June 23 Speed Bonny boat ....!

In the shadow of the Black Cullins, we explored Loch Coruisk on the Isle of Skye. It was a moody, misty morning as we walked through the steep valley that cradles this loch. It’s a fresh water loch deeper than the surrounding ocean and linked to the sea by Scotland’s shortest river. The setting was absolutely breathtaking. 

Tramping over rocks and through sucking peat, bogs, rivulets and tangled heather and gorgeous flowers, kneeling to inspect wee carnivorous plants surviving on insects in the depleted soil. Eventually we got back to our landing spot before the mist engulfed us. It was a wonderful morning albeit rather precarious disembarking and reboarding our zodiacs - we were walking in great clumping gumboots over seaweed covered rocks. 

That afternoon we togged up again to visit Rubh’an Dunain and another wee loch on Skye where we wandered beside a 1000 year old man-made canal used by the Vikings to pull their boats to safety during bad weather - and to hide!

We climbed to the remnants of an Iron Age fort on the headland high above the sea - it was a shocker of a climb and a bit scary, but I made it. Hooray! In the meantime Lindsay was off looking for birds. All I can say is thank goodness for walking poles - I’d have been lost without mine. We wandered past the ruins of Neolithic long houses and tomb chambers the entrances to which were aligned with the position of the sun at the winter solstice. In the surrounding hills we saw caves dating from just after the Ice Age. It was pretty special. 

The mouth of Scotland’s shortest river. The kayakers pulled their craft up the water fall to then paddle on the loch.

Wild and beautiful 

Wild fox gloves and many more pretty flowers dotted our way.

Love these Ragged robins

Ground hugging Heather - such tangled roots.

Delicate cotton grass. 

Some, most of us stopped before we reached the end of the loch. Too far and there was a grey cloud advancing. We beat it back to the zodiacs.

Part of the canal built by the Vikings to secret their long boats for repair or because of bad weather.

Above the canals we climbed through wild yellow iris to the top of the cliff.

The sea far below the remains of an Iron Age fort on the edge of the cliff

Off to walk around the loch

One of the tomb chambers on the island. This was a cattle economy and the people lived in rock houses.

A number of the passengers collected rubbish as they went. This was stuff blown in from the sea from mainly fishing trawlers during the many huge storms.