An afternoon which began with mist on the hills, clearing to bright warm sunshine later. There’s a long-established path at Staffin, running from the Columba 1400 car park over the hill to the sea. Descending towards the shore, the age of the path is evident in the well-laid stone blocks forming the surface. It leads to the slipway; our route deviates across slightly marshy ground (pick the way fairly carefully and feet will remain dry) to the saltings and, beyond, some comfortable rocks – a great spot for watching the waves. It’s a scenic route too – super views back to the Trotternish hills as we ascend, with the sea and the mainland ahead once we’ve topped the ridge. As ever at this time of year on Skye, orchids and other wild flowers abound.

We’ve been here before – it’s a wonderfully quiet walk through some superb coastal scenery to what is not quite the most northerly tip of Skye (the northernmost point, by about 200 yards, is Rubha Hunish, a mile or two to the west). There’s space for a few cars at Port Gobhlaig, and a way across grass to low cliffs above rocky inlets, an arch and a stack, home to numerous seabirds. An old way then descends to the rocky shore, backed by sheep-grazed grassland. It was busy today – we saw (briefly) two other walkers and (even more briefly) an angler. About a mile offshore is the uninhabited Eilean Trodday. In the distance are the hills of Lewis. In the sea, there’s a small yacht (motoring – there’s barely a breeze), a distant tanker, and a fishing boat which struggles against the strong tidal flow. It’s a great place – must return again