Skye - Day 2 AM

Another long day out planned - including climbing up to The Old Man of Storr - plus we're staying away for the night at a little B&B in a place called Flashader (I know, I keep sing the Black Adder theme too).

Breakfast was much the same at the hotel although wary of the cold food we persuaded them to bring the drinks after our meal so at least they were hot.

With one suitcase packed for overnight and rainy essentials we stopped at Broadford's only supermarket - a very nice Co-Op and stocked up with wine and bread/cheese which we decided would do for our evening meal, especially if we were back late from watching a sunset.

Once again we were passing through Sligachan so we stopped again at the little bridge as the weather was considerably better than the other day.  There was a tent pitched just by the water's edge which surprised us seeing as how boggy the whole area was.

These are the Cuillin Hills I photographed through the cloud on our aborted trip to the Fairy Pools yesterday.

This time we were also able to wander up to the statue and learn a little about the figures.

They are of the Cuillin's pioneer climbers Norman Collie, an eminent scientist and travelled mountaineer and local man John Mackenzie, a Gaelic speaking crofter and the first British mountain guide qualified to Alpine Standard.  As a teenager Mackenzie worked as a pony man for the Sligachan Hotel helping tourists visit a local loch.  It's believed he first climbed Sgùrr nan Gillean (the left of the two triangular hills) when he was 10 (1867).  His partnership with Collie began some 20 years later and crossed the social class divide which was unusual in those times.  Neither married and their close friendship forged by a mutual love of climbing the local area continued almost until Mackenzie's death in 1933.  Collie died 10 years later and is buried alongside his friend at Struan on the NW tip of Skye.

Continuing North along the main A87 we saw a huge bird take off from a fencepost just by us and quickly realised it was a Golden Eagle - how superb.  Obviously I couldn't photograph it as I was driving and besides that I would have been too slow, as always.  So here's one from the internet to remind us of the magnificent bird. 

We drove straight through Portree and on the other side, with good views of the Old Man in the distance, although the weather left much to be desired.  

We waited an age for the light to move onto the rock, but the cloud stayed resolutely still.

I'd made the mistake of looking at other photos taken on Skye and whilst I managed to find the same elements; boats, fence post, island and so on, as always I seem to be missing the vital factor in all good photography - good light.  Plus wrong angle, limited by lenses etc etc

Below the Old Man there is a very good car park with reasonable charges and welcome toilet facilities.  The climb is estimated at 1 1/2 to 2 hours but given that I'm carrying about 6kg on my back (I'd only planned to take one camera and lens but of course it's the broken one so now I need to take both the others) I think we'll be considerably slower, if we can manage it.

It doesn't look far, does it?

The trail started with a steep climb up from the car park and then the track was quite good and man-made.  There was a choice of routes and, as per usual, Ian and I had completely different ideas; but I bowed to his superior navigating skills and we set off to the left.  After a little while I really couldn't see how the path wasn't going to take us miles out of our way so we retraced our steps and started again. The views were beautiful but I tried to limit myself as I tend to take the same shots going up and then again coming down.

The terrain changed quite a bit, sometimes very easy level walking and others hard uphill over rough ground but I stayed determined to carry the backpack.  I really don't see why Ian should ache just because I want so much equipment with me.

As usual when we're walking/climbing, the younger/fitter/sillier people pass us easily but we plod on.  There was another couple, quite young, who seemed to have to stop as frequently as we did which made a nice change and I began to think "well if she can make it, so can I" - TBH I'm not sure Ian thought much passed the skin tight lilac leggings she was wearing! 

This is what happens when you use a wide angle lens!

I think I took this photo about 1/3rd of the way up and it shows just where we're heading.  The best views are supposedly from the viewpoint which is a good way on from the actual rock - may not get there.  (The view is severely compressed by the telephoto lens and doesn't illustrate the distances).

There was a long section of steps made from rough rock and we were glad of our walking poles.

You can see exactly why the rock gets its name - the face is so clear.

I think it was about at this point I felt I couldn't go on much further, but Ian was keen and insisted on taking the backpack.  Talk about a weight off my shoulders, I felt so light and free and walking became easy (for me!).  So we set off for the viewpoint and this last 1/2 hour or so involved quite tricky bits along narrow paths on the edge of a severe drop, but whenever anyone came towards us I hugged the inside line and asked them to walk round me.

On the basis that a) I didn't think I get this far and b) I'm pretty confident we won't be doing this again, I took far too many photos so I'm just going to whack them all up on here.  Remember of course that I'm only using a 100-400 telephoto lens or a wide angle 10-22, so perspective is all a bit weird.

The backside of the Old Man

Where we've just been.

Fabulous view once again.

Where we've still got to get to.

The last few 100 meters seemed to be practically vertical and scrambling up mud - but, thanks to Ian's balance and determination, we got there.  And who did I get to take this photo but lilac pants herself - a very nice eastern European young lady whom I was sure only got there because she was determined to beat the two oldies.

We weren't either agile enough or brave enough to perch here for a photo though.

I'm very grateful to Ian for dragging me up here - it would have been a shame to miss this view.

Now all we've to do is get down again - simples 😀

After we got down the really steep and narrow bit, I managed to wrest the backpack from Ian on the basis we were going downhill now and he thoroughly deserved a rest from it.  Actually, sometimes going down is harder than going up and sure enough after taking it very, very steadily for most of the walk down I managed to slip over on loose shale and turn my ankle.  I think my boots saved me from doing more serious damage, but nevertheless it was quite painful and of course Ian then insisted on carrying the backpack again.