On Skye, astronomical twilight is never reached between April 30-August 13 because the sun doesn’t dip far enough below the sea. Nautical twilight (where the sun dips 12 degrees below the horizon) is never reached between May 23-July 21. So if you wake up in the middle of the night (given that you have been able to fall asleep with it still light outside), you can still “see” outside all night long.
Glendale is one of the few places left in the United Kingdom that has total absence of light pollution. The Milky Way here is supposed to be amazing. There are meteor showers in the Spring and Fall and the Aurora Borealis in the Winter months and in certain years the spring and Fall as well. It is said that it sometimes looks like search lights over Dunvegan Head. Peak activity for the Aurora Borealis is in this year, but I don’t hold out much hope for seeing it as we will be leaving before it is expected.
Yesterday, I took pictures of the Braes district across from the Aros Centre. This district, six miles south-east of Portree, is the site of the last battle to be fought on British soil. In the 1880's local tenants were facing a rent increase and, as their lease on the land was about to expire, they agreed to pay the higher rate. However their landlord had other plans for the land and decided not to renew their lease.
The local inhabitants had long been forbidden from grazing their sheep on the shores of Ben Lee. Enraged by the attempt to throw them off the land, they took direct action, releasing their livestock onto the forbidden slopes. The Sherrif’s officer was dispatched from Portree to evict the leading dissidents. He and his assistant were met by a mob of angry Braes folk who forced him to burn the eviction notices.
Subsequently a band of 50 Glasgow policemen were sent to Skye to quell the Braes rebellion. They were greeted by 100 men, women and children, armed with sticks and stones. The battle which followed lead to the conviction of a number of Braes crofters, and, as a direct result of the unrest in this area, a commission was set up to investigate the grievances of crofters. This led to many improvements in the way the crofters were treated.
The Kyle of Lochalsh waters are like glass this morning. I have never seen it so calm here. We first headed to Neist Point Lighthouse, one of my very favorite spots on Skye and the most westerly point on Skye. On the way we saw a brilliantly colored rainbow below us! It’s rare when you can look DOWN on a rainbow. We were climbing a road and it was raining and the sun shining. The rainbow appeared against a cliffside. Very cool.
You can actually stay at Neist Point lighthouse, but I don’t think I could ever talk Ray into doing it given the cliffs. This is the place where we sat out a wind and rainstorm one afternoon and the winds blew the waterfall backwards up the cliffside. Today the winds were very calm and we climbed up above the lighthouse for a view down to it. Our walk was on sloggy and mushy ground and we saw where they had been peat cutting recently. The lighthouse was just as beautiful as ever. It has stood here since 1909 and is a David Alan Stevenson lighthouse. An aerial cableway is used to take supplies to the lighthouse and cottages. Since 1990, the lighthouse has been operated remotely from Edinburgh.
After the lighthouse, we drove the short distance to Loch Pooltiel and Meanish Pier. Loch Pooltiel is bordered on one side by Skye’s highest cliff over which a massive waterfall cascades after heavy rains. At its head lies a picturesesque beach of black volcanic sand where River Hamera flows into the crystal clear waters of the Loch. Also here stands a large cairn under which the slain from the Battle of Glendale were buried in 1492. For centuries there was only a drover’s track here and supplies had to be brought in by the Glasgow-to-Dunvegan coastal puffer that docked at the pier. This boat service was only recently discontinued and older residents remember selling their potatoes to the boatman for half a crown a sack.
Cattle from the Uists swam from there to Meanish Pier and were then driven across Skye to Kylerhea where they swam across the sound to the mainland! In 1882, John MacPherson of Milovaig led an uprising against the landlord of the Glendale Estate who was seeking to clear the crofters from their land to make way for more profitable sheep. His actions led to the navy gunboat, Jackal, landing a troupe of marines at Meanish Pier in early 1883 to effect MacPherson’s arrest. He was taken to Edinburgh and imprisoned for 2 months. His noble stance encouraged others into defiance and the actions of these “Glendale Martyrs” led to the formation of the Napier Commission and security of tenure for crofters throughout Scotland. A memorial to the Glendale Martyrs now stands beside the road.
In 2008, a film crew came to Lower Milovaig to film scenes for a TV ad for Volvo. The scene dressers arrived the day before and spruced up the store shed at the Pier, painting it and fitting a flag pole and rescue sign and putting in props. The road was closed and a tall yacht was positioned off the Pier that had sailed all the way from Southampton for the scenes. The scenes involved a lifeboat speeding to a coastguard hut (the shed) to rescue a stricken yacht with a helicopter taking off as the car approached. The scene was later digitally altered to make it look like a stormy night when it was actually filmed on a sunny day.
Many times today we felt like we were on roads to nowhere. Single tracks we are used to but these were barely paved and VERY narrow. Some went straight up, it seems, so that it was a bit scary topping the hill, not knowing for sure if there was anything on the other side. We stopped at the family-owned Sligachan Hotel well-known to climbers for 180 years.
We drove out to try to get to the Isle of Oronsay, but it would have requires a 3 kilometer hike over VERY slushy boggy ground, so we settled for just seeing it from a distance. It rises from one end to the other and is totally isolated at high tide. At low tide, you can cross over on the tidal causeway by foot.
Next up was the Cill Chriosd Church on the road to Elgol. I didn’t realize it until we arrived that we had already visited here on a previous trip. The MacKinnons were rectors of this church here since the 17th century. With its back against the old MacKinnon estate of Coire-Chatachan, the graveyard is filled with many a Mackinnon headstone, interred there up to recent times. A sign inside tells that the original parish church was at Ashaig and was traditionally founded by St. Maol Ruadh in the 7th century, AD. Sometime during the later middle ages, a new parish church was built here at Cill Chriosd (Christ's Church). The Coire-Chatachan estate is where Boswell and Johnson were hosted by the MacKinnon of MacKinnon during their famous journey through Isles in 1773. The guests were warmly received and impressed by their host's command of English, Gaelic, and Latin. There were also impressed by MacKinnon's fine library even if it made the space more cramp for hosts and guests.
We went further south to find the Ornsay Lighthouse. This lighthouse was built in 1857 by Robert Louis Stevenson’s father and is on the tidal island of Isle Ornsay. When the tide is out, the bay completely dries out to sand, allowing you to escape to the lighthouse, where you can scramble over the rock and the seaweed, collect shells, or rest on the shore by the lighthouse and enjoy a picnic. The author of “Ring of Bright Water,” Gavin Maxwell, once lived in the cottages adjoining the lighthouse.
Near here is Knock Castle and the Cheese Knolls, where it is the custom to roll cheese and eggs down the hill at Easter. Also nearby is the Kinloch Lodge run by Lady Claire MacDonalkd, a writer of Scottish cookbooks.
Just before you make the turn to Ord, there is a lake, excuse me, Loch called Loch na Dubhraichean Black Braes Loch). Otta Swire writes that this loch once had a monster, the Beast of the Little Horn. There was even an official search carried out in 1870.
We turned towards Ord and encountered a very narrow single track road with few passing places, which made for some scary passes when other cars approached. I held my breath on several of these occasions. Dun Sgaith (or Dunscaich) Castle is a ruined castle on the coast. It was originally a Norse fortress. The legend is that it was built in a single night and is also known as the Fort of Gloom. The castle itself sits on an off-shore rock. The rock rises 40 feet above sea level and there is a gap of 20 feet between the rock and the mainland. The gap was once spanned by a walled bridge with arches 6 feet apart. This stone walled bridge then led onto a drawbridge, the pivot holes for which are still visible on the far side. Once on the other side of the drawbridge, a door opened to a flight of stairs which was also sided by two walls. The flight of stairs led up to the castle. Parts of the castle curtain wall still survive on the cliff edge but most of the inner buildings have gone. The curtain wall was about 5 ft thick. In the courtyard is a well and the remains of a stairway which once led up a tower. Originally the castle belonged to the Clan MacDonald of Sleat. At some time in the 14th century it was taken from them by Clan MacLeod and held briefly by the MacAskills, allies of the MacLeods, but it was recaptured by the MacDonalds sometime in the 15th century. In the 15th century the castle was again captured by King James I of Scotland when the Chief of Clan Donald, Lord of the Isles, was broken by King James I. The MacDonalds were allowed to keep possession of the castle, but they abandoned it in the early 17th century. A nearby burial mound is the last resting place of clan chiefs. Early 20th century excavations unearthed a circle of chambers, each containing a skeleton in a sitting position.
Pictures from top: Creatures of Skye: sheep with a ship; sheep in a passing place; a Highland Cow, or, as they say here, a heilin’ coo; Ardtreck Point with Isle of Oronsay; view of Oronsay from Ullinish.
Woke up fairly early and headed out for Ft. William for fuel and breakfast. Then the rest of the drive to Edinburgh. Arrived around 11:30 and paid and picked up keys and key fob for secured parking lot. Well, the lot is VERY secure for we had trouble getting the gate to open then once in we now can’t get it to reopen, so we are stuck inside (at least carless) until Monday morning. We called Factotum, but they couldn’t tell us anything as it is Saturday. Suggested to change battery, which we did, but still not working. So Ray gets the rest of the weekend off from driving. The building we are staying at was once a school, built in 1875. The inscription high on the wall reads: George Heriot Hospital School. The school later became Davie Street Primary School. It has now been converted to luxury apartments. Love the apartment. Had a strange assortment of dishes and the residents don’t seem to ever throw away any bedding for we have enough sheets to cover every bed in Edinburgh it seems. It is a 2-level apartment—bedrooms downstairs and kitchen, dining, and living room upstairs. Has a lovely view of Arthur’s Seat and the Kirk o’ Field and if you look past that, you can see the ocean! Kirk o’ Field is also known as St. Mary in the Fields. This church is best known as the site of the murder in 1567 of Lord Darnley, 2nd husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. His residence in the Old Provost’s lodging, within the church quadrangle, was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion but he and his servant were founding a nearby orchard, apparently strangled but unharmed by the explosion. Suspicion immediately fell upon Mary and James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, one of her closest and most trusted Noblemen. Although Bothwell was considered to be the lead conspirator, he was subsequently found not guilty at trial. Mary married Bothwell the following month, just three months after Darnley's murder. This led to great public disquiet and ultimately proved to be a major factor in her rapid decline in power and ultimate loss of the Scottish crown. Darnley's death remains one of the great unsolved historical mysteries. The lands at Kirk o’ Field went on to be granted to the city for a new university. The University of Edinburgh was founded by King James VI in 1582 and Kirk o’ Field is thought to be the location of the Old College. I read that recent archaeological investigations following the Cowgate fire of 2002 have raised some questions about the true identities of the murder conspirators. Oh, forgot to mention that I am so lucky—Margaret & Colin brought me a goodie box with a Kiwi pin, calendar, shirt, AND both a Royal Engagement plate with Kate & Will on it And a pin from Alnwick Castle—which I wasn’t able to get when we drove there because of the torrential rain. Yay! And thank you, again, to them. Took a walk around the neighborhood and bought some groceries. Celtic music playing on the CD player and I have internet access, so all is well. Still trying to upload movies, but I think it’s more a problem with the blog site rather than the internet. Will send email if ever get movies loaded. Now to relax. Aaaahhhh. Pictures from top: one last look at our view from Ferry Cottage this morning; houses in Glen Shiel; stone bridge in Glen Shiel; above the door of our apartment; turrets on our building on Davie Street in Edinburgh. 
