Having a small palaeontologist in the family, there was no way we could go to Skye without heading for Staffin and checking out the Dino related delights of the area, so we packed up (not a long job tbh) leaving the buzz of Sligachan and set off via Portree.

We were passing the Old Man of Storr, so thought why not?

When we got near, there were a bunch of reasons…

Considering the magnitude of Portree we weren’t expecting the industrial amounts of traffic and the gigantic car park (height barrier) that met us. We were able to sneak in a roadside bay to see what all the fuss was about, but nearly choked at having to pay a fiver for the pleasure.

It was Good Friday, so clearly lots of folk thought “let’s climb a big hill for kicks” and hence a canny bagpiper set himself up near the gates, serenading the tourists with his caterwauling for cash.

Consulting the available maps showed that we were looking at a 2 hour round trip to do the walking trails justice. This, along with an appreciation of the number of people on the road and the bank holiday weekend, reminded us that we had no accommodation booked, and perhaps we ought to secure that, so we did a small stroll and moved on.

Predictably, Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls were swarming, but luckily the Dinosaur Museum had plenty of parking, relatively speaking, so we thought we’d have a quick peek.

Quick, is exactly what it was. On a similar scale to the giant Angus MacAskill museum, but nowhere near as much entertainment to be had. The boy bought a tiny shark tooth and we were in and out in less than 10 mins.

The last bit of the drive, despite the tourism rush hour was through some immense scenery.

We decided against the Caravan and Camping Club site that was further around the coast, as they wanted a ridiculous amount of wedge, and instead stayed at the Staffin Caravan and Camping site, which was £36 a night and was absolutely smashing.

I had had an Instagram recommendation for this site, stating that the facilities were a bit dowdy and dated, but if you bring Mother into the equation, she would have no complaints. Clean and functional, well looked after. Approved.

Mrs Woman pointed out the gate leading to the path to the beach, about 20 mins she said 🤣 We went anyway. After about an hour of squelching over boggy ground, with no discernable path to follow, we eventually spied a way down the cliffs.

The views were outstanding. The coastline majestic. Only slightly marred by the pair of whingers who didn’t let up for a second all the way.

We came out at the harbour end of An Corran beach, so had to follow our noses to find the actual beach. Turns out we were in luck with the tide and also with spotting the footprints. You could see several groups of people bent over and carefully examining the rocks, so when one shouted, “Here!” we knew exactly where to look. Smart.

We decided to chance our luck walking back through the village rather than risk a directionless squelch up the hilltop, but to be fair it was equally long. Small legs needed a piggy back, for a break in the whingeing if nothing else.

We took a meander further around the top of the island, where the roads dwindled to lumpy, narrow tracks,

and you think you’re in the arse-end of nowhere, then you are startled by another full-on tourist attraction with a car park bigger than Portree.

We did a last-minute veer into the Museum of Island Life, and it turned out to be a great decision.

Personally, I was very appreciative of the mannequins who added to the entertainment no end. The girl child had many a conversation with the installations and it was much fun. There was some serious education too, which made you appreciate how hard it must have been to scrape out a living. Finding out about the postal service, one lad hiking for days across open Moor, was mind boggling.

Finding out about the lives of the fishermen and their families was equally intense.

Looking back on it now, this was the best bit of the trip. The weather was good, the scenery was high-definition beautiful, the roads were pretty good, we dipped our toes in the sea, slept comfortably, and had fun.

As we left for the Talisker Distillery and Glenbrittle Bay, stress levels rose…