A week later and it would have been autumn. The drive up was smooth – avoiding school holidays made the trip less painful. The next day I woke up to wind. The tide was not perfect but I decided to give winging a go. It was a short session before the wind dropped and the tide started rushing out exposing more and more rocks. A perfect start to the week.
Next up a hike round the woods at Kinloch. Making the most of the sunshine and being outside. The scenery is just ridiculous in this part of the World.
Determined to make the most of our time and see the sights we drove across the island to have a look at the Coral beach and Dunvegan Castle. The castle was good – the beach a little underwhelming. It did however look ideal for some more winging. I headed out and got to fly around for a while. I saw a seal swimming about and not long after that the wind dropped off.
The Quirang was one of the places I have seen photos of and always wanted to go. It is a massively popular tourist spot, but again the sideways rain deterred most. The landscape is rugged and it is hard to do it justice whilst trying to avoid getting your camera soaked. This type of landscape is what Skye is all about for me.
Paddleboarding is an awesome way of seeing the scenery from a different perspective. We headed out one evening to tour around the bay for an hour. Being surrounded by mountains makes the sea feel special. As we reached the buoy a seal popped up in front of us. As we paddled back it followed us.
We took a ferry over to the Isle of Raasay where we spent the day hiking, picnicking and hiking some more before heading back to Skye. The views looking back at Skye are incredible.
On the way back we finally saw some of the famed highland cattle.
That evening I pumped up the kayak so we could go on an evening paddle round the coast looking for that seal again. We did not find him, but it was fun to paddle, then finish with a swim.
Our last full day included a failed effort to kitesurf at Talisker bay – there is something odd about the weather there. A great lunch at the Oyster Shed which is incredible. On the drive back past Loch Ainort the sun came out giving the clearest most defined rainbow I have ever seen. The camera did not really capture it. I drove a little further round the loch and the wind seemed to be strong and cross shore, with easy access to the water, I went for a final wing. A mishap with the camera meant not many shots were salvageable.
Another great trip! There is still endless amounts to do and visit on Skye, not to mentioned the surrounding areas. Winging really is the right sport for this part of the UK where there is plenty of wind, but kitesurfing is tricky due to access to the water. I look forward to the next trip.
