The Skye Experience

Ritchie
Jan 22, 2020
5 min read

The 2nd instalment of our featured service blogs will take a look at The Skye Experience and why we love it so much.

The Skye Experience is a bit more luxurious than our BackPacker Experience, some would call it wild glamping and not wild camping, you see everything is up-scaled for this experience. Tents are walk in tents and under occupied which enables us to fit in folding cot beds for that extra bit of comfort, each tent has room to sit and enjoy a moment or a coffee or just to relax before or after bedtime. With that in mind we also supply chairs, camping chairs, some single and for those cozy moments we have a few double chairs, though snuggling up is not compulsory.

Dinner and breakfast is cooked over an open fire and to date we have managed to rustle up both meat and vegetarian chilli, stews, our world renowned Bacon Double Cheeseburgers (even chips to go with them on occasion), steak, haggis and our breakfast rolls go down a treat. Every meal has a vegetarian option on request and we have even went gluten free and for one individual what can be best described as everything free, tbh to me cardboard looked tastier but hey try cooking that on an open fire.

For outside comfort we have canopies and wind breaks and we have even got a room sized midgie net which has yet to be trialled. Talking of comfort we bring along a covered toilet, it is Eco friendly and private, though always a source of amusement for some reason. Our toilet comes with the usual, toilet roll, wipes and hand sanitise, hot water and a basin available on request. It has it's own wee light bulb which generally speaking stays on all night and we situate discreetly out of the way (and earshot).

So what should you expect, well as for all our experiences your time will start with us coming as local to you as practicable, once we have picked everyone up we will head off for Skye, though we are not a taxi or a bus so expect the journey to be relaxed and interesting, we will stop for photo's and great views on request, the Great Glen, Glencoe and Eilean Donan Castle to name a few, we will also stop for refreshments and convenience breaks as required, traditionally we stop at The Green Welly rest stop and a group photo here will be on the cards.

We mentioned Eilean Donan Castle, possibly one of the most photographed castles in Europe and maybe the world, not only will you get a chance to photograph the castle but included in the price is the audio tour of the castle, a big hit with our guests on previous experiences.

From Eilean Donan we will get back in the mini bus and be off "over the sea to Skye", we will use the famous Skye Bridge and it's worth keeping your eyes open as we cross as between May and October there may be killer whales or dolphin hanging around. So far we have only seen dolphins mind you. Once on Skye we will stop for lunch, our go to location is The Skye Bridge Seafood Shop, it may not look like much but you are guaranteed a friendly welcome and the best fish and chips ever. Always a great selection including smoked fish, lobster, langoustine and much more. The place is a gem, if interested (and Arnie has found some) we may even be able to get you an antler from a red deer, (don't worry no deer were hurt in the process as Arnie picks them up when walking the dogs).

After lunch we start our Island Experience, Skye is a magical place and there is so much to see and do, you will love it and probably be surprised at how we fit it all in. We refer to it as the highlight tour, you will see places such as Neist Point, The Fairy Glen, The Quiraing, Kilt Rock, Lealt Falls and the Old Man of Storr, there will be time in Portree, Skye's largest town and we may get time to see Flora MacDonald's final resting place and the Museum of Rural Life, you will drive right alongside the glorious Cuillin mountains and marvel in their majesty and at times you will find it hard to believe you are in Scotland and not Montana. Skye is a magical island and it never gets old, we have touched on a few of the places to see but ultimately what we see is down to you. We will guide you, give you information but you will decide what exactly you want to see.

When it comes to evening time we will camp, you will have 2 nights camping on Skye, one night on the West coast and one night on the East coast. Exactly where will vary and we won't tell you anyway until we get there, we love the reveal as we have mentioned before.

Once there however we will quickly set up and get you comfortable, then invariably we will start dinner and you can explore or just kick back with a drink in hand.

Nothing in camp is rushed, go to bed when you want, get up when you want, the bedrooms are of the black out type so the morning sun should not disturb you but who wants to lie in when you are surrounded by so much beauty, (and that is just us, as if).

In the morning there will be coffee, tea, hot water (yes we have had someone take his water that way lol), we have a choice of cereal, fruit n yogurt, hot rolls, sometimes even a full fry up but that is quite rare. After breakfast we will pack up and continue on with your experience.

This is a fantastic few days, your cameras will be busy, your mind in overdrive and you will make some fantastic memories and probably some new friends. When we leave Skye it will be a bit strange but you will have had a great time and have so much to tell your friends and family. You can always come back again.

Now before I end this blog I would like you to understand this is a muck in experience, we all get involved setting camp, taking camp down, you are welcome to help with the dishes etc, don't worry we won't work you too hard but doing it this way allows us to keep costs down, I think you will agree that 3 days and 2 nights all inclusive for £99 is well worth the experience.