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Scotland 2026
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  • Grant Mills

Scotland 2026

A 26-day adventure by Grant. Read more
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    Kinlochleven
    Grant MillsScotland 2026Traveler

    more Isle of Skye

    Oct 19–20 in Scotland ☀️ 12 °C

    Begin by imagining that you are in another dimension where landscape sea and sky merge and sometimes the sunlight off the water is blinding and other times it is the wind and cold and rain and sometimes all in one day; where history and stories and legends and myths are so interwoven that they invented whisky to make it clear. The simple act of turning a stone leads to more stories. And if you can, find a wee pub with a couple of ol’ timers leaning on it and stand near and listen.

    Turned left prematurely - onto the Waternish Peninsula; wondered why the road was quiet. The narrow single lane road with occasional passing bays meanders along Loch Bay through small settlements and gentrified crofts. Another random left turn and we are in Stein - fishing boats and fish traps and netting and a scruffy fishing and diving charter shop and a row cute old buildings along the only street above the rocky shore. White walls and black roof and lack doors and black window frames. And a Michelin restaurant, Loch Bay!
    Back on track - The Trotter ish Peninsula this time - and stopped in at the Crofters Museum, Kilvaxter, a rebuilt crofters village with a couple of hairy cows too. Interesting and beautifully recreated showing how tough life was - no more than existing and the bare necessities.
    Then the ruins of Duntulm Castle on a promontory looking out to the Outer Hebridean islands, Harris and Lewis.
    A challenging drive up a congested single lane two-way track took us up to The Quiraing - but the pictures tell all.
    By the next day, the weather had turned and we walked up to The Old Man of Storr, clouds pressing down on us. Once again, pictures are better.    Read more

  • Grant MillsScotland 2026Traveler

    The Wedding

    Oct 17–18 in Scotland ⛅ 12 °C

    We were privileged to stay at The Keepers Cottage on the grounds of the castle, the waters of Loch Dunvegan but a stone’s throw from the front door; the MacLeod Tables across the loch. And legend has it that the Chief of Clan MacLeod hosted a lunch for King James V on top of Healabhal Beag, the higher mountain.
    We were also privileged to be welcomed into the family and felt especially so in the tapestried halls with sworded clan chiefs and stag’s heads.
    A piper piped us into the castle. I felt mildly undressed in my suit and tie, but proud of my “tartan” waistcoat and shiny veldskoens; groom and his party all in MacLeod tartan.
    The humanist ceremony took place beneath the famous Am Bratach Sith (The Fairy Flag of Dunvegan), one of the clan MacLeod’s most treasured possessions. Probably from Syria or Rhodes and woven of silk in the 4th century AD, legend has it that this sacred clan banner has miraculous powers - when unfurled in battle, the clan would invariably snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Of course, other legends abound.
    The ceilidh took place in the community hall, decorated by family and friends before the wedding. And the bride and groom jumped over the witch’s broom! What a party.    Read more

  • Grant MillsScotland 2026Traveler

    Dunvegan and MacLeod Castle, Isle of Skye

    Oct 16–19 in Scotland ⛅ 11 °C

    We are here at Dunvegan Castle for the wedding of the 29th grandson of Tormod, son of Leod, son of the Norse king Olaf the Black.
    For thousands of years Skye has drawn settlers to its shores and this area of the island must have seemed very attractive to those who came sailing into the deep loch with its sheltered bays. In the 9th Century, fierce Vikings roamed the west coast on their trading routes between the Faroes, Iceland and Ireland. Dunvegan loch would have been a good place in which to find shelter.
    Later, in the 13th Century, the Viking chieftain Leod sailed from the Isle of Man to take over Dunvegan Castle.
    His sons founded the MacLeod clan and under their protection, the clanspeople farmed this area. Over the centuries Dunvegan village developed around the castle.
    After the glaciers of the last Ice Age, this area was settled by hunters and gatherers. As the climate changed, they began to settle and cultivate the land. Walled “duns" were built by later inhabitants, followed in time by "brochs" or fortified towers.
    Dunvegan Castle (Dun Beagan) stands on what might have been an earlier "dun", possibly named after "Beagan", a Celt reputed to have colonised parts of Iceland.
    In the 13th century the Viking longboat of Leod, son of Olaf the Black, Norse King of the Isle of Man, sailed into Loch Dunvegan.
    He came to marry the daughter of MacRailt, a Norse jarl or earl who held Dunvegan. They had two sons, Tormod and Torquil who founded the clan MacLeod (some of Leod) which came to dominate a large part of this region.    Read more

  • Grant MillsScotland 2026Traveler

    The Highlands

    Oct 14–16 in Scotland 🌧 12 °C

    Despite my talent with words, pictures better describe this place.
    After a couple of jet lagged days with Rob and Sarah Moffat, magnificent hosts as always, we drove to Kinlochleven to stay with the MacLeods, also magnificent hosts.
    But not before a “wee walk in Scotland“ up to the Hidden Valley where the MacLeod clan fled after the massacre at Glencoe. There we built a cairn to remember and to guide walkers to the correct path down the steep valley.
    Such was the day that it called for a hearty meal and drink at the Clachaig Inn.
    Then on to the Isle of Skye.    Read more

  • Trip start
    October 12, 2026