Publication of this post has been delayed until Monday, 2026-08-24. That is the date the Isle of Skye has an official community flag unveiled in 2020. It was designed by a 9-year-old local resident, Calum Alasdair Munro, then approved by the The Flag Institute and Scotland’s heraldic authority. The flag combines a Nordic cross, with a Celtic circle. In addition in the canton = the top inner most corner of a flag, there is a five-oars-a-side berlinn = a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. See below.
This is the third part of a story about visiting Scotland in 2026. This post is mainly about the Isle of Skye (and our stay at Tarskevaig) and a visit to Morar on the mainland. It also includes our trip to Inverness, a flight from there to Amsterdam (AMS) and onwards to Trondheim (TRD).
Originally our plan was to leave Tarbert on Harris by ferry and to arrive at Uig on Skye. Unfortunately, that ferry was not running when we needed it, so we took the ferry from Stornaway to Ullapool. On the ferry trip we were escorted by dolphins. I had an internal discussion with myself if the species was Lagenorhynchus (from lagenos, Latin for “bottle” or “flask”; rhynchos, “beak” or “snout”) albirostris = white beak or Delphinus delphis, the common dolphin, the type species. Since 2007, the white beak dolphin has been declining in the Minch = the strait in north-west Scotland that separates the mainland from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, while the common dolphin has been increasing. Thus, I am presuming the escort was a white beaked dolphin. It is shown in the photo below.
Then we had to drive from Ullapool to Tarskevaig on Skye. For me it was a long drive on narrowish roads. Naturally, we had to stop at the Achnasheen and Strathcarron railway stations along our route. We later stopped at the rail terminus at Kyle of Lochalsh.
After leaving Kyle of Lockalsh, we crossed onto Skye over the Skye bridge.
Tarskavaig is located on the Sleat peninsula of Skye. The first Norwegian settlers arrived on Skye around 875 AD and inter-married with the Celtic population. The village name is derived from Old Norse: þorskavágr or þorskavík = Torskavåg or Torskavik (modern Norwegian ) = Cod Bay (English). Yes, any Norwegian speaker can appreciate its origins, even an immigrant like myself.
Irn-Bru was originally Iron Brew, a Scottish carbonated soft drink, introduced in 1901. It is produced in Westfield, Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, by A.G. Barr of Glasgow. The name change was necessitated by a truth in advertising law because the drink contains almost no iron, and it is not brewed. We bought several tins of it while in Scotland. I drank the type with Sugar, while Alasdair drank one with artificial sweetener. I enjoyed the taste, but it is not something I will crave, unlike root beer. The photo was taken in the Co-op store at Broadford = An t-Àth Leathann (Scottish Gaelic), which was originally Norse = Breiðafjorðr = the wide bay. This place was originally settled by Vikings.
Throughout the 1800s, marble was extracted from a quarry at the foot of Beinn na Caillich = Hill of the Old Woman. In 1904 the Skye Marble Railway was built to carry the marble to the new pier at Broadford. In December 1910 a steam locomotive named the Skylark was in use on the line until the work ceased in 1914. The line was 4 mi (6 km) long, with a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge.
For those unfamiliar with it, Flash Gordon is the protagonist of an American space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond (1909 – 1956). First published January 7, 1934-01-07, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan (1888 – 1940) and illustrated by Dick Calkins (1892 – 1962). It first appeared on January 7, 1929-01-07 in daily newspapers, subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books and multiple media with adaptations including radio, a serial film, a television series, and other formats. Another strip created by Alex Raymond and Ward Greene (1892 – 1956) was Rip Kirby, an ex-Marine who returns from World War II and goes to work as a private detective, sometimes accompanied by his girlfriend, fashion model Judith Lynne Honey Dorian, whose given name and nickname were borrowed from the names of Raymond’s three daughters. This strip ran from 1946 to 1999 and was in the hands of artist John Prentice (1920 – 1999) for more than 40 years.
One of the worst films made, but now with a cult following, is Flash Gordon (1980). After the opening credits, the opening scene appears. It was filmed on Skye at the Broadford Airport/ Airfield/ Aerodrome = Ashaig Airstrip. The scene lasts for a few minutes. If you watch just that, you have seen the most logically cohesive part of the film. Note: It is necessary to watch the credits first, because the action there explains some of the action in the opening scene.
Inside a de Havilland DH104 – Dove, made between 1946 and 1967, Melody Anderson (1955 – ) an actress from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada played the role of travel agent/ galactic warrior Dale Arden, while former football player Sam J. Jones (1957 – ) played Flash Gordon. The scene ends with a crash sequence that was filmed using a 76 cm long model Dove diving into a miniature landscape.
In addition to experiencing South Uist, which was one of the places my McLellan ancestors came from, I also wanted to visit Swordlands on Loch Morar. We travelled by taxi from Mallaig, about 10 km to the end of the road about mid-way along the loch. It is the fifth-largest loch by surface area in Scotland, at 26.7 km2, and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, or any island in Europe, with a maximum depth of 310 m. We then walked along the loch, stopping at Swordlands. We then followed the pathway to Tarbet, on the shore of saltwater Loch Nevis. From there we took the passenger ferry Western Isle back to Mallaig.
After five days overnighting on the Isle of Skye, we drove our rental car to Inverness airport, where we parked it. We then walked to our hotel, where we stayed the night. We then walked 200 m from the hotel to the airport terminal. After going through security, we visited the lounge, where we ate breakfast. We departed Scotland, landed at Amsterdam, before heading off to Trondheim airport. Trish met us there with Buzz.
Our last moments in Scotland were spent at the Inverness Airport Lounge, where we ate breakfast. So far, it is the smallest airport lounge I have experienced.