We arrived in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland on August 21st.  Portree was the port we missed on the first cruise due to bad weather.  It looked much better this time!

The castle we missed last time was the picturesque Eileen Donan.

This picture is from the Eileen Donna website. The shore excursion manager told us that Dunvegan, our scheduled castle for the day, was just as good if not better.

We went to Portree by tender and boarded a coach.

The countryside on Isle of Skye has a pinky purple flowering shrub that is common heather.

On our journey to the castle, our guide told us that the main two clans on Skye were the MacLeods and the MacDonalds. They fought for centuries. The government eventually tired of the bloodshed and split the two into separate lands in 1610. 

Our tour took us to Loch Snizort and Dunvegan Castle. 

The castle was the stronghold of the MacLeods for nearly 800 years and is still their family home. 

We were able to walk about on our own throughout the castle.  There were docents around to answer questions.

There were lots and lots of portraits of former MacLeod chieftains and family members.

Several rooms were furnished for us to see how they might have looked.

In the bookshelves we saw a collection of the works of Shakespeare bound specifically for Dunvegan.

Notice the secret passage door to the right of the table with the vase.  

One of the castle treasures is the ‘fairy flag’ of Dunvegan — said to possess miraculous powers.

Another treasure is a locket with hair clipped from the head of Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie.   

A bit of background for those of us who don’t know the complex English – Scottish – Jacobite history…  After Queen Elizabeth I died without a direct successor, there was monarch messiness.  Bonnie Prince Charlie, was trying to assert his right to the crown.  He was a Jacobite in the second phase of their rebellion.  Charlie did well as a military leader – until he didn’t.   

He escaped and eventually made it to the Isle of Skye with the help of a woman named Flora MacDonald.  She received a lock of his hair as a keepsake in 1747.

When I looked on-line for a better picture of this locket of hair, I discovered that lots of places have a locket with his hair – it must have been a thing!  Unfortunately, I didn’t find a better picture of the locket at Dunvegan.

This was Prince Charlie’s waistcoat, also from Flora MacDonald’s family.

Another Flora! Centuries later, Flora MacLeod was the 28th Chief Commander, Dame of MacLeod.

Although we didn’t notice it on our walk through, another Dunvegan treasure is the 17th-century four-pint drinking horn. Each male heir has to prove his manhood by successfully draining the horn of claret.   

This is a reproduction of the horn available in the gift shop.

We saw one of the passages down to the servants quarters.

Dunvegan Castle’s gardens were originally laid in the 18th century and have a series of paths, pools and woodlands. 

We were able to view the castle from several places, only missing the view from the water.

Dunvegan Castle is still home to the current Chieftan of the MacLeods, Rory.

Rory is the 30th MacCleod to lead the clan.  Dunvegan is the oldest castle in Scotland to be continuously occupied by the family.

In addition to tours, the grounds and select rooms are available to rent for events. 

There are cottages, a campground, cafe, and loch cruises.  It seems quite the endeavor to keep Dunvegan Castle open and maintained. We were happy to contribute with our tour tickets and a few purchases in the gift shop. Of course, one of them was a MacLeod tartan!

We took a few pictures around Portree while waiting for our tender back to Nieuw Statendam. (People artificially removed.)

When we returned, we found our 4 Star Mariner pins and tiles had been delivered.

We had another dinner in Club Orange and took pictures of the crew that enhanced our cruise in lovely ways.

Next up:  One more stop in Dover.