Sunday, October 01, 2006
Monday 25 September - Tuesday 26 September 2006
The Isle of Skye
This is a very beautiful and interesting place but it has some transport challenges for those of us not driving our own vehicles. So here there was some hard decisions and quick changes to the itinerary. Also, I found out that my castle stay later in the week was going to be shorter than I thought as they had a wedding and were closed - bugger. Culrain which is north west of Inverness was not that easy to access from the west heading east and for a 1 night stay (originally 2) I decided it was probably not worth the effort. Also, I found out on booking my ferry tickets from Mallaig to Skye to Harris/Lewis to Ullapool, that Wednesday is rather like Sunday on the Outer Hebrides and I was going to have a lot of difficulty getting to Ullapool too. Basically the whole journey would end up a commute and wait scenario. So...I cut the north exploration and decided to leave Skye via the south at Kyle of Lochalsh (bus over the bridge) and stop at Plockton but more of that in a minute...
Anyway...got to Skye on a nice clear sunny day. Yep it's true! Travelled to Armadale and started the day visiting the worldwide home of the MacDonalds who claim to be the Kings of the Isles. And who am I to disagree. Their ancestral home has a ruined castle, some great gardens and walks, and a very good museum of the Isles, explaining the history of the area from ancient times when the Irish Celts settled and the Vikings and Norse settled. Walked up the 'hill' behind the gardens too and got some great views back to the mainland. There was some pretty serious errosion happening on the trail and it seems Skye was badly effected by a hurricane some time ago - hard to get an actual timeframe - got stories from a month ago to five years ago - obviously time is considered differently here.
Note - as at 1/10 - the Scots don't seem too worried about maintaining their bush walks or presenting them in a 'safe' way. Makes Caernarfon Castle look safe!...I've done quite a few walks/climbs now where the original track has erroded and everyone just picks their own way across the terrain. This means you end up with lots of worn paths across hillsides with large areas of damaged vegetation and slope. And it's very dangerous underfoot with slippery scree, boggy apths, etc.
Anyway, after my adventure climbing the hill behind the MacDonald's land I caught the bus into Portree - a very scenic journey north across the island. If you think of Skye like a left hand palm down it is easier to understand the geography. The Thumb is Raasay Island lying between Skye and the mainland and the four fingers make up the various peninsulas of the island - Portree being at the base of the index finger. So, this afternoon I took the bus on a clockwise loop of this forefinger and while it was quite overcast by then, the sun kept peeping through and giving a hint of how beautiful the island and the outlook can be. Uig (the port servicing the northern islands) itself is nothing special but the cliffs around are, as are the constant twists in the road revealing crofters cottages whitewashed and contrasting against the grey and green of the hills. And the vast outlooks across the ocean from high points of road along the cliffs. This bus trip was the easiest way of covering a lot of ground in a short period.
The islanders seem to still live a very simple life but tourism has replaced argiculture as the main industry. The EU and foot and mouth seemed to have killed agriculture. There are B&Bs and tea rooms in every village. Not sure how they make a living in winter as the place shuts from November to March. I'm guessing they hunker down and live off their overdrafts and what fishing and staple foods they've managed to store away over the summer (traditional life continues...).
There is one primary school and one high school on the island. And they are expanding the high school next year. In return for this investment the government has decreed that all the children MUST attend Portree High and may not enroll across the Kyle in Lochalsh - even though the kids in Kyleakin are 20min from the mainland and 40 min (each way) to Portree. Some of the more isolated 'fingers' mean some kids have a 3 hour round trip commute each day to school. It is amazing they do this through deep winter when it is dark the whole time and freezing.
Spoilt myself tonight with a bistro meal - very yummy vegetarian mexican - funny the things you find...there were quite a few good restaurants but as usual good food costs good money. But my little bistro managed to treat me royally with two courses and a large glass of wine for £17.75 (not hard to spend £40 on the equivalent up the street and you may remember my daily meal budget is about £10). Britain has a wonderful option with drinks - you can have the standard (125ml wine, 1 nip spirit mix, etc) for one price and you can double it for a small premium. So, a 250ml glass of wine (that's a 1/3 of a bottle) for about £2.75 - very civilised!
Sunday morning dawned bright and clear so I decided to take the bus over to Glenbrittle (the ring finger) and walk back across the pass to Sligachan and then catch the bus back along the main highway to Portree. Due to bus timetables this meant I couldn't visit Dunvegan Castle (on the big finger) but I decided the bush walk would give me more of a feel for the countryside and lifestyle. I was the only person on the morning bus and chatted happily to the bus driver (see told you they were lovely). Not sure if I've already said this - but - it seems the councils subsidise a lot of the bus services as they run out to isolated communities often empty or with 1-2 passengers. The driver explained that by November the services stop until Easter so if you live out here without transport - and some of the old people do - then you don't get out til Spring. This is where the communities become strong supporting each other I expect. And become very suspicious of 'incomers' - disgusting word but used a lot - don't hear 'newcomer' in any town or village.
The views as I headed up the mountain from Glenbrittle looking back over the sea were beautiful and the mountain ahead was full of colour also. The rocks were so dark grey they seemed a thick velvetty aubergine purple. I was watching two eagles hunting on the heather ahead of me when 2 fighter jets came screaming over the pass and the eagles disappeared for the rest of my walk.
These jets do this a lot. When I was walking around the lakes district they would scream up the valleys, on Hadrian's Wall they went over constantly....It seems the airforce use the difficult terrain for navigation and flight training. Bloody nuisance - noisy, smelly things just cause huge sound pollution and I wouldn't be surprised if they cause territorial animals (particularly birds) to leave their habitat forever.
As I reached the top of the pass (the track followed a stream/creek) the fog came sucking up the pass behind me. In fact I felt chased over the top of the hill as this dense white mass was sucked up by the wind. It started raining a little but not enough to be dangerous. As I got over the saddle and headed down the other side it continued to chase me but suddenly it seemed to turn to the right and it was facinating to watch as the winds from the western sea catch it and literally suck it up and over another peak. Which left me dry and facing a sunny day in the valley ahead.
I took lots of photos on the way down of waterfalls as the (highly eroded) track followed a beck, that became a brook, that became a stream that became a creek that became a big creek...and the waterfalls just got better and better. The water was that clear green ice colour and I DID NOT put even one finger in that water. I'm sure I would have got frost bite - it was cold enough just watching it swirl through the rock pools. Funny how a clear day can still be so cold.
When I got back to Portree I packed up and caught the bus over old ground until I crossed back to the mainland to meet the last train of the day to Plockton. This was the school bus and this driver was the one that filled me in on the new high school, etc.
Now, some of you would know the train that goes from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness. It wanders through back country and shows off beautiful lochs and mountains, seaside villages and castles. So, I was rather pleased to manage to include this when I had to change my itinerary. Got to Plockton in plenty of time to have a sticky beak around before making dinner. I was the only person at The Bunkhouse (which was the old signal box at the station) that night. Not just a single room - the whole place was mine for just £10. Bargain!
Now Plockton was the setting for the serial Hamish MacBeth and also the reality TV program Duncan's of Duncraig. Duncraig Castle sits on the shore opposite Plockton and overlooks the village. It is a picturesque village right out of 1950's and earlier. Doesn't seem to be a new place in the village and everything is just like a postcard. Again, the economy is driven by tourism but there is a small fishing fleet - pretty much descimated by over fishing by unlicensed EU operators. Sound familiar?....
This little gem was such a great surprise. Not only did I get a bonus quiet night but there was a local tradional scottish music band playing at the local pub that night. FANTASTIC. These four musicians played for 3 hours (guitar, something similar to a mandolin - 10 strings - 5 pairs, violin/fiddle, and a modified bagpipe - the bag was pumped under the arm and provided a more mellow sound perfect for a closed space). The pub was warm (read hot), there were plenty of visitors so I felt comfortable, and the music was really good. I found out later that the mandolin player is one of Scotland's finest and the guitar player is the head of music at the Inverness University (I caught the train out with him the next morning). So it wasn't just me judging the quality of the night...
The Isle of Skye
This is a very beautiful and interesting place but it has some transport challenges for those of us not driving our own vehicles. So here there was some hard decisions and quick changes to the itinerary. Also, I found out that my castle stay later in the week was going to be shorter than I thought as they had a wedding and were closed - bugger. Culrain which is north west of Inverness was not that easy to access from the west heading east and for a 1 night stay (originally 2) I decided it was probably not worth the effort. Also, I found out on booking my ferry tickets from Mallaig to Skye to Harris/Lewis to Ullapool, that Wednesday is rather like Sunday on the Outer Hebrides and I was going to have a lot of difficulty getting to Ullapool too. Basically the whole journey would end up a commute and wait scenario. So...I cut the north exploration and decided to leave Skye via the south at Kyle of Lochalsh (bus over the bridge) and stop at Plockton but more of that in a minute...
Anyway...got to Skye on a nice clear sunny day. Yep it's true! Travelled to Armadale and started the day visiting the worldwide home of the MacDonalds who claim to be the Kings of the Isles. And who am I to disagree. Their ancestral home has a ruined castle, some great gardens and walks, and a very good museum of the Isles, explaining the history of the area from ancient times when the Irish Celts settled and the Vikings and Norse settled. Walked up the 'hill' behind the gardens too and got some great views back to the mainland. There was some pretty serious errosion happening on the trail and it seems Skye was badly effected by a hurricane some time ago - hard to get an actual timeframe - got stories from a month ago to five years ago - obviously time is considered differently here.
Note - as at 1/10 - the Scots don't seem too worried about maintaining their bush walks or presenting them in a 'safe' way. Makes Caernarfon Castle look safe!...I've done quite a few walks/climbs now where the original track has erroded and everyone just picks their own way across the terrain. This means you end up with lots of worn paths across hillsides with large areas of damaged vegetation and slope. And it's very dangerous underfoot with slippery scree, boggy apths, etc.
Anyway, after my adventure climbing the hill behind the MacDonald's land I caught the bus into Portree - a very scenic journey north across the island. If you think of Skye like a left hand palm down it is easier to understand the geography. The Thumb is Raasay Island lying between Skye and the mainland and the four fingers make up the various peninsulas of the island - Portree being at the base of the index finger. So, this afternoon I took the bus on a clockwise loop of this forefinger and while it was quite overcast by then, the sun kept peeping through and giving a hint of how beautiful the island and the outlook can be. Uig (the port servicing the northern islands) itself is nothing special but the cliffs around are, as are the constant twists in the road revealing crofters cottages whitewashed and contrasting against the grey and green of the hills. And the vast outlooks across the ocean from high points of road along the cliffs. This bus trip was the easiest way of covering a lot of ground in a short period.
The islanders seem to still live a very simple life but tourism has replaced argiculture as the main industry. The EU and foot and mouth seemed to have killed agriculture. There are B&Bs and tea rooms in every village. Not sure how they make a living in winter as the place shuts from November to March. I'm guessing they hunker down and live off their overdrafts and what fishing and staple foods they've managed to store away over the summer (traditional life continues...).
There is one primary school and one high school on the island. And they are expanding the high school next year. In return for this investment the government has decreed that all the children MUST attend Portree High and may not enroll across the Kyle in Lochalsh - even though the kids in Kyleakin are 20min from the mainland and 40 min (each way) to Portree. Some of the more isolated 'fingers' mean some kids have a 3 hour round trip commute each day to school. It is amazing they do this through deep winter when it is dark the whole time and freezing.
Spoilt myself tonight with a bistro meal - very yummy vegetarian mexican - funny the things you find...there were quite a few good restaurants but as usual good food costs good money. But my little bistro managed to treat me royally with two courses and a large glass of wine for £17.75 (not hard to spend £40 on the equivalent up the street and you may remember my daily meal budget is about £10). Britain has a wonderful option with drinks - you can have the standard (125ml wine, 1 nip spirit mix, etc) for one price and you can double it for a small premium. So, a 250ml glass of wine (that's a 1/3 of a bottle) for about £2.75 - very civilised!
Sunday morning dawned bright and clear so I decided to take the bus over to Glenbrittle (the ring finger) and walk back across the pass to Sligachan and then catch the bus back along the main highway to Portree. Due to bus timetables this meant I couldn't visit Dunvegan Castle (on the big finger) but I decided the bush walk would give me more of a feel for the countryside and lifestyle. I was the only person on the morning bus and chatted happily to the bus driver (see told you they were lovely). Not sure if I've already said this - but - it seems the councils subsidise a lot of the bus services as they run out to isolated communities often empty or with 1-2 passengers. The driver explained that by November the services stop until Easter so if you live out here without transport - and some of the old people do - then you don't get out til Spring. This is where the communities become strong supporting each other I expect. And become very suspicious of 'incomers' - disgusting word but used a lot - don't hear 'newcomer' in any town or village.
The views as I headed up the mountain from Glenbrittle looking back over the sea were beautiful and the mountain ahead was full of colour also. The rocks were so dark grey they seemed a thick velvetty aubergine purple. I was watching two eagles hunting on the heather ahead of me when 2 fighter jets came screaming over the pass and the eagles disappeared for the rest of my walk.
These jets do this a lot. When I was walking around the lakes district they would scream up the valleys, on Hadrian's Wall they went over constantly....It seems the airforce use the difficult terrain for navigation and flight training. Bloody nuisance - noisy, smelly things just cause huge sound pollution and I wouldn't be surprised if they cause territorial animals (particularly birds) to leave their habitat forever.
As I reached the top of the pass (the track followed a stream/creek) the fog came sucking up the pass behind me. In fact I felt chased over the top of the hill as this dense white mass was sucked up by the wind. It started raining a little but not enough to be dangerous. As I got over the saddle and headed down the other side it continued to chase me but suddenly it seemed to turn to the right and it was facinating to watch as the winds from the western sea catch it and literally suck it up and over another peak. Which left me dry and facing a sunny day in the valley ahead.
I took lots of photos on the way down of waterfalls as the (highly eroded) track followed a beck, that became a brook, that became a stream that became a creek that became a big creek...and the waterfalls just got better and better. The water was that clear green ice colour and I DID NOT put even one finger in that water. I'm sure I would have got frost bite - it was cold enough just watching it swirl through the rock pools. Funny how a clear day can still be so cold.
When I got back to Portree I packed up and caught the bus over old ground until I crossed back to the mainland to meet the last train of the day to Plockton. This was the school bus and this driver was the one that filled me in on the new high school, etc.
Now, some of you would know the train that goes from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness. It wanders through back country and shows off beautiful lochs and mountains, seaside villages and castles. So, I was rather pleased to manage to include this when I had to change my itinerary. Got to Plockton in plenty of time to have a sticky beak around before making dinner. I was the only person at The Bunkhouse (which was the old signal box at the station) that night. Not just a single room - the whole place was mine for just £10. Bargain!
Now Plockton was the setting for the serial Hamish MacBeth and also the reality TV program Duncan's of Duncraig. Duncraig Castle sits on the shore opposite Plockton and overlooks the village. It is a picturesque village right out of 1950's and earlier. Doesn't seem to be a new place in the village and everything is just like a postcard. Again, the economy is driven by tourism but there is a small fishing fleet - pretty much descimated by over fishing by unlicensed EU operators. Sound familiar?....
This little gem was such a great surprise. Not only did I get a bonus quiet night but there was a local tradional scottish music band playing at the local pub that night. FANTASTIC. These four musicians played for 3 hours (guitar, something similar to a mandolin - 10 strings - 5 pairs, violin/fiddle, and a modified bagpipe - the bag was pumped under the arm and provided a more mellow sound perfect for a closed space). The pub was warm (read hot), there were plenty of visitors so I felt comfortable, and the music was really good. I found out later that the mandolin player is one of Scotland's finest and the guitar player is the head of music at the Inverness University (I caught the train out with him the next morning). So it wasn't just me judging the quality of the night...
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 1:47 PM 
