Surprise ... Surprise ... The day dawns clear and sunny !!!
We head off reasonably early to make Portree before 9am where we are to meet our substitute guide Tom ??
He turns out to be a 26 year old Englishman dressed in orange cargo-shorts and red converse sneakers. For him it is the start of summer ... we however are still dressed in thermal underwear, scarves, beanies, coats and solid boots. He is a personable young man and we get along well. We plan for a loop up through the North and then an out-and-return to the South. First port of call is "The Storr". It is completely covered in low cloud as we approach but it looks like it might clear a little so we wait for 15 minutes and it clears enough for us to at least include the “Old Man of Storr” (which is the pinnacle to the right).
I guess I better say it only once and then it can be assumed for all the rest of this entry. We are doing a tourist run on the main roads through the length of the day. It is the one sunny day for a while ... and we are not going to have or be able to wait around for the most favourable light. Tom is also a photographer and he has all his gear with him but he very seldom even takes it out of the car. As we move on we pass a little closer and have a slightly different viewpoint.
I think of all the bright pink and blue sunset photos I have seen everywhere of this scene taken from high up in the hills after what must have been a very long hike. Those photographers must have been incredibly lucky, or dedicated to climb again and again, waiting for “the light”. We stop at “Bridal Veil Falls”, another very familiar location from my research, but I am unable to find any images I am happy with. Our next stop is Mealt Falls which are on a cliff face out into the sea. The view is almost straight down which doesn’t appeal to me and I am more taken by the light on the ocean to the South.
Our guide Tom then says he will take us to “the most photographed tree in Scotland” … and I think … “Well at least I will have my own version of this iconic image”. It is the place I have seen in all too many photo magazines, and the ground is very slippery in the gully I have to climb into where I can’t quite get the angle I would like but, I now have my own version of this image.
We travel further on a loop right around the northern tip of Skye and come across the house featured in an episode of “Grand Designs”. It is actually cramped alongside a few traditional cottages which is quite different from the impression of lonely isolation given on the programme. It is not a popular attraction with the locals and is nicknamed “the rat” in reference to a particular view of it as you approach. We take a few “I was there” shots and move on.
On the way we pass a very pleasant little loch with lots of reeds carpeted across it’s surface in the bright morning sun so we all take a few shots … except for Tom who can’t quite see the attraction. Further conversation reveals his true interest is in bird and nature photography … A little further on, much to Rodemary’s delight we stop at a rocky inlet where we can all beachcomb for flotsam and jetsam.
There are a couple of pieces of driftwood which capture my attention and, despite being quite large, Tom is persuaded to put in the back of the car so that they can be delivered to a friend of Rosemary’s when we return to Glendale. I gather he is some sort of collector also. We pass through Uig on our way back to Portree for a lunch which will benefit from not being described here. Next objective is Elgol which is further to the south west … but on the way we come across some highland cattle who seem not the least interested in moving at other than their own pace without being actually nudged by the passing cars.
The main attraction at Elgol is the view of the mountains from “the other side” than where we first saw them. I must be some sort of “philistine” because to me they look very much the same as from the other side … But what does attract me is the details in some of the rocks on the beach.
Further on there are large limestone (?) formations which I believe are called the “beehive” rocks And again it is the details which are most interesting.
But finally I am persuaded that the bay and the mountains do have some attraction …
By now it is getting close to 5pm and we have almost an hours drive back to Portree and then another 40mins to Glendale so it is time to get going. A quick shopping spree at the co-op in Portree and by the time we arrive back in Glendale we all quite happy to settle for some soup and an early night.
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