Landscape pictures of Scotland with pictures of the Isle Of Skye, probably the most famous Island in Scotland. The Isle of Enchantment, the Misty Isle, the Isle of Dreams, all of these phrases describing the Isle of Skye are accurate. I'm sure after you tour Skye you will have your own favourite and unique description for this magical Isle. Many pictures of Scotland and of Skye show the popular views the tourist sees from the road, but for me the real Skye is seen in this picture. I don't quite know why, but the lonliness of the ruined cottage on the windswept moorland may be the reason. Or it could be that it reminds me of stories of the Clearances. The picture was taken quite a few years ago, but I remember having to hold onto the tripod because of the wind, particularly since I was using a very slow shutter speed to accentuate the movement of the grasses.

One of the delights when visiting Skye is being able to hear people speak in their native tounge, Gaelic, which is pronounced with an 'a' sound rather than with the 'ay ' of the Irish Gaelic. The language is very much a living thing in many parts of the Highlands and Islands and hopefully with it now being taught in schools all over Scotland, the amount of people speaking it will increase in the future. I love to hear it being spoken, but in normal conversation the native speaker goes far to fast for me to understand it. Something else for me to do in my retirement, I should, as I had several relatives who were fluent and one even won the Gold Medal at the Mod many years ago.

Skye is one of the most visited Islands of Scotland and rightly so, it has wonderful mountains, majestic scenery and is steeped in history, all of these attract the visitor. There are many other activities to take part in,, you can golf, canoe, windsurf and sail or you can just sit back and take in the tranquility of a magical island. Of course the magic and tranquility can be enhanced with a dram of the local whisky.

For good information on all there is to do when you visit Skye, go to the official website for the communities of Skye, Lochalsh and Raasay which you can find on my links page and the map below may be of some help.

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.