Isle of Skye (and rain)

Wow! What a busy couple of days I have had. I arrived onto Skye at around 3 in the afternoon. I left the Isle of Lewis at around 10am and caught a bus down to Tarbert (I said to the ticket lady, ‘Can I have a ticket to Ta-bet’ and she gave me a funny look then said, ‘Oh, you mean Tar-bert.’ They, unlike us, use all of the letter is the alphabet – they even use the ‘r’ sound). The drive down to Tarbert was beautiful and took us right up into the mountains before coming down on the other side and the seaside port where the ferry was waiting.

I was told by one of the sailors that the weather was pretty good and it would be a smooth crossing and it would have been too, I suspect if I hadn’t chosen to sit at the front of the ship. When still in the calm waters I ordered some lunch – haggis, neeps and tatties... mmmm... so tasty. However, as soon as we got out into the open waters the haggis was suddenly a lot less appealing. I could only eat half before having to push it away and not making eye contact with it again. I had to move away and actually it was much less noticeable in the middle of the ship.

When I arrived in Uig (Oo-ig) I had an hour long wait before the bus came. When it did, the driver took me over the hills and down into Portree where the hostel was.

When I first arrived at the Bayfield Hostel I was a little bit unsure after the rules had been gone over. No one was allowed to be in the hostel after 10am and it would be reopened at 1pm.  The kitchen would open at 7am and would be closed by 9pm. If you wanted to use the internet it was 1.50 per hour (where all other hostels I had been to were free and cheaper). And then there was the heating. It was on a timer, so it switched off and on (but mostly off). It was as if all the warnings about cheap scotsman saving pennies wherever they could were all coming at once in this one place. Murdo, the owner, was rich in advice and knowledge and would give it freely but switching the heating on only after 5pm for an hour then off again, then on again at 7pm... it was - interesting. I considered going to the other hostel but to be honest, despite those things, I am glad I stayed. I met three of the most lovely women who I have been sharing the room with. Two are from Denmark and are called Kit and Nana. The other was a Canadian called Lilly. The three of them are all in Scotland on an exchange, studying at Glasgow Uni. We hired a car together and with me driving we have spent the last two days exploring the isle. It is stunning.

On the first day we headed up to the Old Man of Storr, which is a huge stone the sticks out on its own on top of a very large hill.(You can see it far in the distance on the picture). We bundled up (never been so grateful for my Kathmandu jacket) and began the long trek up. We were told that it would take around an hour to climb up. It was only drizzling at first and that was  fine, and the weather was far outweighed by the sights. Although you first had to climb through an area that had been de-forested, the views were stunning and around a ¼ of the way up it turned into hilly countryside (sort of goat territory sans goats). 

The further up we walked the worse the weather got till it was pouring with rain, the wind was howling and I was soaked through and there was snow on the ground. I made it almost all the way up but I was just too cold and wet to go right up. The others  went a bit further up and also turned back. I began to double time it back down, thinking only about how excited I would be to strip off at the car and sit in my tights and jumper. My jeans were so wet that the dye was running out of them, my suede gloves were soaked through and were actually dying my hands purple. The only parts of me that were dry was my head, back and chest, heavily protected by the jacket which, despite being sopping, was still waterproof. Thank you mum and dad.

I was almost all the way to the bottom before I mis-stepped on a tree root and slipped down. By that point I was back in the deforested area and it was incredibly muddy so as I slid down I collected a bit of mud all down my left side from hip to foot. I was so miserably cold by then that I dejectedly got up and kept going because really, being muddy was just the cherry on the cake and there was no point complaining.

We all drove back to the hostel and changed clothes before heading back out.

We headed all the way up the top of the isle on the east coast before making our way back down the west coast. The weather wasn’t great for the rest of the day but we made the most of it, doing most of our sight-seeing via car.

That afternoon when headed back to the hostel and then out for dinner. We went out to the hotel’s restaurant and it was the weirdest moment when we walked in and all conversation stopped. All the locals (the men) were sitting around eating and then we walked in. It was a wee bit awkward but we stayed. The food was lovely (and you should hope so if the locals eat there) and by the time we had finished everyone else had left – not because we were there but the kitchen/restaurant closed at 8pm. You know the Samoans, Tongans, Fijians etc run on Island time. It is the same out here on the islands. No rush, no fuss but when you are travelling and need to be somewhere and buy something it is a little bit more than frustrating.

Anyway, on the second day on Skye we headed South towards Dunvegan and Glen Brittle. In our lonely planet guides it did say that Dunvegan castle was open on reduced hours in winter so we turned up and apparently (only on the sign) it says that by appointment only. I mean, come on! We aren’t the only people on the island who are tourists. So with that plan out the window we headed out to the second location which was Neist Point Lighthouse right on the point (shockingly). The drive out was really amazing and the roads were narrow and well worn with many potholes that had been patched up so you can imagine what it was like driving.

There was only one other car at the park when we arrived and when we looked out over the top of the hill you couldn’t even see the lighthouse because you actually have to climb down some very narrow, very steep steps in the cliff side then walk along a winding path, saying hello to the many sheep littering the area. It was completely open to the elements but it was worth the buffeting from the wind. We must have spent a good hour and a half to two hours taking photos and just absorbing what was around us. However, I was busting for a wee and freezing cold so I headed back up to the car ahead of the others. The sun had actually broken through the clouds but there was some thick cloud rolling in and I refused to get drenched again. I debated ducking behind a rock and peeing with the best view in the world but to be honest, one) I could hold it (go the camel bladder) and two) the wind was so high that I would have wet myself regardless of the direction I would have faced and that is just not pleasant.

The others joined me in the car about 30 minutes later and there were a bit wet as the rain had started. The good thing was that I had eaten my lunch while waiting for the others so while they ate, I drove us down to the next stop which was the Talisker distillery, with a brief and much needed detour to some loos. However, when we arrived at the distillery (wait for it...) it was closed – not because it was winter but because they had decided to do renovations.

We kept going south and the weather continued to get worse. Our last stop for the day was Glen Brittel and the fairy pools. The weather was so atrocious by that point we didn’t actually find the pools but because it was the last stop be decided to ignore that it was raining and go on a little walk. We did come across an amazing waterfall. Kit, who had a waterproof camera actually lost it while we were there. It was such a shame and she was quite upset but I said to her that it was probably the fairy folk who had stolen it, trying to lure her further into the Glen and away from safety, as fairies were known to do those sorts of mischievous things and we were near their pools. She quite liked that so it is the story she is going to use (just not when she claims her insurance).

It was around 3.30pm when we got back so after changing into something a bit drier, Kit and Nana went food shopping for dinner. I had the rice, oil and herbs and chicken stock so the other three supplied the veges, chicken and dessert. I cooked dinner with their help.

It was such a nice way to spend our last night together and it was Valentines day too, so we did something a bit special: we set the table very formally like a restaurant, had cold water sitting in a tea pot for pouring (in lieu of a carafe) and a huge stewing pot of hot food in the middle of the table. Afterwards we had tiramisu and twix fingers and played dominos.

We swapped emails and numbers and they are going to take me out on the town in Glasgow when I get there at the end of the month.

I packed my bags that night and said my farewells then went to sleep and had the worst sleep ever. I was so paranoid about missing my alarm that I woke up every two hours to check. My bus left at 7.45am and it took me 4 and a half hours on the bus to get to Oban, but now I am here in a cosy warm room writing my blog and thinking it is time to go get some dinner. Possibly pizza... hmmm...