Mon
We were up at 7am and quite quickly packed up. We spoke to Jon at 9am to check we had done everything right regarding recycling and such then set off to Skye. The journey was over 7hrs driving and tbh, though it was beautifully scenic... it was interminable. I tried the BBC Sounds app and we found an adaptation of A Room With a View. It was brill. It was the full novel; Mark has read it but I haven't (I've just watched the film hundreds of times!). It made such a difference.
Even when we got onto Skye, it was still over 1hr 30mins drive to get to Staffin.
We finally arrived about 5.30pm. It was an impressive spot right by the beach and the sound of the waves on the shore was lovely.
We had some tea and then went out to explore the beach. I had assumed that we would be able to get down onto the beach from looking at the photos and maps. We were only meters from the shore, but there was a steep bank that was deep in brambles. To one side of the garden was a barbed wire fence, that we would find out later was entirely ineffective at keeping the sheep out, but it was quite effective at keeping us from getting down. We walked out the drive and found a gate leading to the beach, but into a really rocky and swampy section. Everyone else bounded off towards the pebbly beach that was back 20m or so beyond the line of our house. There were pools of stagnant sea water in amongst the rock. It looked like the dead marshes!
I just hated the smell and how difficult it was and I think I was thrown having had such a different idea of how it would be. I felt responsible that I had booked this place and it just wasn't right. How on earth were we going to do this each day? I was imagining trying to bring all our stuff across. Even when we got to the pebble beach there was a lot of sheep poop and midges. I didn't like it at all and I could feel a panic attack rising. I wanted to go back. I started back and in my head I was just looking down at all this mess and saying "I hate this, it's horrible" and started to feel my heart racing and breathing quickening. I was trying really hard to be mindful and to keep calm. Mark didn't realise and was taking photos of me and I was just gibbering really.
I was so glad to get back to the house. Mark was being all chipper about it saying there were lovely beaches around the corner, but I did feel quite dismal. The house was really neat and tidy, but it was huge and everything was grey and felt cold. I started to think that I had made a huge mistake in booking the place. The view was lovely, but I was not in a positive frame of mind.
Tues
Mark was up early and did one of his runs that he had planned out. I struggled to get out of bed. I felt so lethargic and couldn't imagine a plan for the day. I just had no idea what we were going to do and no energy to figure it out. I eventually forced myself up, just for breakfast if nothing else. Woo had out her binoculars and was having a jolly good peep at some surfers on the beach. I couldn't believe that anyone could surf there, but they were certainly giving it a go.
Mark returned and sorted out a plan for us. We would drive around to the nearby Staffin beach (we were looking out over Staffin Bay) and do some snorkelling. When Mark had suggested bringing the flippers and masks I was sceptical but it looked so clear and calm that I certainly was happy to go with it.
We walked down to the beach first to check it out. There aren't many sandy beaches on Skye. But this one was less than 2 minutes drive around the corner. It would be pretty hard to get round there on foot with all the wetsuits and stuff.
The beach was on the tourist route as being a place where there were some quite significant dinosaur footprints. We struggled to find a whole specimen but I found this one which I think was half a print.
We went back up to the car and got changed into wetsuits.
The water was really calm and clear but soooo chilly!!! It was probably about 10degC and with the warm air temperature of nearly 20degC it was quite a contrast. We had been sweating getting into our suits, but they were entirely necessary. We popped on the flippers and snorkels and swam out. It was freezing on the face. Swimming with hands behind your back helped stop the fingers freezing. We swam out to deeper water, there were clumps of kelp that were huge. They were freaky! They moved so slowly. Bunnykins started to freak out and tbh I was on her wavelength! I suggested that she and I swam to shallower waters. We had a lovely play in the water trying to float. Mark and Woo enjoyed their longer swim and saw quite a few fish.
Mark went out to the local shops to see what he could get. He came back and we had lunch. He had brought some local Scottish delicacies including iron bru, shortbread and oatcakes.
After lunch we all wanted to go back to Staffin Beach. We took the blanket, some treats and the drawing stuff.
This was such a lovely day. I did feel really uplifted by the day and realised that all my worries of the day before were ridiculous. It is hard sometimes to see that when you are in the middle of these feelings though.
We came home and had tea. I was starting to feel quite dodgy though in my stomach. I think it was the lentil soup I had at lunch, but I was so uncomfortable. I thought I might be sick. I slept surprisingly well, but with chaotic, busy, people filled dreams all night.
Wed
We were up promptly. The plan was to drive up to the Quaraigs. Mark had run up that way previously. We started with some pancakes. We had minimal toppings so Bunnykins tried some marshmallows and was pleased with the result.
We drove to the upper car park. I didn't particularly enjoy the ride. It was really steep and a single track road with passing places.
As we were quite early, the path was fairly quiet heading out. The views were spectacular, but the path was at times quite narrow and along a cliff face.
We got up to this point between two rock formations called the needle and the prison.
TBH I wasn't feeling great still, I was pretty low on energy, I was struggling to eat much still.
On our way back down from here, Bunnykins had a nasty slip and cut her elbow as she landed. Woo was really lovely with her as I got the first aid kit out. Bunnykins was so brave. We got her patched up and carried on. We decided to take the shorter route to the lower car park. The trail behind us was now quite busy with people and we didn't fancy having to pass other people on the narrow high pathways. Mark volunteered to run back up to get the car when we reached the lower car park. So we set off. It was a good choice as when we veered off we didn't meet anyone else.
Mark stripped down to his tron pants and scooted up the hill. We sat watching him with the binoculars...really impressed with how quickly he got up there.
We drove home and had some lunch. After lunch we went down to the beach. As I was still feeling rough I had volunteered to stay on the beach with the stuff...what a hardship to have to lay out in the sun. Mark and Woo wanted to go off on an exploration out into the bay. I kept my eye on Bunnykins who wanted to play on the body board in the shallows.
There was a peculiar sea mist that blew in a few times. It certainly gave the beach an eerie air, while being very pretty.
The water was so inviting, I thought I would have a little snorkel.
The mist was coming in again, quite thick. We got warm and dry and called it a day.
We went home to get showered. I knew that coming on this holiday we wouldn't be eating out, but nearby was a really great looking restaurant that I wanted to try. We had managed to get a table booked. We arrived and sat out for a drink, but it was a midge fest really. So went in promptly.
The food was really delicious. But what was particularly impressive was Bunnykins. When I had looked this place up, there had been an a'la carte menu. On the day it turned out it was a menu with only 3 choices per course, only one being veggie. Bunnykins was OK with the salad starter and happy with her pudding choice, but the only main for her was Mushroom Quinoa. I don't think it has come up...but Bunnykins has one natural enemy foodwise...mushrooms (she is not keen on their textural cousins of the aubergine either). We suggested that she had one night of being a pescatarian... but she was adamant that she wouldn't compromise her vegetarian principles. But what was most impressive was that she ordered the mushroom dish and ate it - really in order that we could all enjoy the evening. She didn't say this, but what I mean is that at 10 years old, she could have kicked off. She didn't. She was really grown up about it. She tucked in heartily to the bread offered and she picked at her main and left some of it, but she didn't kick off and she was infact delightful company. It won't mean much if you're not a parent, but honestly sometimes, your kid NOT kicking off is something to be massively chuffed with.
The pudding choice was a good one from Bobs...
I drove us back. As we were getting in the car, for some reason the conversation was about what a proctologist was. Woo was disgusted, but we fell about when her comment was..."I wouldn't want to look at that anyway...nevermind when it's gone wrong!".
As we got home the sky was beautiful.
That evening, while we sat looking at the view I saw seals in the bay.
Thurs
Storm Ellen passed over us in the night, apparently hitting us at 4am. We didn't really feel much of an effect, but did hear heavy rain as we woke. Mark decided to have a run to see the nearby waterfall (which we would revisit as TeamChallis later).
While he was out, I had a go at a longer yoga session. It was only when I took a selfie that I realised I had an audience.
It ended up being a lazy start. I read my book a while - I had some big thoughts - but given how long this post is already I wont enlarge on them now.
We played a game of Luxor and then had lunch.
The plan was to drive to Portree, which is the nearest town on the main road. We would go to the Co-Op to get some food for the rest of the stay, and then visit a few view points on the return home. On the way to Portree the road was single track for a short way. We stopped at a passing point as there had been a mishap ahead - a car had clearly tried to move off the road and ended up in the ditch. The guy and a couple in the car behind were trying to push it out of the ditch. Mark got out to help push and I jumped into the driver seat. I didn't want to leave the girls in the car, as we were up by the side of the road and cars were still pushing past. If someone had knocked our car - it would have gone into the lake. Social distancing is important, but it's about risk and if someone needs help - then I think it's important to help.
We stopped at the Old Man of Stor car park on the way back. It was really busy though and we decided it was sensible to just carry on. We stopped at the same waterfall that Mark had ran to in the morning. We had a hot chocolate and snacks in the car then had a wander around.
We got home then walked to other bit of Staffin beach. It is closer to us than the beach we had been going to. Honour wanted to body board but it was too windy and rocky. We did some paddling. Woo created a rock throwing game and some mazes.
We went back and had tea. Woo did some painting. I saw seals again, this time Woo and Mark saw it too. After the girls were gone to bed, Mark and I saw one really close to the shore and a pair further out.
Fri
We had decided the night previous that we would get up early and try again with the Old Man of Stor walk as it looked like a decent circular route and not too far from where we were staying. It is a beautiful island, but I do get rather tense on the winding single track roads.
We arrived and the car park was fairly empty; there were just a few hardy looking souls who were probably setting off on much longer routes. Before we set off, it had been drizzling. It stopped when we arrived. Then as soon as we were 50m up the path, it started raining again...
I was impressed with the girls; they didn't complain about the rain though they were clearly not that impressed.
The views were beautiful, but it was easy to see how you could not enjoy an entirely uphill route in the driving drizzle.
The path was being improved; there was a digger up the hill in an impressively precarious position. We were routed off into a side path that was a path, but was pretty rocky and slippy. Being first up the hill we didn't have to worry about meeting people coming the other way. Mark and Woo bounded off. Bunnykins and I eventually made it to the rock they had found.
Time for snacks and hot chocolate.
The rain had stopped and people were starting to come up the hill behind us. I think we were sat in the way of most people's view of the Old Man, so people were coming up the path and trying to take their holiday snaps with us unfortunately cluttering the background. Woo kept yelling and waving hello to everyone which I am sure made us even more popular.
Bunnykins and I didn't want to go up any higher. I felt I had a good view of the Old Man already; I had no need to get right in his chops. But Woo and Mark scrambled up. Well rather Woo scrambled up and Mark felt it the only responsible thing to do to follow her.
Bunnykins was intrigued by a lake and headed off for that.
The top person in the photo below is Woo. As they turned to come down they realised how friable the ground was. Big rocks were sliding underfoot. They ended up bum shuffling much of the way down!
Bunnykins and I went to have a look at her lake and take a few pictures. I was of course appreciating the sequined tam'o'shanter that she had chosen to style her walking outfit with.
The adventurers eventually made it down.
We started to come down. It was getting really busy on the paths. Generally people were being sensible with passing on the paths, but I was really glad we had chosen to be early.
We went back to the house for lunch. The sun was now firmly out so we packed up the car to go down to Staffin beach again. Our little favourite corner was free, the beach was really quite empty. I thought we would do something similar to before where Mark and Woo could go off with their snorkelling exploration, while I kept an eye on Bunnykins playing. Then when Mark was back, I would go out for a snorkel.
Me going in.
Bunnykins wanted to put on her flippers, which somehow took forever.
Then I was able to set off. The water was so cold again. Woo joined me and we headed out to a deeper section where I did managed to see some fish though stayed away from the kelp.
I didn't realised that Bunnykins was following us out.
We got dried up and then had some hot chocolate to try and warm up. But the sun had gone in so we didn't stay too long after that.
We got home and played some games. Bit of trivial pursuit (Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter) and then we played Luxor.
Sat
I had forgotten to set an alarm, but fortunately we didn't sleep in too long. We got packed up and were away by 9am.
The first part of the journey was really damp. Each waterfall we passed also was a raging white water.
It was a long drive, over 7 hours. The girls have their video screens in the back. Mark and I listened to some BBC Sounds dramas; we went for a radio play of Rebecca (Daphne de Maurier) and then a reading of Anna Karenina...that was long!! We haven't even finished it, so it served us well.
We weren't long off the M6 to our place. The satnav turned out to be pretty accurate, but just before the cottage we were not sure if we had passed it. We pulled over and looked a bit confused. Then just by the car window was a face I recognised from his profile picture. It was a farmer - David - who was our host.
It was lovely to stop driving and even more lovely to be at this cottage which was just so cosy and welcoming. They had left us wine, chocolates, eggs, milk, bread and coffee. There were fresh flowers in the rooms and everything was just so beautiful. The girls settled in quickly to their room.
There is a pretty little garden with a stream at the end. We can't get down to it, but it sounded beautiful.
Mark went off to the Sainsbury's at Penrith which was just 20 minutes away. I made tea for us.
After tea we enjoyed some of the treats that our hosts had left for us, I got the fire going and we sat and made a plan for our stay. Bunnykins spotted some stand up paddle boarding, which sounded like a great idea. We decided that on Sunday we would walk to Pooley Bridge. We have three full days in total. Not sure what we will do, as I think the weather on Tuesday will be dreadful and Woo has quite a gammy toe, so we'll see.
After the girls went to bed, Mark and I flomped out on the sofa and watched a favourite of ours on the smart tv.
Room with a view...
Sun
We woke up in a leisurely way. Well I did. Mark was up at who-knows-when going for a run. He made us pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We got ready and walked out to Pooley Bridge. It was a 3.5km walk. Some of it through some fields that were pretty deep in sheep poo leading to Woo to suggest we might be heading to Pooperly Bridge...which sounded quite like it.
We walked over the pedestrian bridge and saw the construction of the new road bridge (being rebuilt after the 2015 floods). We got a table at a cafe overlooking the river. No-one was ready for lunch, but we were all OK with a cream tea.
We had a look around the town and then a short walk around the lake.
Before starting our walk home. It certainly was sunshine and showers - bright one minute and pouring down the next.
In the cafe we had talked about how I almost always do the same selfie face: left side to camera, look up, cheeky, toothy grin. Woo also has a serene "photo face" that is lovely. Mark does a big toothy smile. But Bunnykins shakes her mental magic 8 ball and sees what comes up...
We got back home and lit the fire to dry out the shoes. We decided to watch a film - which was a great Studio Gibli one called "Mary and the Witches Flower" I think. I caught up on loads of blogging for the week in Skye.
It had been a pretty epic week in Skye and an epic blog with alot of photos.
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