On the Isle of Skye

Making the best of conditions, necessitated an early start from the loft. There was no getting away from the showers, but an early morning lull in the wind gave hope of a paddleboarding adventure, so as the day grew light, we crossed the famous bridge onto Skye.

To increase our odds of a sheltered paddle, we had picked a little bay that was littered with small islands near the shepherd's settlement of Heast. It was a long way down a very narrow road, but predictable, we met no one!

The road ended at the sea. The tide was still coming in, the bay was almost full and we were as sheltered as anywhere on the entire Isle. We soon had the boards pumped up and were on our way in a light drizzle on Loch An Eilean.

We stuck to the coast to begin with, before venturing across to the little island of Eilean Heast. Even though the tide was almost high, there was a significant flow over water being sucked between the island and the mainland and we had to paddle hard to ferry glide across. 

Given the conditions, we didn't want to push our luck by taking on a circumnavigation of the island and instead, returned to the shelter of the van.

We were soon warmed up by freshly brewed coffee and sat in the back watching the birds, view and tide ebb away.

The sun wasn't due back until later in the afternoon, so we drove north on a touristic trip to Plockton. At the Old Man of Storr, there was only a bleak, misty and wet hike, so having not even had a glimpse of the famous rock pillar we returned to Portree to have a look around.

Maybe it's just a Scottish weather thing, or maybe it's been inspired by recent regulations, but the Hotel has had a great idea for outside seating - your own private greenhouse!

It was a long way to drive, on another small winding road, but in the afternoon we went searching for the infamous 'white sand beaches' that I have heard exist up in the Highlands and Islands. When the tarmac ran out, we set off on foot...

And just a short distance from the most southerly point on the Isle of Skye, we found what we were looking for!

We'd timed it well enough for it to be the brightest part of the day and although the visual temptation was very high, we decided not to go for a swim!

The bay was just sheltered from the northerly winds and the colour of the water was magical.

We had the whole place to ourselves for an hour or so before some other walkers arrived (which really put an end to the swimming discussion) and we began the trek back to the van. It was dark by the time we arrived back at the loft and we were happy to get inside for some good food and sofa time.