Over The Hill

It was probably too much to expect that the weather would be suitable for high-level walks every day of our week on Skye. We were exceedingly lucky to get great weather for our day on Sgurr nan Eag, and to a lesser degree, for our day on Glamaig. As for the other three days on which we planned to walk, the weather was a mixture of heavy rain, very low cloud base, and some strong winds, therefore we switched to "plan B", low level coastal walks. Low in level, but not low in stature as these walks had a great deal of interesting locations of historical significance to ensure plenty of meaningful discussions and conjectures around the sites the places we visited.

Sunday 18^th - Rubha an Dunain - 17Kms

Accessible directly from the Glen Brittle Memorial Hut this was a great walk around the craggy shores of Loch Brittle and onto the headland that is Rubha an Dunain. Here, alongside the fresh-water loch, Loch na h-Airde, you are able to explore an intact neolithic burial chamber and to examine the intricate stone-work that holds the man-made canal which gives access from Soay Sound into Loch na h-Airde. Above the headland stands a large stone wall, the remains of a Dun which was situated on the headland, surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Slightly further inland, there is a reasonably sized cave, and beyond that the remains of a settlement. Rhundunan, the largest of the buildings still standing was the family seat of the MacAskills until the area was cleared in the nineteenth century.

Tuesday 20^th - Talisker Bay - 10Kms

It was a wet and miserable day for this walk, matched only by the wet and boggy ground en route to Dun Sleadale Broch and Preshal Beg. The broch sits atop a crag at the centre of a grassy bowl surrounded by low hills. Further along the lies Preshal Beg, a 345m conical hill the main feature of which is a mass of upright rectangular pillars that just seem to split and stand away from the main rock face. Walking below these in the thick mist we had was a rather eerie experience, and the fact that you were walking on rock that had previously stood as pillars which had then collapsed just added to the sense of unease. From Preshal Beg, we joined the coastline and headed north towards Talisker Bay. The cliff along this stretch reach a height of 280m, and such was the mist that we only had fleeting glimpses of the see, 280m below.

Wednesday 21^st - Oronsay & Dunvegan - 10Kms

I have no route map for today, as this was walk/drive sort of day - our main objective was to visit Oronsay, which can only be accessed at low tide, and so the day was built around tide time-tables. We crossed the short causeway and had ourselves some fun rummaging along the shore and scrambling over some cliffs to try and gain access to a rather large cave along the shoreline. We managed to get close to the opening, but the rising swell and some very slippery rock prevented us actually entering the cave, but it was fun all the same. A wander along the cliff tops made us aware of just how they are being eroded, with large areas where the whole cliff top is just waiting to drop away. At one point along the cliffs there is Oronsay's own version of Durdle Door, where a complete arch has been formed by cliff erosion. (A certain member of our group was all for climbing down for a closer inspection - but he was out-voted 3-1). Although he did get his own back by making us cross, what to me was a very narrow, grassy ridge with a bit of a drop into the sea below. It made me realise I need some more tightrope practice before my next visit to Skye. We rounded of the day exploring a strip of coastline just beyond Dunvegan Castle where we had some lovely views across the inlets as the evening drew in with the skies clearing, raising our anticipation of good weather for the following day - Thursday - which it was as you will see from the Sgurr nan Eag report.

Three days during which we had a glimpse of what Skye has to offer apart from the Cullins, and in my humble opinion, it has plenty. These were thoroughly enjoyable days - in wonderful company - Thanks All