igoiseeishoot: England-Scotland Day 8 (Part 4) – Evening at Portree on the Isle of Skye

10 April 2010

The village of Portree, situated on the east side of Skye overlooking a sheltered bay, is the capital of the island and centrally located on the Isle of Skye. and . It is surrounded by hills, Ben Tianavaig to the south and Suidh Fhinn or Fingal’s Seat to the west, both about 1000ft (413m and 312m respectively) and Ben Chrachaig, much lower (144m) to the north.

The area around Portree harbour is a good place to stay and we had booked a Bed & Breakfast B&B, called the Ben Tianavaig. It is located on high ground, overlooking the Portree harbour.

“Postcard view” of the Portree harbour from outside the B&B. Yes, we saw postcards of Scotland with this view!

I had booked the B& B via email and our hosts Bill and Charlotte Johnson were waiting for our arrival. Bill helped directed me to park the car into a tight space by the road across the B&B. We took the 2 rooms at the ground floor, on both sides of the entrance.

Once we had checked in and freshen up, it was time to explore the small town of Portree and also dinner! Naturally, we took a stroll downhill to the harbour front.

Ben Tianaviag B&B – great place to stay in Portree and some of the best hosts we met during our trip.

View of the actual Ben Tianavaig across the harbour. The B&B is named after this mountain that could be viewed outside the B&B and also from our breakfast table on the second floor of the B&B.

Interesting road sign at Portree harbour, Isle of Skye. Good thing we walked here!

Our B&B perched on the top of the cliff, overlooking the harbour, and walking distance to the restaurants in the town.

Portree harbour and Ben Tianavaig glowing in the evening sun. It was about 7.45 PM by now but the sky was still bright in spring.

Checking out the menu of the Sea Breezes restaurant at Portree Harbour.

After a day of driving, we needed a good dinner to end the day with. Choosing the Seabreezes Restaurant was a good decision. Dinner at the Seabreezes Restaurant was great! We ordered the langoustine platter, fresh scallop pasta amongst other seafood. The scallops (about 8 cm in diameter) was the largest and tastiest I have eaten so far.

The view of the harbour and town at dusk was simply pretty. I had left my tripod in the B&B, so I had to improvise to take some long exposure shots of the night scene.

View of Portree from the outside the Seabreeze Restaurant before our dinner. Our B&B is on the top right hand corner of picture.