Uig, Isle of Skye

A good start to the morning. Bright and clear. The Old Man of Storr flaunting himself at us above the green folds of the lower slopes. Across the Sound of Raasay the cloud played hide and seek behind the islands, and the thin blue skies lit the grey sea.

An earlier start this morning, we were away before ten thirty, but soon to stop again at the Lealt viewpoint car park to see yet another stunning waterfall.

Then on to Kilt Rock, a tartan of green grass and grey basalt rock, nearby the Mealt waterfall fed by Mealt Loch, plummeted from the top of the cliff to the rock laden coast below. This was an ideal viewpoint to spot dolphins, and we were lucky enough to see one!

Next stop Staffin Beach to find the dinosaur footprints, easier said than done, but we think we found one if not two.

Above us on the cliff edge sheep unaware of their dangerous feeding ground, nibbled away at the already short grass.

Then we returned to the coast road marvelling at the ever-changing views, before we stopped for lunch at a pretty waterside picnic spot in the mountains, where a couple of sheep stopped to stare curiously at us.

Then onwards along more and more single-track road with passing places. This was one of Skye's A roads, goodness knows what the B roads were like. The code of conduct seems to work well on the single-track roads. There are many passing places, and you pull into to them to allow traffic to pass, or so you can give way. Flashing your headlights twice means come through, one flash means thank-you. No doing this in car parks please Marge, it means something totally different. Unfortunately, it goes wrong sometimes. Just as we were approaching the port of Uig, A young woman didn't stop and neither did the van behind her. Breath in Marge. Yes, we thought he'd brush your wing mirror. Luckily no harm done.

Uig is our overnight stop. Marge once again parked in a car park at a ferry port. The ferries from here run to Tarbert and Lochmaddy. This evenings ferry was an hour late arriving, and as we sat in Marge watching the waiting vehicles windows steam up, we were glad to be settled for the night.

Up on the top road we could hear a commotion, a lorry carrying livestock was sounding its horn loud and long. It seems somebody had parked their car on one side of the hairpin bend, probably we deduced, to take a photograph of the view.

Tomorrow we look forward to discovering more of the island, but for now we will enjoy a very nice pizza from the Hebridean Snack restaurant opposite.

Rigg View Point, Isle of Skye

This morning after a night of wind and rain the weather had settled enough for us to see across Loch Carron. Whisps of cloud dodged in and out of the fir trees on the nearby mountains.

Whilst eating breakfast a tourist bus arrived, its occupants tumbling out to take in the view. One man, who may have been the tour guide, wore plus fours. John thought he would look good in a pair, and if he were a tour guide, would say when they tipped him with a large note at the end of the tour, 'Ay no chaynge in mah wee sporan'.

Today our destination was the Isle of Skye. As we approached the island, we could see a covering of cloud hovering above it. At eleven thirty we left the mainland crossing the road bridge, which replaced the ferry in 1995 and were welcomed with the arrival of the sun, but sadly it didn't last and when we stopped to view our second waterfall in two days, we had to don our waterproof jacket and trousers.

Our afternoon walk was to be up to the rock formations named The Storr, The Old Man of Storr is the highest rock at 49 metres.

Once again, we donned our waterproofs, even though it wasn't raining and began the ascent. It took us nearly an hour to reach the rocks, and were disappointed that the cloud did not lift so we could see them properly. A hazardous descent on wet stones and wetter mud took us back to Marge, happily parked at the foot of the mountain. It felt good to have made the climb, but tiring.

Just as we fired up Marge to leave the cloud cleared and towering over us were the rocks, if only this could have happened an hour ago. Never mind, at least we got to see them clearly.

A short drive took us to tonight's stop at the Rigg viewpoint car park. It was already busy with vans when we arrived, and a larger van moved up so Marge could slip in behind it. It seems Skye is a must place to visit in these parts, there are vans everywhere.

This evening the weather allows us a view across the sound of Raasay to the islands of Raasay and Rona, with the Cuillins down to our right. Tomorrows weather is not looking too good, but from Tuesday it should settle down. Never the less we will enjoy exploring the island.

Stromeferry

We read on the BBC news this morning that motorhomes in Scotland, particularly on the North Coast 500 route are becoming a problem. The main issue being the emptying of cassette toilets in inappropriate places. It seems not everybody has a plan in place like the practical Hamptons. We personally have seen no evidence so far of this sort of behaviour. As usual, it is a case of judging the actions of the many, by the actions of a few.

As we left this morning we passed by RAF Kinloss. Right by the perimeter fence was a Nimrod, no longer flying now.

When John was a young man working as a Radio Technician for the MOD, he used to repair the communication equipment on these planes, a main stay of our anti-submarine force during the Cold War.

Our onward route took us to Inverness Castle, the official start to the north coast 500 route. Social distancing measures made it difficult to stop, but Marge likes to do things right, and she spotted a space right opposite the castle and promptly nipped in.

Before leaving Inverness, we were conscious that we may not be able to obtain water or cheap diesel for a while, so once again Marge was directed to Asda. We were also finding it difficult to by a cylinder of camping gas, a problem solved by a trip to Go Outdoors.

All done, we set off to our first stop the Rogie Falls on the black water. The weather hadn't been so great all day, but upon our arrival here the shone broke through and we took a pleasant, if muddy walk to the falls.

The churning brown foaming water was very impressive as it bounced over the rocks, washing the stones as it tumbled downstream. Patches of gold from the sunlight lit the river, and a rainbow appeared in the fine mist of water hovering over the rocks. The scene was spectacular, unlike the return walk back to Marge, the mud sucking at our boots.

We were very close to our planned overnight stop, where there was an even more fantastic waterfall, but the parking area did not take our fancy, and we had a bad feeling about the place, so with the light fading we drove on for about another hour, through the low cloud, rain and bleakness that is the highlands of Scotland on a bad day in September. All around we could see the shrouded silhouettes of the mountains. The roads became narrow, but with plenty of passing places, and we pressed on. Then. Oh god Marge, single track roads are one thing, a single, track tunnel another, go careful!

At last the cloud lifted a little, and the rain eased slightly, and then we were beside Loch Carron, our stop for tonight. What a journey. Unfortunately, the view is very limited due to the weather, but we hope in the morning we will be able to see across the loch. The forecast tomorrow is not great, there is a yellow weather warning in place for heavy rain tonight and tomorrow in this area. We the weather is fantastic at home, but hey, we're on a road trip with Marge, and it's all part of the journey.

Tomorrow, we will cross the road bridge to the Isle of Skye, where we may spend a few days. Both of us and Marge could do with a break from travelling.