Tour

Rich didn't wake up feeling too hot this morning and even the short ascent we had planned wasn't appealing. While he came round, I investigated our walking book and found three shorter walks.

We headed off for the first outing which involved only 80m of descent down to a hidden waterfall, gorge and old diatomite works. It was a beautifully peaceful place for only a quarter of a mile from the road, with dramatic cliffs in a secluded bay and superb views to the mountains on the mainland. We happened across a buzzard taking off with a catch as we arrived. It was a perfect place for a sea eagle flyby too but not today.

After having the place to ourselves, a few more people arrived as we headed back to the car and off to Ardmore Point on the other side of the island. It was described as one of the most evocative places on Skye and it looked beautiful as we arrived. Unfortunately, there was a big sign up that the cattle were calving and no dogs allowed. So, a little wander around Trumpan church, a read of its terribly violent history and on to venue three.

The coral beach near Dunvegan was our final stop. It was nearly thwarted by a herd of cows and an enormous bull sauntering in front of us but we braved a high level route to avoid them and arrived at the beach in a beautiful dark moody light. The air was still and we enjoyed a mooch around the bay, admiring the Hawaiian colours of the shoreline against the fading daylight.

I've cooked a fine yellow dinner tonight... Smoked haddock, mash, sweetcorn and poached egg. Could I have planned it any better?! 

All packed and ready for our journey home tomorrow although we could both chill out here happily for another week. It's been another Scottish New Year special.