Isle of Skye

If you love remote natural places full of deserted beaches, tranquil lochs, dramatic mountain scenery and wildlife, but with very few roads, cars, people or buildings, then you'll love the Isle of Skye, Scotland's largest Inner Hebridean island. We did. In fact it remains our number one place in the UK ... to date. Okay, so it is a long way off the beaten track, but worth every one of the 160 miles and 5 hours from Glasgow airport, because the stunning route of the 'Highland Way' bends around lochs, over mountain passes and through some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK.

Our first views of Skye were from the Kyle of Lochalsh, where the magnificent span of the Skye Bridge silhouetted against the pale mauve backdrop of the Cuillin 'Hills' gave us an enticing first glimpse of what was to come. As we drove through Skye any vague preconceptions we may have had before we got there were blown away - and replaced with the realisation that we were indeed about to have a very special holiday.

On the map Skye looks a bit like a mis-shapen right hand with three main fingers pointing up towards the Outer Hebrides and a thumb pointing southwards (but no little finger). The island measures about 58 miles from it's wrist to the top of the fourth finger and around 30 across the knuckles! Our first walk of the holiday was along the middle finger, otherwise known as the Waternish Peninsula. We walked the full length of this 'finger' to the very tip. First we passed the ruins of tiny Trumpan Church, where in 1578 the Macdonalds of Uist took their revenge against their rival clan the McLeods by burning it (and all its worshippers) to the ground. The remainder of our walk was far less gruesome, just peaceful and pleasant through soft marshland, past the remains of village communities long since gone, the sea and distant Outer Hebridean coastline on our left, and nothing or no-one else in sight, other than Stuart ... . Stuart was a curious and cute little stoat who popped his head up through the undergrowth and remains of an old fence to see what was going on. In fact such was his curiosity that he kept leaping in and out of various openings in what was clearly his 'home patch' to make sure he didn't miss anything! Stuart the tiny Scottish stoat from Skye is remembered fondly to this day.

But our first day didn't end there. We headed off one of the deserted single track roads on the island to the tip of the Duirinish Peninsula (index finger) to watch what promised to be an amazing sunset - and we weren't disappointed. Sunset at Neist Point lit up the whole coastline covering everything it touched with a peachy pink blanket. If that wasn't enough, as we watched the sun go down a group of Minke whales appeared in the water to add to the spectacle .

Our holiday cottage was a newly renovated 'Blackhouse', a modern version of the traditional Skye island cottage. Originally these were built with double dry-stone walls packed with earth, and wooden rafters covered with a thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed, weighted down with stones to protect it from the strong Atlantic winds. The floor was generally flagstones or packed earth and there was a central hearth for the fire. There was no chimney for the spoke to escape through. Instead the smoke made its way through the roof. It was built to accommodate livestock as well as people. The animals lived at one end and the people at the other, with a partition between; a primitive precursor to a modern day eco house and a practical solution to heating the family home. Renovated versions of these appealing and simple yet solid structures can be found dotted all over the island with their oversized thatched hats pulled tightly down over their short squat walls. The original blackhouses have long since gone, but visits to a couple of museums on the island showed how tough life in Skye must have been, being reliant on the land for a living. Our knowledge of Scottish cultural history was further increased when we came across a tiny but fascinating Bagpipe Museum . Not that surprising you may think, but it was located in one of the more remote northern regions of Skye at the end of the Duirinish Peninsula, set in green fields and with only a scattering of cottages and cows for company! Less Scottish but just as interesting was the Toy Museum we stumbled upon in a little village nearby. In this eclectic collection of childhood memorabilia spanning more generations that we could possibly admit to having lived through, we were able to indulge in nostalgia, ably prompted by the 'curator' who knew every last detail about every one of his prized possessions! The Duirinish Peninsula is clearly the cultural capital of Skye!

On our second day we awoke to a bright blue sky, clear blue glassy lochs and mountains tinted with every hue of mauve and blue imaginable, and as we headed off to explore the west side of the island the scenery got even better. There is only one main road on Skye (A87) which runs down the east side of the island from south to north. All others are single track, radiating from Broadford Bay like a fine web across the rugged and remote regions to the west. The only traffic hold-up we encountered all week was caused by a few Highland 'Coos'! These single track roads have 'passing places' but only just enough width and length to give access to 'off the beaten track' places without encouraging more cars than is necessary. We travelled down one of these roads to search for the elusive otter. Now this shouldn't have been that difficult given that there was an Otter Sanctuary at the end of it! But it wasn't to be. We sat in a hide for some time scanning the surface of the Straits of Sleat for bobbing heads, but apart from the spectacular scenery, and a couple of eagles soaring about the mountain behind us (or were they buzzards ...) the otters remained elusive. However it was further along another winding single track road that we encountered Elgol and the Cuillin Hills.

We'd read in advance about the 'Misty Isle' boat trips running from Elgol and looked forward to the opportunity to see Loch Coruisk in the heart of the Cuillin Mountains, and with a bit of luck do some dolphin or whale-watching too. What we hadn't planned for was the awesome beauty of Elgol. The approach road was narrow, winding, and undulating, empty of everything but nature. It hugged heather-clad hills, a ruined 6th century church, reed-filled lochs and a tiny village called Torrin, which was nestled in the crook of it's path around the edges of a loch and in the shadow of the Cuillin Hills. We decided to stop at this picture-postcard village to take a few photos. We thought these views were as good as anything we'd see on Skye. But after a few more twists and turns the road wound steeply upwards, and once at the top we got our first glimpse of Elgol below, and we were blown away by what we saw. Elgol is a little fishing village with a handful of houses, a tearoom and a tiny school built on the beach! It's beauty lies in it's location, set as it is in the curve of the coastline at the foot of the majestic and rugged Black Cuillin Mountains. To have seen it on a day when the blue of sky and sea merged and was only distinguishable by reflections was sheer luck. We never did get our boat trip on the 'Misty Isle' but it didn't seem to matter!

The name 'Misty Isle' gives a clue as to the weather patterns in Skye, and it's true that the mist can descend over the mountains with alarming speed. However it's equally true that the Scottish islands regularly experience the phenomenon of '4 seasons in 1 day'! We were told by locals that if one side of the island was cloaked in heavy mist we should go to the other side as it was probably bathed in sunshine. We also discovered that if the day started off wet there was every chance it would do a u-turn within an hour. The fact that grim or 'dreicht' weather was almost guaranteed to disappear during the course of a day meant that any activity we chose was probably going to be achievable, and I think the photos reflect this was true.

The next peninsular to be explored was the longest and the most westerly, the Trotternish Peninsula (fourth finger!). This area of Skye is famous for the Highland Heroine Flora MacDonald who famously helped "Bonnie" Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender) escape from the Isle of Uist to Skye. The prince had fled following defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Flora was captured and imprisoned, but in 1750 she returned to Flodigarry in Skye. If you don't know the history, you may remember the 'Skye boat' song ... .

The Trotternish Peninsula is also known for the mountain ridge which runs down the 'spine' of Skye, and which can be seen from as far away as Broadford, 40 miles to the south. This range of mountains is well known, loved and climbed by the active, and well photographed by everyone. We planned to do both, more specifically to walk along the 'Quirang' and up to (but not up) 'The Old Man of Storr! The Quirang is a popular and fascinating rock formation reached by a long, narrow and at times precipitous path which mostly hugs the slope of the hill, but which occasionally falls away into a crevice on the rock face and reappears on the other side! The views down the Trotternish Ridge are spectacular, as long as you have the balance to look away from your feet! As the path winds onwards and upwards towards the distinctive rock formation of the Quirang you can see there are three main elements. The Needle is a rock spire which reaches a height of 120 feet. The Prison is an enclosed rock formation with the path running through the middle, while the Table is a flat, sunken shelf where, it is rumoured, locals played 'shinty' in the past. I'm pleased to say I reached this point and saw all three formations, but a combination of poor balance, loose scree on the slope and strong gusty winds prevented me from climbing to the summit. Nothing however prevented me from using my camera!

Our final foray down the fingers of Skye was to the south, the Sleat Peninsula, (or more accurately, the 'thumb'!) overlooking mainland Scotland. We found, amongst other landscape treasures, Tarscavaig Bay. It seems that the best places are the most remote and hidden, and so it was that we drove across the peninsula from south to north not knowing what we would find. We drove for several miles with only mauve peaks, blue lochs and the occasional red deer for company. Eventually the road wound round and down to the sea and to Tarscavaig, a deserted beach in a sheltered bay flanked by hills dotted with cottages, views of the Cuillins in the distance and the sun sinking behind the horizon. The scene was set for another spectacle. Where earlier in the week the sunset at Neist Point had turned the landscape peachy pink, at Tarscavaig the ripples on the sand and sea instead turned gold, reflecting the glow from the setting sun. It was hard to leave this magical place called Skye, but the memories (and the photos) remain.