Scotland Day 10 part 3: more Isle of Skye

We stopped in Kilmuir at the Skye Museum of Island Life and visited the crofters' village. The thatched croft houses depict life in the nineteenth century. The main stone cottage was built in the early 1800's. The Graham family lived here until 1957. Fourteen people lived in the cottage at one time. They are built using local materials. Houses all over the Highlands looked like this in the early days. In Highland tradition, they told stories, played music and sung songs by the light of the peat fire. A thatch roof, low to the ground on the upper side. The rocks help hold the roof in place.The village contains seven thatched cottages: The family home, the old barn, the smithy, the weaver's house, the ceilidh house, the byre and the gift shop.
Flora MacDonald is probably one of the most famous Scottish women in history for the role she played in helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape after the Battle of Culloden. She dressed him up as her maid and smuggled him to safety. She was imprisoned for a short time then released. She moved to North Carolina where she and her husband played a part in the American Revolutionary War, but moved back to Skye before her death. Her grave is in Kilmuir Cemetery, a short walk from the crofters' village and we visited it. Her grave is marked by a tall Celtic cross. The whole area is beautiful and haunting. It is almost like a trip to the past. We saw a friendly bunny rabbit snuggled down in these flowers. Doesn't he look cold? (It was cold!)

Lots of gorgeous foxgloves in Scotland! These are near this neat ancient stone wall bordering a sheep pasture. And now for more sights on Isle of Skye...

This is a most dramatic curve in the road. And it's a one-lane road. You can see the passing place further down. One of the guys got off our bus and signaled while the driver backed the bus up a few times and wedged it around this curve. The motorcycle rider is waiting patiently. Guess he doesn't want to tangle with a bus.

A beautiful waterfall!
The sun peeped out a few times on this day! It had been DAYS since we had seen the sun. Anyway, see how the sun makes the green more vibrant?

This is the incredible view from the pier at our hotel on Isle of Skye.

The mist enshrouded mountain behind Broadford.

Peat or turf is the traditional fuel used for heating in Scotland. It's burned much like wood. Here you see someone has cut a bunch of peat from the ground and stacked it to dry. It's very soggy when it's in the ground or first dug. But once it's dry, it is sort of lightweight like a dry sponge.

My last glimpse of Isle of Skye and Kyle of Lochalsh from the Skye Bridge the next morning.