Friday 18th Sept
We set off from Annan in lovely sunshine. We were staying overnight in Taynuilt before moving on to Mallaig and the ferry to Skye.
Reasonable traffic on the motorway and only occasional roadworks meant no great queues or problems. A pause at Caulders Garden Centre at Erskine bridge for coffee & lunch broke the journey neatly into 2 parts. Following the scenic roads around Loch Lomond and through Tyndrum to join the road to Oban was lovely in the sunshine. Even on these smaller roads the traffic wasn't too bad and we got to Taynuilt just in time for afternoon cups of tea!
Saturday 19th Sept
Setting off in more sunshine we travelled towards Fort William at a steady pace - there seemed to be more traffic going in the opposite direction! We made good time to the Fort, there turning off towards Mallaig. Many of the lochs we passed on the way were so still, hardly a ripple to be seen.
With plenty of time to spare we stopped at Glenfinnan Monument for a coffee and stretch of our legs.Even the water there was like a millpond, but unfortunately the midges were liking it too!
We arrived at Mallaig ferry terminal in plenty of time to collect our tickets and have some lunch before Loch Caruisk hove into view. In a very short time she had unloaded cars coming to Mallaig and was ready for us to get on board. We were glad to have booked our tickets as the ferry was full to capacity with cars. The last car on board didn't have a lot of room!
Half an hour later and after a very calm crossing (where we sat out on deck for the whole journey) we were at Armadale and disembarking. A scenic ride then followed as we headed towards the Northern end of the island. A quick stop for supplies at Broadford and we finally arrived at the cottage late in the afternoon.
Deer, buzzard, seal and heron were amongst the wildlife seen from the car on the journey so we were hopeful for more now that we had arrived.
Emptying the car, unpacking and orientating ourselves occupied the rest of the afternoon, but rearranging the furniture in the small conservatory on the front of the cottage to make room for telescope, binoculars, cameras etc was a vital task.
With the calm, sunny weather continuing late into the evening the seats in the conservatory were occupied until it went dark. Gannets were spotted diving into the loch opposite the cottage and a robin seemed familiar with the garden so it was a good start to the week. A small passenger liner was moored out in the bay with all her lights shining and we had seen several other ships passing by. The sunset was lovely with a few more photos HAVING to be taken.
Sunday 20th Sept
On looking out the curtains, it seemed a pleasant-looking morning but we had seen the weather forecast and were not optimistic that it would last beyond lunchtime. The obligatory sit in the conservatory and look for wildlife began with buzzards hovering over the water and gannets diving into the water. What better start to the day could there be? The wind was certainly more in evidence this morning and as the morning wore on the clouds and mist rolled in. Our forecast of rain by lunchtime was incorrect - unfortunately it was here by 11am, just as we were setting out!
Knowing it was going to rain we were not going far today - just driving around the Waternish peninsula - down a few dead-end roads. Much of the land is divided into crofts in this part of the island with a great assortment of buildings. Some old, some completely derelict, others well looked after or brand new builds or extensions. It is always interesting to travel along these dead end roads just to see what is there!
Lunch parked at the jetty at Stein made our day however! It had actually stopped raining and we sat watching the gannets diving again when suddenly out of the water popped up an otter with a great long fish in its mouth! He/or she stayed in the same area for the next hour, reappearing at intervals with more food to munch in the water. He/she finally seemed to have moved on, so we did the same. Back at the cottage the weather was very changeable for the rest of the afternoon - one minute a clear view across the water, the next there was mist everywhere and no view at all. We did spot new visitors to the garden however in the form of rabbits. Probably not very popular if you live here but as visitors we quite liked seeing them. The weather did clear a little during the evening but no spectacular sunsets tonight!
Monday 21st Sept
Well, what a start to the day! Sitting here drinking our first cup of tea for the day and looking out at the calm, still water what did we see? As well as the sunshine that is.Something disappeared under the water.Was it the otter from yesterday? Scanning with our binoculars we did eventually see it again but it didn't look like the otter but it was certainly breaking the surface of the water and then going under again. Careful observation for a few minutes was well worth it however - it was harbour porpoises!! Quite a big pod of them too. The more we looked the more we saw, just breaking the surface of the water and no more. It was possible to see their dorsal fin now we knew where to look and what to look for. They were not moving very quickly so we were able to sit and watch them for quite a while.
Then further out to sea there was a sighting of something else - black, but much bigger than the porpoises, just riding along on the surface of the water. Was it what we thought? A look through the binoculars confirmed it - a nuclear submarine! You just never know what you are going to see! Breakfast was a bit of an anti climax, only gannets, buzzards and 3 herons alongside the rabbits and hooded crows! It was looking to be a much better day weatherwise, although some showers were forecast.
Portree was our first destination today.
A quick visit to the colourful harbour - more details about that tomorrow! - and a tasty coffee in The Granary, before setting off again. We were aiming to go to the ruins of Duntulm Castle at the North end of the island and have a wander around. With the sky a beautiful blue the scenery was grand but we could see in the distance where the rain and mist were falling. To get to Duntulm we chose to go via Uig as we knew there was a great view of the harbour from the road above the town. No ferry coming in or going out as we sat and looked around but the views alone are stunning.
Moving on again we eventually hit the coastline on the approach to Duntulm. Duntulm was the seat of the chiefs of Clan MacDonald back in the 17th Century. It is now a ruin but it's position on the headland must have been spectacular. Time to watch a few gannets diving offshore and see how many cormorants we could count sitting on the island just out to sea.
Continuing our journey eventually brought us to Staffin, a remote community at this end of Skye. The spectacular escarpment at this end of the island is a sight well worth seeing. The whole escarpment was formed by a series of landslips - and the Quiraing is the only part of the slip still moving. The road at its base, near Flodigarry, requires repairs each year due to the subsidence, evidence of which was there for all to see.
Passing by Kilt Rock Waterfall, we took a quick detour to a tiny beach we had been to several years ago and then made our way back to Portree and home.
There were still a few porpoises in the water when we returned - whether they had been here all day who knows? As the weather was supposed to be quite good overnight we also decided to put out the moth trap tonight. We had brought our battery trap with us hoping for a good night's weather sometime during the week. Tonight looked like an ideal opportunity. Turning on the light in the conservatory too, hoping to encourage the moths closer, we waited for darkness. At this time of year this is obviously sooner rather than later now, and tomorrow is apparently the Autumnal Equinox - when the hours of light and dark are equal. The darkness here is total, there is no street lighting. You need a torch to go outside. The only light outside the cottage comes from the occasional car passing by along the road, and by 9-10 o'clock there are not many of those! We had 2 species new to us before we went to bed ....
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| Haworth's Minor and Lunar Underwing |
Tuesday 22nd Sept
Well it wasn't supposed to rain overnight, which is why we put out the moth trap. So what happened?It poured down during the night! At 7am it looked bright and clear but by 8am the fog had come down and it looked really miserable. Tuesday was supposed to be the best day of the week for weather! It did however begin to brighten up as we emptied the trap. The light in the window had already attracted 2 species that were new to us but would the wet weather mean there was anything in the trap or not? Well there were a few moths in the trap including a variation of the Lunar Underwing but there was another new species for us, namely a Pale Eggar. It was not a great catch in respect of numbers but 3 new species will do for us!
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| Lunar Underwing and Pale Eggar |
Having dried out the moth trap and put the soggy egg boxes to dry we turned our attention to what we were going to do today. Yesterday we had actually been and booked a boat trip! This was in the belief that todays weather was going to be calm and sunny, with no rain. I have to admit however that we did put an extra layer of clothing on before we set off - just in case! By the time we set off just before lunch time it was looking much better. The fog had disappeared and it was bright and calm but not much sun. We got on board Stardust at 2pm and set off into Portree bay with 7 other people. It seemed very calm in the bay but as we got further out there was a bit more swell. Nothing too drastic but our skipper Ian did say it might get a bit lumpy!
We headed off to look for Sea Eagles and Golden Eagles that are usually around the cliffs. However Ian did say that something seemed to be going on with them at the moment. They usually come as he throws fish out of the boat for them but they were not cooperating very much. Ian suspected they had found a dead sheep or something, and were presumably eating that instead! For a few minutes we saw nothing and Ian kept moving us on a bit further, but then he spotted Golden Eagles high up in the sky. They were flying - or rather soaring- above the cliffs. Even at the height they were they looked fantastic.We continued along the cliffs, with binoculars at the ready, until Ian announced he had found an eagle. It was sitting in a dead tree and would have been missed by everyone if Ian hadn't known where to look! It still took a few minutes for some of to work out where it was and actually see it. It was a female Sea Eagle, probably about 25 years old. Ian tempted her by waving a fish in the air and whistling to her before throwing the fish up and into the water.
We waited.........in vain. She didn't seem interested, just sat in the tree. We waited around a bit longer but she was definitely not interested in the fish. Ian eventually netted the fish to reuse later. We were just about to head off when suddenly a juvenile bird appeared .... and then the male, who must have been sitting close by unbeknown to us. Then another juvenile appeared - all within the same area. The male and 1 juvenile flew off but the second juvenile came and sat on the cliff, not too far away from the female. Tempting him with a fish didn't work either and we eventually left them there in peace. I'm afraid therefore we have no photos of eagles but even just seeing them at a distance was a treat.
Picking up a little speed we headed across the bay. The cliffs here are huge. It is difficult to understand just how tall they are until you see a sheep on the side of the hill in comparison. They look minute.
Heading back towards Portree we kept an eye out for seals and harbour propoises - or anything else! We did finally see a coupe of seals just at the entrance to the bay but the porpoises were nowhere to be seen. Returning to the quay we had enjoyed our boat trip and seen eagles!!!
Wednesday 23rd Sept
What a morning - not a thing to be seen out of the window - and I do mean nothing! The mist was so thick we couldn't see a thing. Sitting waiting for it to clear didn't seem to be working, so off we went anyway. Having some shopping to do would give it time, we hoped, but there was a long way to go for an improvement. Might have to be a day looking for waterfalls! It was a little better by the time we'd been to Portree, and it was supposed to clear by the middle of the day but the showers were quite heavy every time they arrived. The tallest waterfall we knew about on Skye was Kilt Rock. We had passed it on Monday when there were loads of people looking at it. As we stepped out of the car today there were perhaps 6 people there, but the sun had come out! - only very briefly and by the time we had taken half a dozen photos it was beginning to rain again, so it was a mad dash back to the car.
Moving on, the Quiraing was looking very ethereal with its shroud of mist.
Hoping the mist would begin to clear we set off in it's direction. The road is quite steep to begin with...
... but the sights are amazing.
And then suddenly you are the top and the ground suddenly levels out and there is a vast area of peat bog. Today it was full of water and therefore leaking everywhere!
The rivers were full to bursting and very brown.
Following the road back to Uig, by the time we arrived the sun really was shining and we sat and watched the ferry arrive and depart, while the seals in the harbour watched with no interest at all.
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| I know it's not a good photo but...... |
As the sun was now shining, a walk in the community woodland at Uig seemed a good idea. It took a little finding but we got there eventually.
The extension to the woodland walk, which takes you to the waterfall means crossing the main road... but it was worth it.
So a day that began with absolutely dreadful weather, eventually turned into one with brilliant sunshine, as it often does in Scotland!
Thursday 24th September
It's easy to see some mornings why Skye is known as the Misty Isle. The mist and rain were coming down quite heavily again, but then moving off after a few minutes to leave a clear sky. We watched a small fishing boat out on the water this morning- wondering why he was going round in circles. The man on board didn't seem to be doing anything particular on the back of the boat either! Not understanding much about fishing boats we assumed he at least knew what he was doing! Then we noticed a black blob in the water close by the boat. Was it a seal bobbing about in the sea? Was it the otter we had seen the other day? The boat got closer and closer and the black blob suddenly started climbing up the ladder into the boat! It was then we realised it was a diver with an air tank on his back!! Presumably hand diving for some sort of shellfish??
Our aim today was to go to the most Westerly point on Skye, to Neist Point. As we approached, the road became single track, with passing places and the sea got closer and closer. The scenery again was wonderful.
Although you cannot see it from the car park there is a lighthouse at Neist Point. The guide said it was an undulating route to get to it, steep in places and with many steps. We had been here before but the weather had been so atrocious that the surrounding waterfalls were blowing upwards instead of falling down, so we had not attempted to reach the lighthouse. The weather, although blowy, looked much better today so......
We could see where the path went...can you?
Doesn't look too bad does it? Having decided that we may never be fit enough to do this again in the future, we decided to go for it. What you cannot see from this photo is the 65 steps down the side of the hill before you get to the flat part! There is a handrail but....
The hoist seen in the photo below (which looks as if it should be demolished!) is bolted down and was used to transport supplies. The track goes up and down and round corners but the scenery on either side of the track is stunning.
Then the lighthouse appears.
A little further to go... and then we are there.
The lighthouse is deserted now that the light is automated but is a very wild place. The rain and wind today were an indication of what it must have been like to live there. Wet and windy seem very simple words and don't seem to do justice to what it was like!
With the rain falling again and the wind blowing wildly the walk back, and the steps back up to the top, were a trudge and it was great to get back to the car for a rest! We followed narrow roads to find our way home, at one point going down to a small jetty - just to look at what was there - but got a real surprise when an otter appeared in front of us and ran off down the road to the water! He then turned and looked at us, as if we shouldn't have been there! Not a very good photo I know but I wasn't prepared!!
One last collection of photos from today were some unusual buildings we spotted on our travels. We had seen caravans tied down before but this one had a very small wooden building behind it. Shed? House? Has a lovely door doesn't it?
The third needs a little attention..... and the fourth has a water wheel at one end - wonder what it once was?
Friday 25th September
A complete change this morning as the sun shines, although it was raining somewhere as we had a rainbow for quite a few minutes.
Our destination today was the isle of Oronsay near Ullinish.
The island is joined to the mainland by a causeway, which is covered by the sea at high tide. We had checked tide times and were quite safe until late afternoon. The path to the island is very straightforward although boggy in places. As we've had some rain on the last 2/3 days it was very boggy in parts today!
Once we got to the causeway the path became very stony with quite a few jellyfish stranded on them.
The colour of the sand and water was just amazing. Sitting there having lunch was a real pleasure.
Traversing the bog back to the car was another challenge but as the afternoon was still young we went on to the windy beach. It is really in Glenbrittle but is known to us as the windy beach as it always seems to be blowing a gale when we visit. Even today it was quite breezy but the road (which is a dead end) takes you past some spectacular views of the Cuillin Mountains. Except that today they still had their heads hidden in the mist!
Travelling back to the cottage in the brilliant sunshine made a grand end to our day. Just to make it even better we spotted 2 Sea Eagles on the return journey. They were sat in the shallows of a river as we left Glenbrittle. We had stopped to look at some curlew and oystercatchers and as we moved off spotted the eagles. They were not far from the road and gave us a great view for a few minutes before flying off. What a privileged view of these magnificent birds. Seeing them like this, in the wild, really made our week!
Back to the cottage as nothing could beat that!
Unfortunately our time on Skye has run out and we must pack up and set off back to Taynuilt tomorrow.
Saturday 26th September
After a last quick look at the wildlife in/on/above the water - porpoises, gannets, buzzards and hooded crows all around this morning - it was time to go. We had enjoyed a lovely week on Skye and seen some fantastic wildlife. Our ferry didn't leave until 1pm so the scenic route was possible. Although it is bright this morning there is no sun and the tops of some of the mountains are shrouded in mist.
We paused at another of our "named" beaches - this time the cup of tea beach. (so named because we always seem to stop there for a cup of tea!) Just for a change it was a cup of coffee today! You can see the Cuillins in the distance from the beach too, which is an added bonus.
Then as we sat there a Golden Eagle appeared and drifted around above us! On first sight we thought it was maybe a buzzard but as it got closer we realised it was too big! He was obviously enjoying the breeze and it was thrilling to watch him through the binoculars. Too far away for a photo though. He drifted off over the top of the hill which meant we could now continue our journey.
Not quite the last wildlife sighting however as a heron was wading in the water at the ferry terminal at Armadale. He stood in the same spot for quite a few minutes before catching a fish and then returning to the same spot to wait again.
The ferry crossing was calm again today and as it only takes half an hour, is quite quick. We had some unscheduled entertainment on the way however. We took our seats by the window facing the rear of the ship and just after leaving the terminal the window we were looking out of was suddenly covered in water. None of the other windows were affected and we couldn't see anything outside below the window. After the water stopped a paint brush on a long stick suddenly appeared and began to clean the window! It was only a 2inch brush so took a while to clean the whole window. The water followed again to rinse off the window. The "operator" repeated the cleaning with the brush - obviously not done to his satisfaction the first time - and rinsed again. We have never known this to happen before and everyone who could see what was happening was really enjoying the entertainment. It certainly helped to pass the time! We wonder if he works his way around the whole ship as they go backwards and forwards?
A scenic ride back to Taynuilt followed.
Monday 8th September
The weather seems to have changed again- much more settled and pleasant! We set off for home, after a short pause in Argyll, in lovely sunshine. Quite busy with traffic- it is Bank Holiday in Scotland after all! More lovely scenery on the way, but we did notice signs of autumn in many of the trees.
The sun still shines when we reach D&G (as it often does!) and as a famous song says "It's very nice to go travelling.... but it's so much nicer to come home" Just to round off the holiday and give us a welcome home - there was a beautiful sunset tonight too.
The Mistle Thrush is a pale, black-spotted thrush - large, aggressive and powerful. It stands boldly upright and bounds across the ground while in flight, it has long wings and its tail has whitish edges. It is most likely to be noticed perched high at the top of a tree, singing its fluty song or giving its rattling call in flight.
