The Queen has received an enthusiastic welcome during her Golden Jubilee tour of the islands of Scotland.

Hundreds of people turned out to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as they went on walkabout on the Isle of Skye.

The monarch unveiled a standing stone in Somerled Square, Portree, during her first official visit to Skye in 46 years.

Her whistle-stop one-day tour of the Highlands and Islands then moved onto the Isle of Lewis and Wick in Caithness.

The Queen chatted with people in Stornoway

Hundreds of people, including flag-waving schoolchildren, lined the square in the centre of Portree.

The royal couple arrived by helicopter and they were met by the Lord Lieutenant, Captain Roderick Stirling of Fairburn, and Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy, whose constituency includes Skye, was also present alongside the area's MSP, fellow Liberal Democrat John Farquhar Munro.

A band from the Traditional Music School at Plockton played songs and dances as the Queen and Duke toured the square before unveiling a stone depicting scenes from island life.

Traditional festival

The Queen visited the town's Community Centre, where she met elderly residents and users of day care facilities in the Skye and Lochalsh area.

The royal party then departed for Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis where up to 5,000 flag-waving wellwishers lined the streets to give the Queen one of the warmest receptions she has received on her week-long tour of Scotland.

People from across the Western Isles, which has a population of less than 30,000, travelled to Stornoway for her visit.

They cheered as she walked through the town for the first time since 1979.

The Queen unveiled a plaque commemorating the Golden Jubilee in the Town Hall.

Castle of Mey: Poignant moment

And she joined 200 guests for lunch at the town's Lews Castle College before departing.

The Queen then flew to Wick in Caithness, where she chatted to waiting crowds.

The visit to the far north of Scotland had a poignant moment, as the royal party flew over Castle of Mey, the Queen Mother's former private Scottish residence.

The Queen wished to see her mother's beloved castle for herself, and staff had laid out a message of goodwill in its grounds.

The message in white lettering read "Happy Jubilee."

A member of the royal party said that the royal helicopter circled over the castle twice to look at the message.