A rather unadventurous 83 miles this time
I drove up on Monday and arrived at Plockton to see this
rather glowering sunset.
After a good nights kip I sailed under the Skye Bridge, down sound of Lochalch then to the most photographed and probably the second phoniest castle in scotland on Eilann Donan. It was massively over restored by a rich man in the first third of last century
this boat appears to be under the sole control of a magnificent woman
Castle Donan - fantasy
http://www.eileandonancastle.com/about/timeline/
C
I spent the night in the harbour at Oronsay
low riding Centaur
Kayakers on Gavin Maxwell's beach
I got back to Plockton motoring the last 20 miles in the rain
then it kept raining - no it really did - for three days straight
bloody hell
D
Thank you for the information about the Castle. I passed it a number of times when sailing around there in my younger days, some 50 years ago and never really knew it’s history.
I am chasing along behind you having just brought the boat up from Falmouth to Troon last week. I don’t think I will get to Skye until next season but I am not sure that I would have been so inspired to return to the North without you leading the way!
What would a stone building like this be to live in? Would it be warm in winter?
I spent last summer – that’s the wet bit between May and September – working as a guide at the castle. The building is quite remarkable in that while it’s not the least bit authentic (more a country home in the Highlands) it was quite an achievement in terms of craftsmanship and quality of construction given the lack of machinery they had available. My grandfather worked as a stone mason on the restoration in the 1920s so I had a family interest in the building. I enjoyed my time there despite thousands of visitors all asking – Do the family still live here ? every five minutes throughout the day and even more trying to find a family link, even standing under the portraits asking – don’t you think I look a bit like him? One day a book will be written by a guide but not by me!
If you ever get the chance go and visit – most people love it and standing on the battlements on a bright sunny morning (there were a couple) watching otters ride the tide as it swirled up Loch Duich is truly special. The history of the original castle/s is also well worth reading – bloody and brutal like most clan battles but some great stories.
I just noticed Paul’s comment – in the winter it’s B…… Freezing and only a little warmer in the summer – you need very deep pockets and a lot of sweaters to live in a place like that..
Thanks Steve. We don’t have stone buildings here.
That would be the Bessie Ellen (https://bessie-ellen.com/) with Nikki on the helm, she is indeed a magnificent woman.
wow a book come to life!
Jimmy buffet wrote a book ‘a salty piece of land’ and a character in it is a Cleopatra Highbourne who sails a schooner around the Caribbean looking for a Fresno lens for a light house before she dies!
not a classic but fun especially my book on tape version.
And there is a real life version of Cleopatra Highbourne, how cool is that!
warren
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/salty_piece_of_land/review/
Dylan
sorry to hear about the endless rain…..we are in our 5th officially heatwave on the US east coast (5+ days over 90F), we get some rain but then the humidity goes from 90 to 100%!
I suspect what you have is worse but its rough on my English complexion. its impossible to do much outside…..
warren
Dylan, try not to be put off too much with the rain!
As an Englishman living on and off all around Scotland for over 20 years. Most of my hobbies have been dictated by the weather up here.
I agree with Steve Proudfoot that May to Sept are, while warm are also wet and infested with the midge and tourist. I also feel whilst when I was living Oxfordshire, when you got the good weather it would last a week or two. Up here during the summer the normal for good weather is 2 to 3 days.
I’ve found middle to end of March til end of June and mid August til October are best for me… Yes, it’s cold but you can prepare for that and looking at the great peaceful views on a clear crisp morning… you soon forget about the cold. Even the winters are not that bad! Yes you do get the occasional epic ones! I think the winter of 2010 was one but my feeling is most of the winters you might get 3 or 4 weeks of BAD weather. Jan and Feb can be challenging… Thinking about it now… you can usually predict the bad winters up here as the snow and stuff starts around November and then the ground never gets chance to warm up again! Hope this helps for your future planning, Paul
Just had three fabulous days on the boat with Jill – she swam two of them so it must have been warm – when scotland is good it is wonderful
surviving on a mooring in an unheated boat is quite a challenge though
It is time I thought about finding a pontoon somewhere for the autumns sailing
the 1100 mile round trip top go sailing is bonkers
D
how marvelous! Well worth the trip. I am planning to bring her back to one of the southern scottish marinas as soon as I can negotiate an autumn price
bloody freezing I assume
I have a book where it is mentioned – I shall enjoy re-telling the story of the place when I come to make the film
I am loving it really – without the cruddy weather you would never appreciate the good stuff. It is fighting the moisture that is proving to be such a challenge.
Not surprised the travelling’s getting you down Dylan, it’s a tough journey. I did 5 return trips driving a transit van from Devon to Lochcarron in April/May 2014. I would leave at 4am in the morning arrive 6 – 7pm in the evening returning a day later – 1400 mile round trip – never again!
The only solution is to rent out your house in the south next summer and rent one up here for 6 months and see how you get on. You may find you don’t want to go back…
the house is for sale
so the future is open
although it will be east anglia because I love mud
I am afraid I love sailing too much to live in scotland permanently
Hello D,
I am glad to see you would like to eventually return to East Anglia. My Corribee is based on The Orwell, and although I sometimes envy those harbours around our coast with those lovely sandy bottoms, and me having to drag my dinghy out of the ‘gud ole Orwell mud’, I do appreciate that Anglia is one of the sunniest/driest and warmest places throughout the year. Like you I have sailed right through several winters, and at times it has been just magical.
I love the mud as well = the essence of life distilled – brim full on invertebrates that bring in the birds
Beautiful place, Beautiful pictures, looking forward to the film, The biscuit tin Castle, I drove by it for years without a thought. Came back as a tourist, stopped and took the tour. I enjoyed it.
Last time I sailed through the Kyles there was no bridge. Isle Oransay is a lovely spot.
Brings back some fond memories.