In the summer of 2018 I was going through a phase of unemployment, but I had a little bit of money and thought why not use this time to take a trip? So after seeing my mom in Scotland I decided to drive over to the Isle of Skye, all the way in the west of Scotland for some solo camping and hiking!
I drove over to Dunvegan at the western end of the Isle and settled on a beautiful spot, where I pitched my tent and looked over the water. The sun was even coming through, truly a rare day in Scotland! The unfortunate thing was that it was August and therefore midge season. If you don't know what midges are then you are a lucky person. These tiny tiny flies get through almost anything, sit on you by the hundreds and proceed to sting you relentlessly. They are worse than mosquitos! The only things that help are rain, wind or covering yourself in a mosquito net...
The next day the weather was decidedly more Scottish (aka rainy) but I decided that one must push through these uncomfortable things in life and I set out to climb a route over the McLeods Tables, supposedly a lovely route.
The scenery was amazing, despite the rain. After about 24km I was happy to be back in the car though as I was soaked through and my feet sore. I warmed myself up with a lovely cup of tea in the tent and then managed to pass out and sleep a solid two hours haha.
The next morning I saw the weather for Dunvegan was still pretty horrible, while in the southern parts better weather was predicted. So I packed everything up and heading for Glenbrittle in the Cuilin mountains. I stopped over by the Fairy Pools and did a hike there that left me only slightly wet with some showers at the end. At the beginning of the fairy pools there were quite some tourists, but you leave more behind with every step you take. Some even wore flipflops, how anyone would think that is a great choice for shoes in Scotland in the mountains will always be a mystery to me!
I got to the campsite in Glenbrittle where I talked to some guys who were walking the isle of Skye fully packed with gear, pretty impressive! The next day I decided to go into the mountains to visit Loch Coir' a 'Ghrunnda (of which I still don't know how to pronounce it) It was a bit difficult to find my way using the guide book I had. Particularly when it said to turn left at ' a funnily shaped boulder' when there were literally hundreds of boulders. But I managed to find my way and had this beautiful view as a reward!
The next day I decided I needed company, internet and a breakfast that was not a heated tin of mushroom soup so headed to Portree for an insane breakfast: full English of course! Then I hurried over to the Old Man of Storr because low and behold! The sun had come out!
The Old Man of Storr is a protruding rock that offers a nice hike as well around it and beautiful views on a clear day (though those are rare)
I have to admit that the views over the Isle of Skye are amongst some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. That night I went back to Portree for some music and drinks in a local pub. Managed to hitch a ride back to the campsite, only to miss the campsite in the dark and making it a big walk home haha. The next morning not only had it become very stormy so I spent more time with my tent stuck to my face than actually sleeping. The midges had also gotten to me to the point where my hands resembled bread with raisins in them instead of hands. I decided it was time to return to a midge free world.... However, I will definitely be back one day as Skye is amazing! So much beauty and such amazing landscape!
