Puffins!

Puffins on Mykines Island.

The moment I realized we could see puffins in the Faroe Islands, I knew I had to get to them!

Originally, I had planned for our time in the Faroe Islands to follow our time Scotland.  After thinking about that some, I realized that was not a good idea given that it would mean that we would be heading north as summer turns into fall and the weather would turn from cool to cold.  At the same time, it would lessen our chances of seeing these adorable creatures as they begin to return to sea in September.  So, I reversed the order of the trip and completely re-did the itinerary for this one day....and it was so worth the effort!

Scotland! Skye.

The Quirang.
(Photo by Luis Ascenso.  Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

If you had asked me, before I began planning this trip, to name an island in Scotland, Skye would have been the first word out of my mouth. I would then hesitate for a few seconds and then utter, "Shetland?" not relaxing that it was not just one island but a cluster. "Orkney?" would have followed in a similar vein. I don't think I was unusual in that I knew of Skye as being a Scottish isle but couldn't identify any of the others without prompting.

Scotland! Outer Hebrides.

That structure, perched on the hillside is Aird Druim an Tolla, the home of Alasdair Leonard and his trusty four legged companion, Ross in Finsbay, Harris, Outer Hebrides.  Alasdair rents out a twin room and for one night, Pat and I will be sleeping there.

After just a few short days roaming through the Scottish Islands, our roadtrip will continue, via ferry, to the Outer Hebrides. Our arrival point will be the town of Stornoway, the capital city of the Isle of Lewis and Harris, the northern most island in the cluster of islands that make up the Outer Hebrides.

From Perth to Ullapool Via Grantown-on-Spey.

Pitlochry
(Screen capture from YouTube Video by SeeScotland)

Tvillage of Ullapool, located along the coast of the northwest highlands is where we need to be to catch the ferry to the Outer Hebrides.  It's about a four hour drive to go to Ullapool from Glasgow, via Inverness, but we're going to be taking a two day journey starting in the city of Perth.   Our drive pretty much takes us along a section of the A9 roadway until we reach Inverness and there we head west on the A835 to Ullapool.  There are not a lot of main roadways in the relatively small country of Scotland!