The cuillins (mountains) of Skye, from the ferry to the Isle of Rum. The Vikings ruled these lands for centuries, before the Hebrides became their own political entity under the Lord of the Isles in the days when England was ruled by the first Norman conquerors. The Gaelic language, handed down from the earliest inhabitants from Ireland, is still spoken, and recently the language has been added to the school curriculum. Skye is Gaelic for "cloud."

The Isle of Rum, my destination for a day-long excursion. Rum was purchased by an English lord in the early 1800s and its population of approx. 200 were evicted and transported to Nova Scotia. The island became a hunter's paradise for the English aristocracy. Today it is run by the Scottish government as a park and game research station.