Off to Skye, any advice welcome

[Salvianus]

Well we're back and very mountained. Before I blitz the thread with the rest of the pics, I thought I'd post a separate thread in the pictures section called 'Skye, kilted' or something, so it would be more in the right place.

I did the whole week kilted, not easy as I'm allergic to my wool kilt and while an evening is fine, all day every other day was surprisingly unpleasant. My denim kilt was wonderful to wear: very practical in hot weather and high winds, handy pockets for walking gear, very forgiving of long car journeys, perching on rocks and my shooting stick, picnics etc, but it does raise a few eyebrows, cos it looks more like a skirt. Poly Viscose here I come.

The Clan Donald centre is sure to be of interest. The Norse period and the history of Somerled and the Lords of the Isles is highlighted, there are a few interesting portraits, including one of the 13th chieftain of Glengarry, Alasdair Ruadh MacDonell, who was in the French army and in France during the '45 but arrested afterwards, wearing a great plaid, but attended by a servant in what looks more like a kilt. The label said this was a significant early portrayal of a kilt, but it didn't give the date and I wouldn't have said it was definitive myself, as you can't see the back and the detail, for example of the tartan, isn't great. His coat is proud of the waist like his master's but there are no forward folds displayed under the waistcoat as on the chieftain. They have a Gaelic ode to the plaid on the wall and four 18thC basket hilts and several 19thC regimental pieces. I don't recall any tartan on display except painted up round the cafe.

I finally glimpsed another kilty man on the last night on Skye as he dashed off into some do in a restaurant wearing a Prince Charlie outfit. I saw three kilty men in the mainland Highlands; two kilt sellers and a coach tour guide and another bloke trying one one in a Fort William shop.

Generally I got no more than glance level reactions, a few smiles which were probably kilt inspired and as I say a few surprised or confused. Apart from the Dunvegan Castle guide mentioned above, one chap did ask me what tartan I was wearing in a cafe as he didn't recognise it and I realised later I might have chatted to him a bit more about his interest if I hadn't been concentrating on paying the bill. The only abuse I got was of the usual sort from some blokes in the street in Fort William on Saturday afternoon, which prompted me to change into jeans before I hit Glasgow!

Kilt Rock and the kilt: