Day 03 – A Good Tour of Much of the Isle of Skye

Between catching up on e-mails, and planning for the day, we didn’t get a particularly early start.

We made up for it at the other end of the day, though, by returning to the hotel close to 10:00, just in time for a wee dram, some soup, and a plate of local cheeses. The latter two were thanks to Richard, the owner, as they stop serving dinner at 9:00.

He said, “And I thought I worked long hours!” Little does he know about our hours when we’re on our workshops! It’s fun, though, and we would not have it any other way, as our alumni/ae well know.

We started out by exploring a loop in the Sleat area. Sheep greeted us as we photographed the moors and mountains, the sea shining beyond, and the mountains on the mainland looking misty and mysterious.

Then, we headed up to the Trotternish Peninsula in the north. One cannot come to this area and not check out The Storr, one of the iconic features of the Isle. It was foggy, adding to the other-worldliness of this craggy area.

We made numerous stops as we meandered up the coast, checking out different views and walking along the cliff edges.

Late in the afternoon, we stopped for tea and a very tasty Coconut-and-Tamarind soup at a lovely tea house in a small little village. With the stomach growls held at bay, we continued around the northern part of the peninsula, energy renewed.

There are some amazing mountains up that way, remnants of ancient volcanic action. I loved the way the moors sidled up to the bases of these massive mountains and wondered what it might have been like back in the age of the dinosaurs when those hugs beasts roamed this same area.

At the northern end of the peninsula, there are the ruins of an ancient castle. It made for a dramatic silhouette against the sparkling of the late-afternoon sun on the sea.

There were clouds, so the light was ephemeral … here but not there … now there, but no longer here. We waited it out for the shots each of us wanted.

The coastline was awe-inspiring, but we already found some great coastal scenes. Instead, we realized we had dawdled long enough and still had miles to go before we slept. We headed for another castle on the west side. We traversed another peninsula, then drove around several inlets. After all that, alas, the castle was closed by the time we got there. Given the hour, no surprise! No matter, there’s always tomorrow.

By this time, we realized that it was already past 8:00, and it was time for us to head back to our hotel. Still, we are always scouting, so when a tiny loch (everything is a loch in Scotland, regardless of the size) caught our eye, we slowed down, but then had to find a place to turn around a couple of miles down the road.

It was worth it. The light was stunning, and with the clouds, it made for a very dramatic scene. We walked out on the spongy peat bogs, hopping from hummock to hummock in an effort to find firm footing, and got closer to the little loch for the shots we had in mind.

It was magical, and a great way to end the day.

Tomorrow, we have a couple more loops to do before heading to our next hotel in Fort Augustus.

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