One year on

One year ago we were finishing packing ready for the big move to our new life on Skye.

From this ........

To this

Nicely silvered larch cladding, shed, tarmac, veg patch (experimental), compost bins, log store and chain sawing area, our new car and a few less trees. All outside work done using materials from the croft wherever possible.   

It's been an interesting year where we have learned a lot about the island, the local community, the weather (!) and ourselves. 

I have finally given up the world of work and we are living a very different life. As with any change there have been positives and negatives. 

The smiles far outweigh the downturned faces so it's a big thumbs up to Skye Living.

Things we have learnt:

• Skye is a very windy island -except when you need a breeze to deter the midges when it is resolutely calm
• We can cope with power outages (heat, light, food) which is just as well as they are still a regular feature of island life
• Drive with potholes in mind at all times. Even if you think you know where they are, the new ones that spring up overnight will get you and NEVER drive through a puddle at any speed as this is where they lurk
• Visitors to the island will stop their vehicle with no warning and without seeking a layby as the scenery is so gorgeous they must have a photo now
• Do not expect fast service, responses or deliveries but accept that the slower pace goes with living here and adapt. Delivery drivers get to know you and will leave your goods where you can find them without waiting for a signature.
• The internet is an essential part of life here. Living without a phone line for 2 months was purgatory
• Mobile phone signals will disappear at the first hint of bad weather and will not return until it warms up/calms down. Mobile phone companies think this is OK and not their fault
• Always keep an "Inverness" list on the go. It's a long way if you forget something
• The local community welcome you and you can become as involved as you wish. Either end of the spectrum is fine

 Biggest changes:-

From this (high heeled designer shoes for work) 

To this - Designer wellies plus wellie socks

And this - Boots, waterproof shoes, walking boots & many pairs of slippers!

Positives: 

• No more Monday mornings when work beckons
• Wouldn't change much about the house design (more electrical sockets the only thing)
• We can choose exactly what we do and when we do it
• RHI payment based on the air source heat pump
• The views and the light are constantly changing - all of them beautiful
• We survived "the worse winter in ten years" with only minor damage
• Crofting (our version) is much fun and good exercise
• The local community hall holds pilates sessions and the 20 minute walk to get there is glorious
• Clear skies and beautiful starry nights. No light pollution
• No cameras tracking your every move
• We are ten minutes from the Cuillin range, the most notorious, beautiful and toughest mountains in the UK

 Negatives:  

• The delivery charges added by some retailers / suppliers is shocking. We have a bridge! Pick and choose your retailer - John Lewis, Whittards, Amazon and Sunday Times wine club all deliver free, if they can do it so can others.
• Distance from friends and family - although visits to and from do take place and we did know this when we decided to move here. 
• No sight of the aurora here in Fernilea (yet)

So we are settled, happy and looking forward to the future on Skye. 

 

Dreams can come true - you just have to believe and put in the effort!

February - the redeemer!

The first week of February was payback for the first three weeks in January. 

But first..... we had an appointment in Inverness. The car needed a service and we found a good deal in a nice hotel. The forecast for later in the week was snow, more snow and high winds. But the car was booked in and we had four wheel drive plus our essential winter kit in the boot. So off we went to the big city for our city break. 

Stayed at the Kingsmills Hotel which was very nice. Decent rooms, pool etc, good food and located within easy reach of the centre.  Headed off to drop the car in slight snow then offered a lift into town. The car has done us well over the last four years but we have been considering replacing it........ asked the nice man to take a look and see what he could offer as a trade in. NB: At this point we had absolutely no intention of buying a new car. Had a pleasant morning shopping then walked back through heavy snow showers to the car showroom.  

Well, it was just too good a deal to refuse. It was the end of January after all. Deal done and the next day we swapped the old Mitzi for a newer model. Woke up to this view from our room:

Fair bit of snow overnight - and this was the City

!

Once we had completed the paperwork, moved all the kit and purchases from one car to another and done a bit more shopping, we were on our way. Decided to take the road around Loch Ness and through Glen Shiel after checking the traffic cameras as this looked the least snowy. A good test for the new car. There was a fair covering of snow on the roads but the ploughs had been out and traffic was moving. We had packed a flask just in case and it seemed a shame to waste it so we stopped close to the Glen Shiel battle site and enjoyed a cuppa and a glorious view. The deer were down to road level so it must have been bad in the hills. 

Cool with six inches of snow. We parked where Gary is standing on the way up.

Nice viewpoint. The dots on the hillock across the road are deer and stags.

The next day we heard that the road around Loch Ness had been closed due to rockfall, other routes were closed due to snow. Once again we got lucky with the weather window.

For the next few days, it snowed on and off. Heavy showers and the occasional glimpse of blue skies. The house, croft and views transformed. We found we could use the drive OK even in the snow.

View across Loch Harport

House with cornices

Shed, complete with newly crafted storage compartments

Then, the first Sunday in February dawned bright and clear. All other plans were cancelled - we were heading for the hills. Assuming we could exit the drive and get down the hill! No problem; the plan was to walk from the Slig up to the bealach above Glen Brittle. Off we went up a path still visible under its coating of snow,. As we got higher, the snow got deeper and progress slowed. Stopped at the waterfall for coffee and photos. Snow was at least a foot deep here.

Glamaig from the waterfall

Pinnacle Ridge from the waterfall

The waterfall - partly frozen

After coffee, we carried on up. We were following some foot prints which were handy as it started to snow hard as we gained height. We then met the owners of the footprints who had lost the path higher up and turned around due to the poor visibility. As we hit the bealach, the sky suddenly lightened, the snow stopped and this happened:

Glamaig again

Ahhh

Towards Bruach na Frith

The light catching the water was simply beautiful

Here we sat and enjoyed our lunch just soaking in the views, no wind and just a hint of warmth in the sun. Glorious. A Japanese tourist wandered past and asked if he was on the right path for the Fairy Pools. Confirmed he was and how far to go (and get back again). Undeterred he set off across the pathless hill.  Intrepid we decided and maybe a wee bit foolish; at least he was carrying something in his backpack although probably not a map or warm clothing.
We decided to head back down ourselves and made it to the car for around 16.00. What a day and what conditions. You really don't need to climb the heights to enjoy the Cuillin. Celebrated with a bottle of ice cold white wine - February well and truly arrived.

The week continued in the same vein and we managed a walk down Glen Sligachan. This was plan B after we experienced a tricky road down into Glen Brittle so turned around. Would not have been good to get the new car stuck or rolled. The path through the Glen was frozen but easy walking. Had our lunch up the slope of Marsco (on the list for better weather days) and realised just how out of condition we were for steep inclines. 

Later that week we experienced one of the most amazing sunrises in ages. Photos are from the bedroom window as it was much too cold to venture outside!

 

Amazing colours & alien craft shaped clouds

The snow levels rose throughout the week and the road to Glen Brittle was viable again. So on Saturday we headed for the Coire Lagan round.  Did this clockwise today with the road section first. Limited snow until we reached the partially frozen lochan when the path regularly disappeared and every stream and burn became an obstacle course. The only way to get over the largest burn was to spread-eagle yourself over the snow to spread the weight and hope you didn't fall through a snow covered hole to the water below. Such fun. Finally left the water features behind and found ourselves in deep snow threading through rocks and grass. A few footprints but not many. Spotted a convenient rock for shelter (from the wind that wasn't forecast and wasn't blowing at home) and slid and slithered down to it through deep snowdrifts. As we finished eating we heard then saw two more walkers. It turned out to be Neil and Sandy, Chippie and Foreman on our build. They were heading up into the Coire proper; we decided to head back down. Several more drifts to negotiate but we made it back to the car in good time. 

Coire Lagan as we've never seen it

So that was the first week in February. Unfortunately, the next few days were dreich and dull in the extreme although warmer than expected. 

On the croft we have finished the raised bed - and filled it two thirds with earth and compost, finished the path to the compost bins, topped up the log store with our own logs, moved some of the felled trees and scavenged some more rope to make a handrail for the steps Gary made last autumn. Between all of that activity and the walking we are feeling fitter, quite tired and have various aches and bruises to show for our efforts.  

 

The seed potatoes (1st earlies) are in the cold frame and we have decided what we will be growing and where. Now we must be patient and wait for the soil to warm up before we even consider planting out. Plenty more tasks on the list in the meantime.  

2015 arrives with a bang

A quiet Hogmany evening where we find that celebrations on Skye are as low key as those in Alloa. I'm sure there was partying somewhere but not in Fernilea or Carbost. Not a firework to be seen. Toasted the new year with a little champagne; literally as our "bargain" from Tesco turned out to be half a bottle. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is!

2015 announced itself on the 1 January with the first of two weeks of storms. Highest gust registered as 50mph which was something of a record in itself. The next two weeks continued in the same vein with Atlantic storm after Atlantic storm. However the dire warnings were building up for the 8/9th January with weather amateurs and professionals alike watching carefully. 

The forecast winds were to arrive during the evening and continue overnight. Around 9.30 on the 8th January we could hear the wind rising. As the evening went on, the noise was unbelievable. Kept a close eye on the Shulista weather station as they are much more exposed than we are here. Just before midnight and also just after midnight the weather station here registered a gust of 63.3mph. In Shulista the record was 109.6mph just before his station went off line. This will forever be the baseline for any other storm. The house shook and shuddered; the glass flexed; the wind blew down the chimney and stones from the croft were whipped against the patio doors and the windows. The electricity flickered a few times but remained on as did the internet. In the early hours (little sleep was had that night) a nasty splintering sound was heard but going outside to check out what had made it was impossible. 

The next morning a damage report saw one windowsill ripped off (and quickly repaired) One cold frame deposited in bits further down the croft; the lid of the recently completed compost bin ripped off (retrieved and repaired) and bird feeders scattered and broken. The roof, walls and expanses of glass all intact with no damage to report as was our sturdy shed. 

Lost power on the afternoon of the 9th and tested the wood burner's capabilities to discover that we can boil water or heat food and we do keep warm and toasty. The torches worked well too and candlelight is lovely. The bridge was closed, ferries cancelled and the island was effectively locked down. The SSE workers repaired the power lines in atrocious conditions and although we has some intermittent faults over the next few days, most had power restored within 12 hours.

So we survived and learnt a few things about the house and our own resilience. I would be quite happy never to experience an event like this again but.... we live on the western isles and can expect many such storms in the future. The vast majority  of people we spoke to said that the last time winds had been so high was more than 10 years ago. Til 2025 then.  Of course, there's always one or two who say it was much worse in whatever year it was too.  

So January, as always, was a dry one for us. I see that many are now taking the same route. February 1st is on a Sunday so the weekend "rules" will be extended for that one. It's a good feeling and I'm sure it does the system good.

Like many in Britain, we can be obsessed with the weather and have had fun setting up and reporting from the weather station on the croft. After the December storm, the weather station has been "tethered" by three huge logs and it has developed a definite list off the vertical. Living here, the weather plays such an important part of what is possible on a daily basis. Food deliveries, the post, leaving the island, travel generally plus the things most of us take for granted like internet and power. The differences in weather in just a few miles on the island can bemuse and confuse but that's part of what makes it so enjoyable.

So life goes on; work on the croft continues when we can get out there safely and without sinking in inches of mud. Many of the trees have splintered and branches fallen but none of the big ones have blown down.  I have searched all files but there are no photos from the first three weeks of January as it was simply too dreich / dangerous / wild to get out. 

The storms that continued into the following week delivered snow and blizzards so I have attached another short video that shows the force of the snow and the newly built compost bins, including the one that lost its lid.

Next updates will include an "interesting" city break in Inverness and the best beginning to a February that I can remember for some years. Plus plenty of gorgeous images of an island awakening and Scotland at its winter's best.

The BIG (December) STORM

Qualified the title to identify December as I'm not sure that winter has finished with us just yet!
An accurate prophesy - writing this at the end of a stormy week that will forever be the benchmark comparator for exciting / scary weather. However, back to December.

So early warnings of a "weather bomb" hitting the UK with the north and west of Scotland feeling the leading edge. Forecast warned of three days of battering. 

Monday 8 December was dry, bright and calm so we made the most of this and worked on the croft. Enhanced and improved a watercourse, cut down some more dead wood and generally tidied up. As darkness fell we wandered the croft, making sure everything was battened down and shutting away anything that was littering the ground and / or could take flight. 

Tuesday dawned wild and windy and delivered almost 2 inches of rain. A starter for 10. It was recycling day - no sooner had the bin been dragged to the top of the drive than it had been blown over and distributed its contents everywhere. A quick collection from the mud and a nifty bit of work with a bungy cord or two made it secure. It was laid down for the bin men to pick up. During the day we gained a lovely green box from somewhere. The work done on the watercourse yesterday paid off and the house was surrounded by the sound of water flowing - safely away from us. 

Wednesday was forecast to be the worst day of the storm and we were woken by gale and severe gale force winds overnight. Accompanied by thunder, lightening and torrential showers of rain. The highest gust of wind recorded here was 50.1; further north on the island a fellow weather enthusiast recorded a gust of 91.9mph before he lost his anemometer and soon after his broadband as a result of a lightening strike. This was a day for staying firmly indoors, which is what we did. The Skye bridge was open, closed, open on and off all day. Ferries cancelled and roads dangerous due to gusting winds. Our own internet was on and off all day - particularly sensitive to rain and wind combined it seems. Towards evening, wind and rain eased back. So far, the power has only flickered off briefly then back on. Seems the work done earlier in the year to improve resilience of the network had worked. 

A brief video clip (via mobile phone) designed to try and demonstrate the force of the wind (Wednesday) Shows our newest indicator of wind speed, the washing line with easy to measure horizontal drift.

Another restless night followed with winds gusting to over 40mph. That last was so easy to write but difficult to describe the sounds of the building creaking, groaning, rattling and how you could hear the gusts building up before they hit. A roar like an express train or plane and Brace! 
The house survived without noticeable effect which was pleasing considering all that glass and wood.

Thursday, back to normal service by mid-afternoon. Winds abated, rain stopped and recommence the build up to the Christmas break. 

Some damage to report across the island and the highlands but nothing major, Pretty much as you were. Our only noticeable damage was to the bird feeders which took flight but were recovered. 

As stated above, there was far, far worse to come. Little did we know!
Details to follow...........