Scotland – The Isle of Skye
Inner Hebrides, Portree, The Mysterious Quiraing and a coral beach.
Skye is sometimes referred to in Gaelic poetry and song as The Misty Isle. In one day, the landscape can take on a dozen different faces.
A short, fierce shower of rain stops as suddenly as it started and brilliant swathes of sunlight brighten the hills and paint the lochs with ribbons of silver. Then a downpour, and the hills are quickly covered in a thick rolling mist. It stops as suddenly as it started and you are dazzled by instant sunshine, with the hills emerging greener than ever.
Scotland – The Isle of Skye - Portree
The capital of the island, is a bustling little town with brightly painted houses, built around a natural harbour. If there’s anything you need you’ll probably find it here. The Tourist Office is excellent, with a good selection of walking guides for all levels, Internet access, and very helpful staff.
After a good night’s rest it's time to think about walking, one of the reasons for visiting Skye. Drive north on the A855 through the pretty village of Staffin with its great yellow carpets of buttercups. About two miles after Staffin turn left onto the narrow road that crosses the island to Uig. At the top of the escarpment there is a car park where a nearby path leads through a valley of tortured rocks, jagged pinnacles and vertical cliffs to the Quiraing.
Scotland – The Isle of Skye - The Quiraing
This is a strange land through which to wander. It’s a maze of rock pinnacles, an ancient, secretive place, formed over 150 million years ago by volcanoes, landslides and erosion. The landscape is strewn with huge boulders splashed with white lichen. Occasionally golden eagles soar over the giant rocky outcrops. A long, serrated rock pushes up from the earth like great fortress, aptly named the Prison.
A mysterious place, especially when mist drifts around the pinnacles. Even when the sun bursts through, these rocks retain their dark demeanour and a series of narrow paths lead you from one stunning view to another. As long as you don’t attempt to scale the peaks and pinnacles this walk is considered ‘moderate’ and is around five miles.
Scotland – The Isle of Skye - Lovaig Bay Walk
A coral beach in Scotland? The beaches at Lovaic Bay are like a scene from a Caribbean travel brochure. The car park is in Claigan and the walk goes through a gate leading down to the shore. Lots of rabbits and wild orchids and a lovely walk on soft green turf alongside Loch Dunvegan. The beach curves around a rocky point; the water is turquoise, changing to deep blue, and so clear the rocks below the water as sharply etched as if they were on dry land.
The brilliant white beach is not, of course, real coral, but is formed from a type of seaweed that grows in sheltered spots around the coast. Tiny fragments of this plant are washed onto the beaches and in bright sunshine are a startling white.
This is great walking country. The Tourist Office in Portree has a good selection of guide books, but may find you don't do as many walks as you had planned; there are also too many enticing narrow rural roads and tiny communities to explore.
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