The Svalbard Triangle – Isle of Skye – Day 10

It’s hard to imagine what a trip will feel like when you book it. There are little tricks you can use to try and hold it all in your head all at once – we build spreadsheets with every transfer, stay and excursion neatly listed out, for example – but it’s difficult to imagine what it will feel like.

For instance, we knew on some level that we would want to have a relaxing couple of days after our time on Zuza – but nothing could prepare us for just how incredible that first long, hot shower would feel, and how well we’d sleep atop our thick, queen sized mattress with the rain lashing the outside of Dark Skye Cottage.

We chose wisely, it seems.

I am writing this as a reminder to myself that – as much as I may want to maximize the number of destinations we visit – I really, really enjoy being in a spot for at least four nights before moving on. It means, for instance, that we can have a relaxed start to our day.

Listening to last night’s rain, we’d wondered whether it could possibly clear off this morning – but it did, and it left us with a lovely Scottish summer’s day.

We’d bought enough provisions – bread and butter, namely – to get us through the morning, while Dark Skye Cottage had kindly included coffee, tea, olive oil and a bottle of Prosecco as part of their welcome package.

We enjoy a lingering breakfast, and stare out the beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows, and sip our hot beverages as we watch farmers and sheep dogs take the herd out to pasture:

But as much as we’re enjoying our lazy morning, we need more groceries – and we know we’ll feel gross if we just spend the entire day indoors – so we set out for the Coral Beaches, just past Dunvegan.

The Coral Beaches are perhaps 12 miles away, but due to the one-lane track takes roughly 45 minutes to drive. We take a wrong turn near the beginning – and discover that the only activity less enjoyable than driving a one-lane track is attempting to perform a U-turn on one – but we eventually make our way past Dunvegan Castle and out at the start of the Cnoc Mor a’Ghrogain trail.

The trail is a bit damp – there are puddles from last night’s rain – but the scenery is stunning. Better still, the car park seems mostly empty.

Off we go:

We’re keeping an eye out for any wildlife that might be in the area – we’ve heard rumours of seals and otters, but we know just how elusive they can be.

Roughly two-and-a-half kilometres from the start there is a small hill to climb:

And some remarkable views from atop it:

The kids have brought their sandals, so they go down to the beach to dip their toes in the water:

While I continue to snap photos:

Eventually it’s time to turn back.

Even in the short time we’ve been here, it’s gotten much busier.

You can hear every imaginable language being spoken. Isle of Skye is one of the most popular locations in Scotland to visit, with more than 650,000 annual visitors.

We’re here in the peak of summer on a weekend, so it’s no surprise that it’s busy. Usually I would prefer to visit slightly off-season – in June or September – but the kids’ school schedules leave us with very little wiggle room, particularly now that we are trying to have them attend school for more than half the year.

The return trip is uneventful:

Apart from the cows that have moved across the trail since we set out:

But we’re soon back at the car, having hiked roughly four-and-a-half kilometres in total. Just about right for a nice, relaxed day.

We then head off to the Fasgadh grocery store in Dunvegan. It’s small, but it has everything we need. We pick up supplies breakfasts and lunches as well as a chicken curry dinner, pasta bolognese, and steak and potatoes. There are some lovely restaurants in the area – and we’ll visit one or two for lunches – but we’re all ready for a bit of home cooking.

Another 45 minute drive along single-track roads. On the way, we ask whether the kids would have preferred to have been in town so that they could have spent less time on the road. In a rare unanimous decision, they both agree that they prefer being out at Dark Skye Cottage.

I make a late lunch of toasted sandwiches, then we all enjoy some reading / writing / relaxing time. The kids are thrilled beyond words to not have homework to do this time around. (The adults are pretty happy about this too.)

The gorgeous sunshine vanishes just as quickly as last night’s rain. A cloud spills down over the nearby cliffside:

I guess that’s why they call it Skye:

Dinner time – I make chicken madras with naan and couscous. The green beans are considerably better than what we can get at home, except when in season.

The kids head off to bed, and my wife and I stay up chatting late into the evening.

The gloaming falls, but it never really gets dark – not even as we close in on midnight.

But eventually even lazy days must come to an end.