Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye in Scotland

An Atlanta Photographer in Scotland

Back in late 2019, my parents and I discussed going to see some friends of ours who live on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. 

Covid had other plans and suddenly it was almost two years gone by and we still hadn't made the trip, and my parents aren't getting any younger. 

Our friend, Rory, emailed and asked if we were still planning on coming. We discussed it and came up with a unanimous yes, even though we knew the trip wouldn't be easy for my mom. She was intent on going, though. 

My parents are doing great in their early 80s but Mom has some issues with her eyes, and she cracked a small bone in her low back last year when she fell while gardening. She gets around fine but she definitely has some pain and doesn't walk as fast as she used to. 

She's also tiny, and I worry about her getting knocked down in crowded situations like an airport. 

Nevertheless, the trip was a go and we planned it quickly. We lucked out and my son found some great plane tickets just before the war broke out in Ukraine and fuel prices went up. 

So it was we boarded a British Airways Boeing 787 on Sunday night, August 21st for the first 8-1/2-hour leg of our trip. I'll spare you the crazy details of Heathrow in London and our seven-hour layover.

One of the best pieces of advice we got before we left was from my son. He told us to be sure and order a wheelchair for my mom so we could get around the airport quickly and without fear of her getting knocked down by a hasty traveler.

Mom hates being in a wheelchair but we're all so glad we did it that way. Navigating Heathrow was much easier with a wheelchair attendant getting us where we needed to go.

We caught the second flight to Inverness on Monday evening and arrived around 9 p.m. A walk across the parking lot got us to our hotel where we spent the night. We rented our car the next morning and drove the 2-1/2 hours to Breakish on the Isle of Skye. 

The beauty of the Isle is breathtaking. The air feels amazing. Everywhere, you're surrounded by deep blue water and mountains rising out of the sea. 

My Dad has some experience driving in the UK so he was the designated driver when we rented the car. I ended up adding myself later and taking the plunge. The hardest part was the narrow roads, especially the single tracks!

Lost in Scotland

Of course, a trip like that wouldn't be complete if you didn't get lost at least once. 

Tuesday afternoon, as we pulled into Breakish, the GPS took us around and around and we couldn't find the MacLeod's place. They live in the Manse since Rory is the local minister. 

Finally, we pulled up next to a woman who was in the turnout on the single-track road, rolled down the window, and asked her if she knew where the address was.

After talking for a minute we told her who we were visiting. She said with a smile, "Oh, you should have just said the minister. He lives right there," and she pointed to a gray house in the distance. We had already driven by it a couple of times. 

It was so good to finally arrive after all the hours of travel!

And it was great to see Rory as he walked out into the driveway. 

It's a story for another time but suffice it to say, the friendship is one that spans over 30 years with trips back and forth over the big pond for both our family and the MacLeods.

It was absolutely wonderful to see them again since it's been many years since we've been together in person. I'll have a few more stories about Scotland in upcoming blog posts. 

Here I am now back in Atlanta working on getting back to my schedule. I've got over 1,000 photos to edit, and I'm hoping to add a Scotland Gallery to my website soon.

I chose Dunvegan Castle for this post since it's the only Highland castle continuously occupied by the same family - for 800 years. You can read more about it here. 

See you between the raindrops, of which, amazingly, we experienced very few in Scotland!

xoxo,
Susan

And a big happy birthday to my mom today and my daughter, Ellie, tomorrow!