A few months ago I had call to visit the Isle of Skye for a couple of days. I have travelled acros Skye countless times but rarely spent more than a couple of hours exploring places such as Portree where we would often stop for a bite to eat before returning to our journey. This time my destination was the island itself so I had plenty of time to look around.
One place I was keen to visit was the Old Man Of Storr on the Trotternish peninsula. Unfortunately the weather was poor and although it was just a few minutes drive from our route the time just flew by and before I knew it we had to be moving on. The truth is, is that when I am taking photographs my mind becomes so involved in the task at hand that time is something of an unknown concept to me. Minutes are important as often the light is only right for a short space of time but adding those minutes up into hours is something altogether different and what seems like a small collection of minutes soon amounts to a couple of hours. Anyway, I managed to get a few half decent photographs of the Old Man and below is one of them.
When I returned home I was rather annoyed at the dangerous driving of many tourists and I contemplated the trouble that visitors, particullarly to this part of Scotland, often find themselves in. I decided that I would write a few blogs about walking and climbing in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland and below is just one of the articles I wrote:
Mountaineering On The Isle Of Skye
Are you searching for somewhere different for your annual vacation? Have you thought about visiting Scotland? Have you ever had a vacation on a remote island? In the following article I discuss the Isle of Skye situated off the west coast of Scotland.
The stunningly beautiful island of Skye in the Inner Hebrides is a very popular destination for vacations. Usually associated with older tourists the island is renowned the world over for it’s most amazing landscape and the most hard to miss aspect is the imposing sight of the Black Cuillins.
The Black Cuillins are a range of mountains which feature rocks from all 3 geological periods; Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous, making the mountains greatly popular with both geologists and folk on the lookout for fossils and hikers, ramblers, mountain climbers, hill-walkers.
The summits of Am Basteir and Sgurr nan Gillean supply the finest vistas. Skye’s easiest munro summit to conquer (a munro is a Scottish mountain which is more than three thousand feet) is Bruach na Frithe. The most difficult is Basteir Tooth. Sgurr Beag is another easy climb however you might find Sgurr Na h-Uarma a more moderate rockclimb.
The majority of hill walkers and mountain climbers set off from Sligachan because it is about 3km from there to the Cuillins.
Safety In The Cuillins
Alarmingly, every year, far too many tourists (including a fair few seasoned mountain climbers) discover themselves in difficulty. The Isle of Skye weather can change in the blink of an eye, one moment the sun is shining in a clear sky and the next you can find yourself facing icy winds.
The one thing which is vital to do, is to be aware of the local weather forecast. This information is available at Skye’s Tourist Information Centres. These are located in the following sites: 2 Lochside in Dunvegan, the car park in Broadford and Bayfield Road in Portree.
The TICs produce a useful brochure explaining safety procedures to take when in the Cuillins which is worthwhile filling out. it is very easy to see because it is coloured orange. When you have filled in all the boxes on the form leave it in the safe hands of a person who is responsible who will not be going with you on the trip.
Isle Of Skye Accommodation
As earlier mentioned the island is incredibly popular so finding Skye bed and breakfast is very difficult during the summer season. If you like the idea of a climbing vacation it is vitally important that you book your Isle of Skye bed & breakfast as early as possible.