A report from Mary and 14 potential plots

Great excitement as two emails from Mary at Dualchas rolled in late on Thursday afternoon. She has visited Harris to take a look at the three sites we had given her details of. She had, as promised, gone on her push bike and cycled around the whole island - I know it's not that big but even so ..... and I'm pretty sure that the wind would have been against her, whichever direction she was travelling in.  Add to that the not so summery weather and, much respect to the lady.

Anyway, her preference is the same plot as Gary likes best purely because of its location which has uninterrupted views across the Sound of Harris and is very private. However, it is a steep site so access could be tricky. Although planning has lapsed on all three sites, the planners wouldn't have any objection to new submissions so that's OK then. The site near Tarbert would be easier to develop as it is relatively flat with services near by. "But it is near the main road" this comment did make me smile; it's not exactly a motorway!

We will discuss all in more detail on the 28th June when we next meet with her.   

As far as Skye goes, we have reduced the list of possible plots to see to a manageable 14 and have grouped them by area. The plan is to see a few on the Tuesday afternoon before getting the ferry then a few more on Saturday morning before we head to our holiday home "down south". We are determined to have a few good days simply walking, eating, reading and drinking good wine and will plan in the remaining  plot visits on a rest day. I need to get the details from various agents so we have a better idea what we are looking at, what planning permission already exists and any conditions attached to purchase.

Some of the plots are in great positions and most of them offer more land than those on Harris.

We will see.

In the meantime, the house is cleaned to within an inch of its life and we 
( I ) have to get into the habit of leaving it tidy whenever we go out and even when we don't. It's a bit of a trial but hopefully it will be worth it.

So, a few more challenging walks planned before we go - we should be fit enough to tackle the Cuillins - B&Bs checked out via Trip Advisor and no nasty surprises there although unable to read the review written in Spanish. Directions to our holiday accommodation in Ord have arrived; it sounds quite remote with views of the sea and the mountains behind.

All we have to do now is wait - easier said than done. I thought I had learned patience over the last three plus years but it's surprising how quickly you revert to type. 

Next post will be just before we go / as we start travelling - unless something happens that adds to the story. Have managed to use the Scanlife app to upload this webpage to my smart phone so will be able to update even if we are out of wifi range. Not bad for a non-techie!