11:10pm, Cuil-Lodge, Uig
Fierce wind and rain rule the skies tonight… Slept til 8:30am today, and enjoyed a 9am breakfast of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (Wendy), and smoked haddock with poached eggs and tomatoes (Matt). This B&B gives us a menu to select from the previous evening, along with times of 7:45, 8:30, 9am to choose.
Wendy's salmon & scrambled eggs, my haddock and poached egg...
The skies were grey, and columns of mist traveled through the air. The forecast today was dreadful. Rain and wind all day. We decided to take advantage of the relatively gentle conditions this morning to visit the Fairy Glen, a bizarrely warped grassy area outside of Uig.
There is no sign for the street leading to Fairy Glen, which explains why I missed it 8 years ago. Apparently locals don't want masses of people (and buses) converging there. We eventually found the right spot, and wandered around this enchanted land. Plenty of sheep added to the atmosphere. Wendy practiced her herding skills.
There was a little pond...
We wandered up the grassy slopes, in the drizzle...
...and reached a grassy area decorated with rocks...
...and found some sheep...
Wendy decides to chop some grass, looking for rupees, Zelda style...
Bizarre rippled mounds of grass...
Some sheep on the right...
I climb up a rocky tower. King of the Fairies!
Wendy herds some sheep...
We loved exploring the Fairy Glen. Our car is parked on the street side below...
The weather maintained it's low intensity wind/rain, and we noticed gushing waterfalls in the distant mountains.
Making our way back to the car...
Wendy hung out with the sheep, while I got my DSLR from the car (rain had let up), and took pics of an old rock wall...
Awesome moss on the rock wall...
Glad for the brief let up of precipitation, to capture some great photos...
Wendy herds more sheep. One of the sheep repeatedly called my name, "Maaaahhhht". I thought it was Wendy playing around, but it really was a sheep...
After ~1.5hrs in this magical place, we returned to the B&B to contemplate our next plans. The rain was increasing, and we ruled out any more hikes today. After drinking hot water and chocolate, and resting on the floor for an hour, we decided there was enough visibility to explore some of Skye in the rain.
We headed north up the Trotternish Peninsula, and caught some subdued views to the sea and shoreline. Upon reaching the ruins of Duntun Castle, we turned back, and drove 25 minutes to a pottery studio in Edinbane. Wendy found some new ideas for her pottery class. Everything was priced really expensive there.
Duntun Castle ruins ahead...
It was too rainy to go explore the ruins, so we drove to a town known for its pottery...
Then we headed in to Portree. All the while, the wind and rain were intensifying. We planned to grab an early dinner so we could spend the evening planning the rest of the trip and going to bed early. After browsing through shops, we arrived at Café Carriba (based on Wendy's research), only to find they didn't serve dinner until 6pm. It was 4:45pm. We wandered around downtown Portree in the pouring horizontal rain, but couldn't find a place that opened before 5:30pm.
Frustrated, and nearly soaked to the bone, we decided to run some errands (fill up on gas, hit an ATM), and wait in the car til 6pm. So much for getting back to the B&B early... Apparently Skye has had unusually sunny weather all summer, until a couple weeks ago. People here are used to the rain, which is easily apparent based on the long rain jackets, and full body rain-proof jumper suits we've seen on local pedestrians and service men. The rain was surely putting a damper on our day, but at least we got in some shopping and arts.
Impressive home-made soaps. Wendy bought some...
Café Carriba had some great offerings. We had bread with olive oil and dukkah (gound nuts/seeds/spices), which was excellent. Wendy ordered a Moroccan sweet potato tangine, and I ordered a crab and crayfish risotto. Quite enjoyable.
I braved the elements after dinner, running back to the car to pick up Wendy at the café. We arrived back in Uig ~7:30pm, and were surprised to see a break in the clouds. We even saw a couple patches of blue sky, and sunlit clouds!
But within an hour, the rain was back. The wind has been intensifying all night, and it's supposed to rain into the afternoon tomorrow.
We've been researching for the rest of our trip. Tomorrow night we won't have internet. We've planned to ferry out to the Isles of Harris/Lewis, and need to find some B&Bs. Hopefully I get some email responses tomorrow morning. I elected the standard full Scottish breakfast at 9am tomorrow. No need to get up extra early if it's just going to rain all day.