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.