the tawny more than the ruby. Sampling white, ruby, tawny, and reserve port wines This morning we took a “free” walking tour through the old city of Porto. Our guide told us many interesting tidbits about Portuguese history and society.  The city has many beautiful buildings, but also lots of construction everywhere ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Home cooked meals

 Our time in Cockermouth was spent relaxing and recuperating from a busy few weeks. We were able to stay with the grandmother of one of my friends so we were wonderfully taken care of :) On our first day we slept in and then did a little walk up to Watch Hill, a local walking route. This path takes you right through sheep grazing fields! It was quite fun to see all the sheep up close as you walk through their home. Generally they’re very calm, although a few did stare us down as we walked by.  Walking through the fields Relaxing sheep Mama and her babies Views from our walk In the afternoon, we explored a bit of the town centre. Most shops were closed as it was a Sunday, but we could still appreciate the lovely architecture. It was still warm today so there were quite a few people bathing in the River Cocker, enjoying their time off. Interestingly, the River Cocker’s name comes from a Celtic word which means “the crooked one”. The River Cocker Cute little houses Kirk in the ce...
Post a Comment
Read more