Wednesday 14 February: a quiet wander along the Hinnisdal forest road, on a calm and grey afternoon. Yesterday afternoon I was nearly being blown off my feet – today there’s barely a breath of wind. As with other wooded parts of the island, the trees are accompanied by moss and lichen, and despite the trees, there are some fine views out to sea and up the glen.
View OS map on Streetmap http://streetmap.co.uk/map?X=140500&Y=857500&A=Y&Z=120
Sunday 11 February: visitors to Skye flock to it in their thousands during the season, though I suspect most of them drive away thinking “what was that all about?”. Its situation may be dramatic, but it’s hardly Tantallon, Eilean Donan or Dunnottar – there’s very little left of Duntulm castle. The parking space beside the road provides me with a starting place for this short walk, and I’ll start with a look at the castle from the shore.
Five minutes later I’m heading past the former coastguard cottages to take the farm track around the back of Cnoc Roll, a small hill topped by a radio mast. The track goes all the way round, but at the half-way mark an old way leads to the opposite hillside, for great views and a slightly longer walk. There are no paths up here, but the way is pretty obvious, if steep and in places soggy…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=141205&Y=874010&A=Y&Z=120
Saturday 10 February: after a trip to the shop, there’s time for a short leg-stretch along the Rha Glen road – a little fresh air is what’s needed, and there’s no shortage of it here.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=139730&Y=864772&A=Y&Z=120
Monday 12 February: no, it’s not a forest – just a strip of woodland by the shore of Uig bay. ‘Just’ is, however, understatement. It’s a tiny fragment of temperate rain forest. Look at it! Mosses and lichen everywhere in profusion. The liverwort is amazing – great green cabbage-like growths, while the extensive moss, covering everything that hasn’t moved for a while, is – green! The threatened rain is now falling heavily – we’ll scuttle back along along the path before we’re soaked
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=139475&Y=863874&A=Y&Z=115
Monday 12 February: Driving into Uig around lunchtime, we looked to the sea. “The ferry’s coming in”. Doesn’t usually arrive just now – usually gets in around 1.30. It’s a funny shape too – rather squat and low in the water… The binoculars make it clear – it’s catamaran Alfred belonging to Pentland Ferries. A little later, an internet check solved the puzzle. It’s on hire to Calmac from today, while the Hebrides goes in for scheduled overhaul. It should soon be replaced by Calmac’s Clansman, fresh from its own overhaul. Will we see it? Three different vessels in a week?
Friday 9 February: …after a trip on the sleeper (in a seat) to Inverness. I’ve got 15 minutes to catch the 8.55 to Kyle of Lochalsh. I need to buy refreshments for the trip, and take a few photos – is there time? Yes – just!
Thursday 11 January: my last day of wandering, and the weather’s beginning to change. It remains calm and dry, but there’s more cloud about. Tomorrow there are domestic duties to attend to, and on Saturday, I begin my journey home. Today I’m walking the first stretch of the Skye Trail, to the bothy high above Rubha Hunish, the most northerly point of the island. In better times, I’d be down the very steep path to the spit of land below, where lies that northern tip, but it could be icy, and if I did go down there, it would be dark before I got back to the start. I’ll content myself with wonderful sea views, and some beautiful light as the sun sinks on this exceptional week on Skye.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=141525&Y=875598&A=Y&Z=120
Wednesday 10 January: The south side of Glen Uig is home to the Fairy Glen. It’s in deep shade – and blue with frost reflecting, yet again, a cloudless blue sky on another windless day. To the north side is Glen Conon, which seems to be the name of the settlement of scattered houses beside the road, which climbs from opposite Rankin’s shop by some remarkable zig-zags (the river in Glen Uig is the Conon). Beyond the bends, the very quiet road provides a panoramic view of the glen and, at its head, Beinn Edra, a summit on the Trotternish Ridge. It’s an ‘out-and-back’ walk, most enjoyable on this wonderful January day.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=140395&Y=863878&A=Y&Z=120
Tuesday 9 January: a walk along part of the Skye Trail, with an unintended double back… I started down the road to Flodigarry, from where I followed the trail. The route was pretty clear on OpenStreetMap, but it’s not shown on the OS map… There was a way up a cleft in the low line of crags, but I thought I’d seen a better way up. I hadn’t – I ended up back at Flodigarry, where happily I found an easy scramble up onto the hilltop and eventually regained the route. Another fine, still, blue-sky frosty day – mud would have made things difficult, but it was mostly frozen hard. The views to Lewis and to the north-west Highlands are wonderful!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=145720&Y=872765&A=Y&Z=120
Monday 8 January: almost certainly, this road is thought of by thousands of summer visitors as the Quiraing road. But it’s early January, so the road is quiet – and we’re not heading for the Quiraing. Instead, we’re enjoying the bright sunshine under a clear blue sky. It may be frosty, but there’s not a breath of wind, and apart from one or two cars which pass, it’s completely silent.
About a mile and a half up the road, a clearly-defined path rises to our left – let’s see how far we can get. There’s an interesting little rocky outcrop, and we can now see beyond the crest of the ridge to Loch Snizort and the outer isles. We could perhaps get a little closer to the edge and look down on Kilmuir? Perhaps not – after a couple of false starts, we realise we’re going to get wet feet, and the sun is getting lower. We’ll head back to the car, parked in the space high above Uig Bay.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=139090&Y=865098&A=Y&Z=120
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