Scotland - Day Ten Isle of Skye continued

Day 10 on our travels round Scotland in the Autumn, and for the first time it was thermals and waterproofs. I had been expecting wintery weather and, not going to lie, the mild temperatures had left me overheating and often stripping off layers throughout most days. The poor Favourite Husband was like a packhorse, laden down with half my wardrobe on a daily basis. Not to mention my water bottle, battery pack, change of socks (nobody likes wet feet) and a seemingly endless supply of snacks. Today, whilst not freezing, things had definitely changed. The temperature had dropped and the wind and the rain had arrived. And you can just imagine my disappointment that an overnight downpour had rendered the Sligachan stream so high that it was ill advised to dunk my face in it, despite the Favourite Husband’s enthusiasm “to help.”

We had much to cover today anyway, but there were also a few things we had decided against due to the weather being pretty changeable, and when it rains, it rains.

The day started spectacularly with dark and moody skies against the burnt umber of the moorish mountains and the skittering of two beautiful red deer across the road in front of us. Skye is nothing like I had imagined. And I am delighted. I clearly hadn’t researched well, I was expecting slightly twee, highly aimed at tourism and washed and sanitised. I got wild, raw, untamed and it filled my cup. This was the Scotland I was dreaming of.

We passed the Old Man of Storr on the gloomy horizon and determined to return to it later this afternoon if the weather forecast came true and things brightened up. But there was only the Old Man of Home on the gloomy horizon later so we didn’t get to do it, which I was a bit gutted about.

We did see Lealt Falls, and a short walk to another waterfall and beach and in the middle of nowhere a coffee cart. The Favourite Husband was beside himself with excitement. About the coffee.

From here we carried on to An Corran beach in search of dinosaur footprints. We weren’t sure if we found them but we’ll tell the kids we did. Not that they’ll care, they’re in their 20’s. I was really just taking random photos of rocks and seaweed, but looking through them maybe I did capture something. Perhaps I’m Davina Attenborough. On the return to the car the Favourite Husband yelled out, “Look at this one! They must have been huge!” I came scuttling over, camera at the ready. It was my shoe print in the sand. And oh how we laughed. Well, one of us did.

From here we stopped at Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls. I saw a man in a kilt at Kilt Rock which amused me no end.

It was a day of such changing weather (which I believe is simply referred to as “Scottish weather”) across a lot of driving, with breathtaking scenery at every turn. So much so that the Favourite Husband kept saying the word “vista.”

“Wow! Look at that vista!”

“That’s a vista and a half.”

“Amazing vistas, everywhere you look.”

At first I thought he was saying pizza, because I’m usually thinking of food.

He’s never used the word “vista” in his life, unless it’s to impersonate Arnold Schwarzenegger. Who in God’s name is this man and where is my Favourite Husband? In the end, after hearing “spectacular vista” for the 874th time I told him that he could just say “vistacular.” He looked at me with that one raised eyebrow.

“No, truly, it’s a word. For a spectacular sight or vista.” I told him.

So, we’ve been saying it all day. I struggle to keep a straight face, but I feel it could catch on.

Then it was on to Dunvegan Castle. Dunvegan Castle is the ancestral seat of the Chief of the McLeod Clan and is the longest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland. Like most castles, it started its life as a fortress but is now open to the public and includes fabulous gardens and even a boat trip to see the Loch Dunvegan seal colony. There are also holiday cottages and a rather nice café. The castle closes to the public around mid-October through until reopening in April, so we only just got to see it.

And finally, more stories of fairies. Dunvegan Castle is home to the Fairy Flag. There are differing stories of the origin of the Fairy Flag, but what is undoubted, like all things fairies, is it has magical powers. So regardless of whether you choose to believe one story; of the McLeod crusader, over the other; of a fairy looking after the Chief’s baby son in the fairy tower of the castle, there is a true respect and pride in its powers. And woe betide anyone who would argue with the fairies.

I asked in the castle gift shop if they had the signs I’d seen around the castle for sale. They looked confused.

“What signs are those?” they asked.

“The ones that say “Please do not touch. I am old and fragile.” I need them to make into a badge to wear.” I said.

They did not. Nor did they laugh, so that was awkward.

Our next stop of the day was as far West as you can go to the Neist Lighthouse. It’s fair to say this road was pretty treacherous, a lot of potholes, single track and a fair few blind hills. But I love lighthouses and nothing was going to deter me. I think the reason I love lighthouses is because the very purpose of them means the landscape is going to be wild, and I love wild. There’s a reason she’s called “Mother” nature and where you find a lighthouse, you’ll find her at play and being female, she is slightly wicked. The other reason, and again it’s the nature of the beast, they are generally in places of great solitude. Another of my favourite things. So, imagine my delight, I got the trifactor; wet and wild and solitary. Apart from the 30 Campervans that somehow found their way out there. But despite that we pretty much had the place to ourselves as not everyone was braving the walk. Now I have a very important health and safety public announcement to make. Eat that cooked breakfast. Have that pie. Drink that wine. Eat that cheese. If it wasn’t for the 10kgs I’ve put on in a week, I’d have been blown off that path to the lighthouse. You need a bit of ballast to steady yourself in the open wild. I did lose my bobble hat but my lightening quick reflexes, (or a bit of barb wired fencing,) saved it.

I also found another print here on the path to the lighthouse, omnivore, homosapien, circa 1997.

I’m a bit sad that I didn’t get to Fairy Glen and Fairy Pools but I believe in fairies wherever you are. Skye has so much to do and see you are completely spoilt. Of course some is weather dependent and some can be tricky to access with single track roads or caravans of campervans, but it was quickly becoming clear, we would need more time here.

But sadly we move on tomorrow. Skye you have exceeded my expectations. We are already talking about returning and also visiting the Outer Hebrides. There’s so, so much we didn’t get to. But I shall continue to work on expanding my waist line in order to be safe for when we return.