Apart from Orkney and the Shetlands I’ve never been too bothered about visiting the Scottish Islands. Whenever I’ve read about them there always seems to be a bit of an attitude towards visitors from ‘outside’ the islands and who wants to visit somewhere you’re not welcome? I can understand where the mindset comes from. Where I grew up the term ‘grockle’ is used for tourists to the region. But it’s a way of looking at things that I’m intolerant of. Looking down on people who have saved long and hard all year to come on holiday to where you live seems rude and unkind…never mind biting the hand that feeds and all that. So, it took the presence of a lovely friend living on Skye to get me to visit for a few days this week and I’m really glad we went because it is beautiful.
I especially loved driving down through Glen Shiel to get to Skye. It’s a landscape that puts you in your place. There’s nothing playful or funny about it. This is a very serious place to live.
At the top of this post is a quick sketch of the caravan we stayed in. Next is the Fairy Glen to be found near Uig in the northern part of the island. Little Owl searched fruitlessly for fairies there and it certainly felt like they were just around the next corner. Finally, I loved these stones hanging around the traditional thatched cottages. I assume they’re to help keep the roof on in bad weather.
