Scotland Tour 2019: Beautiful Plockton

This was our next stop. Plockton. As beautiful as a postcard. Can you see why it's called the "Jewel of the Highlands"?

This lovely village sits in a sheltered harbor overlooking Loch Carron. The photo above was actually the view from my hotel room. Every morning. For 3 days. *sigh*

As we drove south and west from our last stop at Dunrobin Castle, it was easy to see we were in the Highlands.

Because Plockton sits near the western seaboard, the Gulfstream warms the land. There was quite a temperature change from Orkney!

The village of Plockton boasts palm trees, no joke. And I just couldn't get over the serene beauty of the place.

Plockton has seen many changes over the years. Until 1700, it was a quiet crofting hamlet. This changed drastically when landowners decided they could make more money raising sheep on their estates and cleared the crofters from the area.
The early 1800s was the era of the herring boom, and a small fishing village called Plocktown was created by Sir Hugh Innes, and the little village grew rapidly. But the herring migration pattern changed and Plocktown was also affected by the potato famine, and it became known as the village of the poor.
The railway arrived in the 1890s, and Plocktown saw a resurgence of life. Then, in the mid 1990s, BBC filmed a drama series called Hamish MacBeth, and tourists flocked to see the beautiful setting. The film boom has settled down, but Plockton is still a favorite tourist destination.

Despite it's popularity, I never felt Plockton was anything other than a beautiful, peaceful little town with some very attractive little shops. A note of caution: The hotel owner admitted if you'd like to visit during summer, it's best to consider booking a year in advance.

That's a lot of photos of Plockton harbor, but every time I looked, the view was different--and spectacular!

Plockton is now on my list of top places to visit in Scotland.