September - Simply the Best

With apologies to the writer of the song but it has been the most beautiful month. 


It hasn't all been good weather, we have had our share of cloudy, dreich, wet and windy but the clarity of the light, the warm sunny days and the birthdays (of course we're biased) have made it a good month. 

Birthday view (mine) from our house

Oh, and the number of visitors has decreased to more sensible levels. Good for the island that it is so popular but the sheer number of visitors during July and August has put a huge strain on the facilities on the island and there is always the inconsiderate few who seem to think it is OK  to wild camp (it is) and then leave their rubbish either at the side of the road for the bin lorries or just leave it where they were camped - this last generally a few yards from the car in which they brought all the stuff in. How to get the message across I don't know but somehow awareness must be raised or we all risk more intervention and perhaps a change to the current access rights. Which would be a shame. So if you know of someone planning a visit, make sure they do so responsibly. 
Rant over but don't get me started on the visiting drivers and their habits. 

Anyway, the Referendum. Unless you had been away or asleep for the month of August you would have noticed that the Scottish people voted for either an Independent Scotland - YES or to stay within the UK - NO. Simple you might have thought. Several leaflets later plus regular instructions through the media on how to make your opinion known. Put a cross in one of the two boxes.  We voted. So did the vast majority of Scots. Result, Scotland wins with more powers, promises of who knows what and change of some kind in the months ahead. Scotland has never been more in the public eye. Now we wait to see if promises made in Westminster are delivered. 

Interesting YES signs seen in our travels include:
The YES mini, parked at the Slig each day
The YES rocks, some of which were in very high and inaccessible places
The YES quarry signs on the sheer rock face - who / how did they manage that?
The YES lampposts and fences
The YES sheds
The YES floating sign in the harbour; now half submerged
The YES boat / yacht
Best of all, the YES mowed into the croftland and kept mowed. 
All of the above in the correct font and colours (except the croft)

The Better Together bunch were much more reserved but turned out to be the silent majority after all.
Even now the posters, saltires, signs, opinions etc remain. No antagonism of note, leave that to those in the the big cities apparently.  

Otherwise we took advantage of the weather and climbed our second Skye Munro - Banachdich - on a beautiful day and with a few others. Managed to find the right path this time and climbed steadily up through the coire until we were faced with a choice of up the steep scree or up the steep hill with less scree. The others went for the scree slopes so we went for the hill. Very steep but a good ridge once the top was reached. The summit seemed to recede as we climbed but we wove through rocky outcrops and ever upwards until we reached the very small summit. There were a few others here including the father / daughter combo we leapfrogged all the way to the top.  We could see the whole Cuillin range including Loch Coriusk which I had not seen before. 

INN PINN! Zoomed shot from summit

The Inn Pinn was very busy today and looked close enough to touch if you ignored the huge drop in the ridge to get to it. We just looked. The summit is at the top of the almost detached rockface on the right and is a roped scramble with massive exposure. 
We enjoyed our lunch, taking in the views and pointing out the different mountains. 
A couple of hard walkers / climbers made it to the top. I have never met such a rude and objectionable person on a mountain. The father / daughter combo were in the way of his photo so rather than ask them to move, a loud FFS was heard. Needless to say, no-one moved an inch.  Luckily they left quickly and headed for the ridge taking their lunch and attitude with them. Hope they enjoyed the remainder of the day and managed to improve their mood. The hills are for enjoyment not cross people.

Cuillin Range. Pointy

Loch Coriusk at the heart of the Cuillins

Alternate descent route involving a scramble

 We decided to go back the same way although we did (briefly) consider the alternative. 

View to Loch Brittle and out to sea

Made the decision to descend via the scree slopes. Oh my knees, it was a constantly moving surface with sharp drops to the left and little in the way of stability. The walking poles came in handy. A quick break for drinks at the end of the path and we were back on reasonable ground. A troop back to the car and home with smiles on faces for beer and crisps (fluid and salt replacement)

On a similarly lovely day we decided to climb a pointy peak that would get us on to the ridge leading to Beinn Dearg and the Inn Pinn (to watch rather than participate) Yet another steep climb across scree with some exposure this time. I ended up scrambling up a gully and Gary stuck with the scree. We sat at the summit and could see the route to the top across a moonscape of rocks and dust. Not today though, today was lunch and a sighting of a pair of eagles enjoying the thermals in the glen below.  A privilege to watch until they spiralled up out of sight. Tried to find a better way back down but concluded that if you are going to climb a pointy mountain then it will be steep and dangerous near the top.

That's the way to the Inn Pinn

View back down from the ridge

At least we know the way when we decide to view the Inn Pinners up close. 

Back on the croft, trees are being felled, hedges cleared, more steps created and patches dug over, drainage constructed. Very busy, very muddy and very satisfying. Also quite scratched, bruised and suffering the last midge bites of the season. The cutting of a couple of trees has improved our view of the loch as well as getting rid of a load of dead wood. Just have to cut it up into log sized chunks now and leave it to season.

New, improved view

Thought we might be able to harvest some blackberries but the lack of light due to branches etc meant the harvest was not quite up to scratch. Not even enough for a teaspoon of coulis. Next year perhaps.

We have the largest spider ever set up home / web outside the kitchen window. Getting fat on midgies and other tasty insects. 

Boris the spider plus prey

Sitting on the patio one day after working the croft when two eagles just rose from the land and floated towards us then up on the thermals. Not quick enough to grab a photo this time. They were magnificent birds - huge.   

The last week in September we had a week in Arran planned. Decided to head south a day early and stay overnight at Largs to avoid any road issues heading to the ferry at Adrossan. 
Next blog entry will tell the tale of our week enjoying a new island.