Scotland Skye Highlands and Hebrides Photo Tour

Your guide and driver will meet you at the Glasgow Airport and depart for Glencoe. Our accommodations are set in the heart of Glencoe, surrounded by mountains. In the Highlands, the past is all around. Ancient cairns and stone settings, the later brochs (defensive round towers), then the Picts with their mysterious carved symbol stones have all left their faint traces on the landscape. Although the old clan ways have vanished, the Highlands are still a special place and a place apart, enjoyed not only for their unspoiled environment, but also for their particular sense of the intertwining of past and present.

You will have another day to immerse yourselves in the highlands of Scotland, with Glencoe being an excellent base from which to explore the region. Signal Rockis a pleasant short walk from the inn, where in the past, bonfires were lit to warn of imminent danger. From Rannoch Moor there are distant views to the surrounding mountain ranges, Blackmount to the west, and the almost perfectly shaped mountain, Buachaille Etive Mor, the subject of numerous well-known photographs. There are fine views from beside the road at various points, and even better views can be gained with some relatively short walks. The Devils Staircaseis a short uphill stretch of The West Highland Way and offering even better views from higher viewpoints.  An eleven-mile-long sea loch, Loch Leven, takes us from Ballahullish in the west to Kinlochleven in the east. The loch is fringed to both north and south by steep sided mountains, giving some dramatic scenes. On the shore there is a small harbor originally used by the slate industry; a fine walk along the shoreline provides spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Overnight Glencoe (D; B; B).

Your guides will take into consideration the interests of the group, and weather conditions to determine the most opportune photo stops along the drive to Skye.

The Trotternish Peninsula, which consists predominantly of a long basalt outcrop, giving rise to the dramatic cliff and mountain scenery roundabout. Driving around the “North End” of Trotternish, we will make a number of varied photo stops along the way. Photographing the strange and dramatic rock formations of the Quiraing is a highlight along with one of Skye’s best-known sights, The Old Man of Storr.  It is a pinnacle of rock, 160 feet high, visible from much of the east coast of Skye. Overnight Isle of Skye (B; B, D; B)

Leave Skye today, taking the Outer Hebrides ferry to the small port of Tarbert on Harris, then driving fifty miles to our accommodations. The Outer Hebrides are at the northwest edge of Europe, comprised of a one hundred fifty-mile-long chain of islands. Harris divides neatly into three areas and has a different character to the much larger Lewis.

Great Bernera is an island that has been linked to the mainland by bridge since 1953. There are notable archaeological remains on the island consisting of standing stones, and the Iron Age roundhouse Dun Baravat in Loch Bravat. At the southeast corner of Harris is the little township of Rodel.  There is a lovely little harbor still used by a few fishing boats, and best known is the St. Clements Church, which is looked after by the Scottish Heritage and is the most impressive example of church architecture in the Hebrides.

One day heading north from our base, we may visit The Butt of Lewis, which is the northernmost point of the island. The sea is always dramatic here, as the waters of The Atlantic meet The Minch. In contrast, the Port of Ness, nearby, is a small scenic fishing port. The Arnol Black House is a Scottish Heritage site where both ‘black houses’ and a ‘white house’ have been preserved as a small museum. White houses were in use well into the second half of the twentieth century, while previously black houses were the traditional home for hundreds of years. Everybody lived in one space with a peat fire in the middle of the floor, while livestock were kept at one end of the house.

Carloway is a large village by Lewis standards, best known for the remains Carloway Broch, a once fortified impressive round stone structure. Heading south from our base at Breascleate, the world-famous standing stones of Callanish are just a few miles away. In fact, there are three standing stone remains at Callanish. The main one is a particularly impressive, well-preserved ancient site, set in spectacular surroundings. We will certainly photograph here in the twilight, as well as by day. Stornoway, on the east coast, is the island’s capital and lifeline to busy harbor life. Overnights Outer Hebrides (B, D; B; B; B)