The Isle of Skye on the west of Scotland is just frigging beautiful and a must see on a visit to the country.  It’s easy to get to from the mainland thanks to the Skye Bridge!  One of the highlights of the trip would have to be taking the boat ride from Elgol up to the Cuillin Mountain Range.  The view of the Cuillins from the sea is stunning and as part of the boat ride you will be allowed to get off at the foot of the mountains to explore the area.

The Cuillins from the Bella Jane Boat Ride

If camping is your cup of tea then spending a few nights at Sligachan camp site is highly recommended.  Here you will be treated to more stunning views of the Cuillins and the Sligachan hotel has a huge selection of whisky to make your way thorough if the weather isn’t so good outside (or even if it is!)

The Cuillins from Sligachan

The Cuillins from Sligachen

Further north, a walk to the Quiraing on the Trotternish Ridge is well worth doing to get your fill as far as dramatic scenery goes!

The Trotternish Ridge

Then once you are finished here, head over to the west and visit the coral beach at Dunvegan or the Talisker Whisky Distillery (yes more whisky:P) Skye is actually bigger than it looks on the map and there is heaps to do.  I was here for 6 days and still felt like I could have done with a few more so take plenty of time to explore this beautiful island if you can!

So Toronto, this was my fist ever trip to Canada and although we did not venture far out of the city I absolutely loved it. Visiting and staying with a friend who had moved out there from the UK made me think to myself “I could do something like this…why don’t I do something like this??”

There was no shortage of things to do in Toronto.  Wandering around the city some of the highlights included visiting the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), St Lawrence Market, watching the Toronto Blue Jays, wandering around Little Italy, the distillery district, The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and of course the obligatory visit and meal up the CN Tower! From the CN tower you could appreciate the scale of Lake Ontario which was incredible, just a little larger than the wee lochs back in Scotland.

Even in the vastness of Toronto it was still possible to escape to some nature.  High Park is a big and beautiful and worth a visit as is taking a boat trip on the lake to the islands which are also a fantastic place to admire the Toronto Skyline from.

And of course last but not least, Niagra Falls has to be visited! It is a shame that there is so much “cheesy” development around them but the falls are still magnificent! En-route to Niagra is also wine country…just saying!

Toronto from the Islands

Lake Ontario from the CN Tower

The CN Tower