Trotternish
July 1993
Exploring Skye's northern peninsular
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Day 1: Northbound
 Just
a brief pause on Rannoch Moor - time for a bite to eat and a few
snaps.
We arrived on Skye during the late afternoon, so that we
approached Uig just as the ferry was arriving from the outer
isles. We couldn't actually see the outer isles - the weather had
been cloudy all day, and now had that sort of grey gloomy feel
about it - rain on the way... |
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Day 2: A wander in the rain
We were staying in the Kilmuir district, and took the
opportunity for a "car-less" walk, heading first across the
moor to Loch Sneosdal, nestling beneath the north-facing crags of
Suidh a'Mhinn and Creag Sneosdal. We had thought of heading across the
ridge towards the Quiraing, but the lowering sky suggested otherwise,
and when the rain began, we
 changed
direction and headed for the coast via the quiet Sgeir Lang slipway at
Camus Mor.
 The
north facing cliffs, like many other parts of Trotternish, are formed
of dark columnar basalt. Much rock has fallen, making an extremely
difficult terrain for us to pick our way along. Eventually we rounded
the corner beyond the crags, where a plain stony shore marks the line
of the coast. Easy walking then took us back to the main road. |
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  Day
3: Beinn Edra
From Uig, a minor road leads over the ridge to Staffin. At the
top of the pass, there is space for a number of cars, usually well
used by visitors taking the deservedly popular path to the Quiraing,
that fantastic jumble of pinnacles beneath the crest of the ridge.
On this occasion, however, we would head southwards towards Beinn
Edra, the fine peak which overlooks Uig and Staffin.
There is a faint path to start off, but this soon peters out.
There is no problem with route finding, however - the obvious way
follows the crest of the ridge. Almost throughout its length, the
western slopes fall gradually to the sea. The eastern side is where
the drama is - gradual slips over the years have created a fine line
of crags, beneath which are the pinnacles and rocks towering over
the peaty wasteland below. The rock scenery is seen at its best in
the Quiraing and (see Skye
'94) the Old Man of Storr.
 There
are golden eagles on Skye. Knowing this, visitors will often claim
to have seen them, when what they have seen is one of the many
buzzards which
 inhabit
the island. On this occasion we were rewarded with the real thing -
I'm sure one in particular was studying us. As it soared high above
us, we could see it watching the ground below, almost like a pilot
leaning out of the window of his plane to get a better look.
The day had started out rather grey and dull, but as we made our
way back to the car, the day brightened considerably, and ended with
a fine sunny warm evening - back to Camus Mor for a few snaps... |
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  Day
4: Lealt Gorge and the Old Man of Storr
Another day of low cloud - so we started with a short walk down
to the eastern shore, where the River Lealt descends a rocky gorge
to the sea at Inver Tote. About three miles inland, below the main
Trotternish ridge, the diminutive Loch Cuithir was found to contain,
on its bed, commercial quantities of diatomite, which was brought by
narrow gauge railway to the shore here, to be processed before
shipping. The derelict workings still stand, along with an old
"Black House" which has seen recent use as a fishermen's
bothy.
  Leaving
the gorge, we travelled a little way down the road towards Portree
to take a walk up the Old Man of Storr. There is a wealth of crags
and pinnacles here; the Old Man, by far the biggest, can be seen
clearly from south of Portree. Its height can be gauged from the
miniscule figures seen (just) at its base in the misty picture.
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  Day
5: Home again
Via Rannoch Moor again, where some bright sunshine and a blue sky
made it impossible to pass without stopping for a few more
photos....
Books and Maps:-
None of the routes described above are contained in Ralph Storer's book,
nevertheless it's a superb guide to walks all over the island,
for all abilities. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Skye - lots
of short outings to fascinating little corners where you'll never see
another soul all day, as well as the "great" walks and scrambles
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; "Rannoch Moor")
; "Rannoch Moor")
; "The \"Hebridean Isles\" arrives at Uig")
; "View to Loch Sneosdal")
; "Loch Sneosdal")
; "Foxgloves beside Loch Sneosdal")
; "Plant life amid the crags of Camus Mor")
; "The rocky shore below the crags of Camus Mor")
; "Looking south along the ridge towards Beinn Edra")
; "The east side of the ridge")
; "Beinn Edra and the ridge beyond")
; "Beinn Edra - the view to Uig")
; "The view north towards the Quiraing")
; "Camus Mor")
; "Camus Mor")
; "Lealt Gorge")
; "The Old Man of Storr")
; "Fishermen, Lealt")
; "Fishermen's bothy, Lealt")
; "Bothy and diatomite works, Lealt")
; "Looking back - wild flowers, Lealt")
; "Low cloud over Loch Leathan")
; "The Old Man in the mist")
; "Rannoch Moor")
; "Rannoch Moor")
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