Cool, bright, breezy – when it shines, the sun is welcome… A pleasant afternoon wandering up Kenley Ridge, then dropping down the path through the trees to that hidden hollow, before walking back through Harnage Grange. Fresh air and some fine views!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=357220&Y=301550&A=Y&Z=120
Just published to Geoff’s Rail Diaries, an account of the rail-related aspects of my trip to Skye, via Kyle of Lochalsh and the Caledonian Sleeper from Crewe to Inverness. Visit There and back again for the full story and more photos.
The start, near Church Preen school, is well below the Wenlock Edge. At the highest point of my wander, a little way beyond Church Preen village, I’m almost at the same height, and can see the Clee hills beyond – nevertheless the Edge dominates the eastern horizon. Looking west now, there are fine views towards the Welsh border, though the distance is rather hazy. To the north, the Wrekin’s in charge. This is very pleasant quiet country.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=354860&Y=298485&A=Y&Z=120
…and it will be spring, by the Met Office’s definition. It certainly felt springlike when I set out. There will be rain later – there’s been a lot of it recently. The fields are completely sodden, and refuse to accept any more water, so instead it’s running off down the roads. Despite the wetness, the signs of spring are everywhere – hawthorns leaves are brilliant green in the hedgerows, there are primroses and periwinkles (garden escapees?) and the blackthorn blossom is starting to appear.
View OS map in Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=367470&Y=298250&A=Y&Z=120
Almost two weeks ago, I travelled on the sleeper from Crewe to Inverness, where I boarded the normal service train to Kyle of Lochalsh and Skye. This morning I arrived home again, after an “interesting” return trip – a departure from Inverness delayed by 194 minutes. Nevertheless I was home just an hour later than if it had left on time. The full story will possibly appear on “Geoff’s Rail Diaries” in due course; meanwhile, here are a couple of tasters.
Monday 19 February: A last Skye leg-stretch, grabbing a couple of hours between lunch and the onset of rain… There’s a stiff breeze raising the waves down by the slip at Camus Mor, and I won’t go too near the cliff edge, but there’s some brightness for a time, and the rain held off. The first drops are falling as I drive away.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=137830&Y=870875&A=Y&Z=120
Monday 19 February: …or four? A week ago, we saw the Pentland Ferries catamaran Alfred arriving at Uig pier (see A stranger at Uig). A little digging on the Calmac website clarified the position. The usual ferry, Hebrides, which we’d seen at the pier a couple of days earlier, had gone for its scheduled overhaul. Another Calmac ferry, Clansman, should have taken over but its own overhaul is over-running… So, today, Hebridean Isles came to the rescue. It was the regular vessel – a familiar shape and sight – on the Uig routes from the late ’80s until the bigger Hebrides took over. It seems to be providing a Lochboisdale – Uig service in lieu of the Lochmaddy and Tarbert routes for the time being. So – here’s a reminder of Hebrides and Alfred, and today’s arrival from Lochboisdale. (No photos of Clansman, for obvious reasons).
Sunday 18 February: Sometimes the weather in Staffin, on the east coast of Trotternish (and not quite 7 miles away, as the golden eagle flies), is very different from that on the west. The Met Office thought it would be different too – I left in murky mist, under heavy cloud, and enjoyed bright sunshine for much of my walk. The basic route is quite short (and we’ve done it many times), but today I lengthened it by walking to the end of the line of cliffs above the slip (which may explain the unlikely route shown below), for an aerial view of familiar places.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=149025&Y=867956&A=Y&Z=120
Thursday 15 February: A rainy day. It was heavy before lunch, but the afternoon looked better. Not sunny, still damp, not actually raining… The ground is sodden, and there’s running water everywhere – I’ll stay on surfaced roads. The minor road from Kilmuir village hall leads up into the hills, through the curiously-named settlement of Heribusta, looping back to the main road not far from the cemetery where Flora (“Over the sea to Skye”) Macdonald lies. Nothing passes me – no cars, no-one on foot (a golden eagle, forced down from higher ground by the mist, cruises past briefly). The main road back to the village hall (A855, single track with passing places) isn’t much busier – a couple of cars and a van perhaps. An enjoyable outing!
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=139435&Y=870985&A=Y&Z=120
Saturday 17 February: Need a leg-stretch, and the weatherman says it will rain this afternoon. We need to go down to Uig for today’s paper – perhaps we can end our walk at the shop. The papers should be in by then – they don’t get here until late morning (many years ago, I had a paper round. I was hopeless – usually half-asleep, I pedalled around on autopilot. Rarely did my last delivery coincide with the last paper in my bag. I might have been more successful if the papers arrived at noon)
The jelly-ear fungus was a welcome find, on some scruffy elder bushes beside the Idrigill road. There was another very substantial crop a few yards further back, but the thicket of dead brambles looked impenetrable and rather scratchy…
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map?X=139050&Y=863942&A=Y&Z=115
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