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Post by lugg on Apr 1, 2022 19:39:35 GMT
Plus ( to finish) a little of other areas within the Highlands and Morayshire, near Inverness. Just spent a week on Skye meeting up with 3 of my oldest friends for our belated 60th birthday celebrations (2 years belated due to Covid 19.) Here is a little of what I saw, did or vicariously enjoyed ! A little misty at times but we enjoyed some beautiful weather too with just a couple of gloomy days- anyone who knows the weather in this part of the world will appreciate how lucky we were. Skye is the second largest island in Scotland off the NW coast within the Inner Hebrides. It’s connected to the mainland by a bridge or you can travel there by ferry either from the mainland or from some neighbouring islands. I travelled there by plane to Inverness on the NE coast and then hired a car. Both legs were very enjoyable. The skies were incredibly clear during my flights and I got to see the Highlands in all their glory from aloft. The mountains looked as if they had been iced with sugar. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51968995681_cfec64baaf_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968995356_ae2dfb44ea_c.jpgIn the far distance and beyond my phones capability really I recognised the outline of Skye live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969061318_0b496bbd6b_c.jpgI headed across Scotland to Skye, approx. 100 miles, having had a minor trauma initially as all the usb ports had been disabled in the hire car and my Satnav was out of charge! I did not want to run my phone battery dead as thought I would need it when I reached Skye. Fortunately, as there are so few roads in this part of Scotland, navigating is fairly easy. Anyway the scenery along the way was stunning and I made a couple of stops to admire the views. Essentially I headed north from Inverness towards Dingwell , then west and down to the bridge passing through Achnasheen to reach Kyle of Lochalsh and the bridge. A couple of maps below for anyone who might like the detail. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51971563836_9dd221578e_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51970560667_45e8e90686_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969280614_5456a8d335_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969059983_ae6773f5f1_c.jpgThe road I took was an A road ( A 382) but about half of it was really just a single track – I soon learnt that these roads are very common in this part of Scotland …as are the pot holes ( so I felt right at home !!) live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969279644_48c723e271_c.jpgLochcaron – nearly there live.staticflickr.com/65535/51967988802_e900a0b392_c.jpgI got glimpses of Skye as I neared – its mountains soaring in the distance. Finally I was near the bridge and stopped again to take in the views. The bridge originally opened as a toll bridge but now it is free to cross. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969279244_b6f1764ee3_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968985853_dfd9c306eb_b.jpgI stopped off in Kyeleakin just over the bridge to collect some cakes I had ordered for our belated birthday celebrations and was so glad I did, not just because the cakes were good, but there were great views under the bridge which I probably would never have seen otherwise . live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969206114_7310807896_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969481955_ef4657f7b4_c.jpgNow onto Skye proper … First – our home for the week which is owned by my friend’s brother. Mates rates ! It is in a tiny hamlet called Glasnakille, about 45 mins drive from the nearest place of any size (Broadford) and about 15 mins from a slightly larger hamlet (Elgol) which has a shop and a couple of restaurants in season. The road into Glasnakille, ok in the day, but a bit of a mare at night live.staticflickr.com/65535/51967986162_33e3b90c23_b.jpgThe cottage, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969276254_cb6e11284e_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51967985872_6038697de0_c.jpgInside ; live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969555970_2ceb09fcd5_c.jpg…lots of music, dvds and books, if we were so inclined, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969275484_e3b73d81b6_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968989671_0da8096391_c.jpg..although the view and the visitors to the bird feeder from the kitchen /dining area kept us plenty occupied in the main, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969055483_0b2118511f_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969554760_cb85a2bd01_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968976956_eceeb10218_c.jpg…the views from the bedrooms were equally good live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969555295_ebcde3845e_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968988476_9ba1ffef6d_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969273729_021bbe165d_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968988336_5bfb6a65b2_c.jpgThe house was a ruin when it was bought – some of the findings made during the renovations are on display, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51967983832_391443eddf_b.jpgSunrise was lovely – and brought some special visitors.. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969053608_2fa533a752_c.jpgTaken through the window.. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969260139_bf0b3697e2_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969540230_667da1eec6_c.jpgSo the scene is set – now to show you a little more of Skye…
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 1, 2022 19:51:08 GMT
The landscapes are absolutely magnificent. The modern bridge looks out of place, but we have to understand that things like this are absolutely necessary for people who live there.
I have always loved staying in places with books even though I obviously never have the time to read any of them.
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Post by htmb on Apr 1, 2022 19:59:01 GMT
Absolutely gorgeous! Super photos, too! I loved seeing the landscape through the plane windows. So glad you were able to finally celebrate your birthdays with your friends at such a fine little canin, while taking us along, too! Looking forward to seeing more!
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 1, 2022 20:06:27 GMT
Oh my goodness ~ it is indeed! Sorry to use this word which has been worked to bits on the internet, but your photographs are really and truly stunning! You were so lucky to have those clear skies for the flight over the mountains -- beautiful! And thanks for the maps, as I for one have almost zero idea of Scotland's geography. That was a gorgeous drive you took to get to the cottage and you did it old style, to boot! Did you even have a paper map? I think the bridge is a soaring and elegant piece of sculpture that coexists nicely with the landscape. The cottage ~ *slobber* *envy* ~ The views! The leather sofas! The artefacts! The birdies! The deer (elk?)! This all looks as though it's shaping up to be the best birthday ever. Can't wait to see more.
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 1, 2022 21:04:18 GMT
I've always known it's a bit of a waste that I never really explored the north of the UK. These photos show me what I've missed. Really good.
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Post by mich64 on Apr 2, 2022 3:36:38 GMT
Wow. This is going to be great to watch. Fabulous start. Wonderful you got to join with your friends in celebration.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 2, 2022 8:58:43 GMT
Fantastic start. I am hooked. We have been to Skye, only one night and 2 days, wjen Mrs Whatagain had not yet foolishly married me. We have great memories, looking forward to revive them thanks to your pics.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 2, 2022 14:24:14 GMT
Promising beginning, love the photos.
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Post by mossie on Apr 2, 2022 14:41:29 GMT
Looks idyllic
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Post by patricklondon on Apr 2, 2022 16:38:59 GMT
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Post by lugg on Apr 2, 2022 18:17:07 GMT
While we're at it, I couldn't resist: I had planned to listen to Runrig on my journey to Skye but the defunct USB ports put paid to that
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Post by biddy on Apr 2, 2022 18:56:51 GMT
OMG- beautiful photos. Stunning scenery and it looks like you happened upon decent weather. I am so jealous!
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Post by bjd on Apr 2, 2022 19:32:11 GMT
Just copying everyone else and admiring your photos. It looks beautiful. I would love to go to western Scotland.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 3, 2022 6:43:21 GMT
If only the photos of our resident Scot BigIain has not disappeared into the intervoid. I remember how we were all just as stunned when he made his report. The text is still there and manages to conjure up mental images of what he showed us. The report was called Scotland's Mountain Wilderness
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Post by lugg on Apr 4, 2022 20:03:23 GMT
i will have to go back and explore BigIain's posts
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Post by lugg on Apr 4, 2022 20:06:51 GMT
I am not sure if this link will work – more detailed map as the image I posted initially really does not give the detail. www.bing.com/maps?cp=57.180481%7E-6.037263&lvl=12.4&style=sSo starting fairly locally to the cottage I will show you a little of the Strathaird peninsula where it is located. The area is dominated by the Red and Black Cuillan mountains , the roads have to meander around them and also around the lochs. Elgol is a small fishing village about 15 mins away and the nearest place to Glasnakille . It was fairly quiet when we were there but gets a lot busier in the main season as it has boats trips that offer the easiest way to get to Lock Coruisk in the heart of the Black Cuillan mountains. In the season there are also a couple of restaurants, one of which opened up for us especially so we could have a special celebratory birthday meal. It has a school which presumably supports all the local hamlets as well as the village and a shop with for basic food stuffs etc but some lovely touristy items for sale too. I would describe it as a hamlet rather than a village but I guess it is all relative, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969276874_d890306ac3_c.jpgI am not sure if all of you will be able to enlarge the photo but it references the island of Soay – once owned by Gavin Maxwell, I believe it is the island in the centre of the image below – he set up a shark fishing and processing factory in the 1940s, hoping to exploit basking sharks for their livers /oil/ flesh for fertiliser and glue from cartilage – it failed and of course now that kind of exploitation of wildlife fills many of us with horror. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51967986277_3e09261b17_b.jpgThe Black Cuillans from the beach, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969550780_b62a37a428_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968984561_2b0ab0466f_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969050143_caf1866370_c.jpgThe large building close to the beach is the school, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969198184_e74470997c_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51967979062_a05e986845_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51967978992_6066bc1585_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968983486_b048615ba9_c.jpgIt was a great place for sunset pics – so varied depending upon the weather, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969342044_893690e46c_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51968983821_bb9b7b5e8f_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51977759376_faa0a877cc_c.jpgIf you zoom in on the Bing Map I posted above you will see that very close to the house in Glanaskille is The Spar Cave on the coast ; it is pretty difficult to get to and not only that ,it is only accessible for an hour either side of low tide. I already knew, from reading about it, that my knee would hold me back from visiting and I would not be joining the likes of Sir Walter Scott, Ben Still and Bear Grylls who have all visited it. … Anyway I decided that I could manage the walk to the start of the cliff descent whilst my intrepid pals carried on. …the photos inside the cave and on the shore were not taken by me About the cave ; tartantrailblazers.blog/2021/04/28/spar-cave/I will try to find and add in the recording of Bear Grylls and Ben Stiller in the cave but I have it on good authority they were boated in and sea planed out and despite the evidence in the film they actually did not stay in the cave overnight--wussies This is as far as I managed --- the photo does not really show the steep descent from this point on live.staticflickr.com/65535/51967970407_92009b69cd_c.jpg but here is your truly looking down live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969057476_5ce095cc1b_c.jpgand some images of my friends down below .. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969540720_2c93e8d27b_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51967969577_b852050291_c.jpgMoving on and Inside live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969123493_4ea5c89499_c.jpgYou may be able to see the small dot that is me on the top of the middle cliff… live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969123608_8ea62e0014_c.jpgGoing in – head torches were required live.staticflickr.com/65535/51969622190_f722c448b0_b.jpgand inside … live.staticflickr.com/65535/51968052302_3c94e982a6_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969342579_6fabe37522_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969123568_1a1d0af94e_c.jpgNext time we go maybe I will get there in the meantime I had a snooze, took some arty farty pics of lichen and decaying leaves and directed another couple struggling to find the way to the cave. I should have charged for that service! live.staticflickr.com/65535/51968976711_ef265db404_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969042208_d04e8b9118_c.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51969261584_d6f74fcb15_c.jpgMore to come …
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 4, 2022 20:26:51 GMT
Gosh. Stunning. Your photographs capture the wildness beautifully Lugg. It looks peaceful and magnificent.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 4, 2022 20:33:50 GMT
Gosh, Lugg! Honestly, that's what I said about each and every one of your latest pictures.
How in hell did your friends get down there and are you going to tell us how they got back up? That last picture with you waving from the top of the middle cliff almost gave me vertigo with its steepness.
Love the cave pictures -- all that glistening encrustation of eons of mineral deposits. I also love the "artsy fartsy" photos you took.
Backtracking to the beginning of reply #15 ~ thanks for the map & for the views of the town. But I am mostly knocked out by all that sea and rocky beach with mountains in the distance -- gorgeous & looks like the very beginning of the world.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 4, 2022 20:40:08 GMT
Fabulous geological addition as well as some botanical splendours.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 5, 2022 8:59:00 GMT
Wonderful report Lugg. Your photos bring home the vastness of the Scotland we saw as we motored across from Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling and then Oban and across to Mull. Even that little island is pretty bare and you made me recall the one lane roads....Oh my quite scary at times! Great photos as always!
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Post by lugg on Apr 5, 2022 19:08:34 GMT
Thanks guys . Bixa - I hung onto a tree as I neared the edge as it made me quite dizzy. My friends scrambled, slid and clawed their way up and down, I have a photo of one of my friends as she ascended - it shows her sheer exhaustion but I don't think she would appreciate me posting it . you made me recall the one lane roads....Oh my quite scary at times! one particular road was the ultimate test of my driving skills and nerve ...my photos of that don't really show how scary it was but I will post some of them at some point in this report.
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Post by mich64 on Apr 6, 2022 16:54:10 GMT
Just super photographs Lugg. Incredible views from the beach of the surrounding peaks. Your leaf photo reminded me of a brooch my mom had, maybe still has.
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Post by lugg on Apr 6, 2022 19:58:44 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 6, 2022 20:15:34 GMT
"The boys" are sensational and the landscapes remain breathtaking. Looks like you did not have to worry about traffic jams either.
My mental vision of northern Scotland is all frost and icicles and you are starting to prove me wrong.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 6, 2022 23:05:57 GMT
I guess I assumed it was pretty up there in those unspoiled areas, but gadzooks ~ this is just unearthly beautiful, Lugg!
Those vistas are magnificent, as are your photos. I imagine the air there was as clean as air gets, right?
That photograph with the beached skiff is about as pretty as anything can be -- super frameable in company with some pretty fabulous pictures.
I'm glad that you were so taken up with gazing & picture taking that you didn't notice me. Luckily I passed by at just the right time to catch you interacting with The Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STYiWIZ-2IQ
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Post by onlyMark on Apr 7, 2022 4:56:59 GMT
Stunning scenery.
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Post by bjd on Apr 7, 2022 7:05:30 GMT
It's definitely beautiful in an unforbidding way -- not like high mountains, for example. I imagine the coulours change a lot with the seasons. And I agree with you about the cattle -- they are really pretty, especially compared to boring cows with no fur. Of course, the fact that they have all that thick fur means it gets really cold and windy.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 7, 2022 7:53:39 GMT
Lugg your fabulous photos show so much. I can almost breath in the fine rarified air in great gasps. The vistas remind me of "On a clear day you can see forever". A lone shell of a boat adds to the romance of the lakes and hills. The deserted and ruins of the old church say to me "Elvis has left the building" , but the gravestones stay solid over the folks below. The yellow gorse adds that special glorious colour to the landscape. It seems to grown everywhere in Scotland. Which brings me to ask if you saw any Heather?
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 7, 2022 8:13:52 GMT
Did you know gorse flowers smell like coconut?
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Post by lugg on Apr 9, 2022 19:49:40 GMT
Did you know gorse flowers smell like coconut? I did not know that Mick but if I get gorse spikes in my nose testing that out I will hold you responsible
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