Stein, Waternish

The village of Stein on the Waternish peninsula.

Stein is an extremely pretty village of white painted stone buildings. In the 1790s the British Fisheries Society commissioned Thomas Telford to build a fishing port on Loch Bay. Delays in construction were compounded by the remote location and a lack of enthusiasm from local crofters and potential incomers alike. The BFS cut their losses and sold their lands in the area to the MacLeods in 1837 for £3000. But while Stein never quite became another Ullapool it has probably benefitted as a result. It is quiet, picturesque, and home to the Stein Inn and the Loch Bay Seafood Restaurant, both of which are excellent.

As its origins suggest, Stein is also the main harbour on the Waternish Peninsula original pier stood a little to the north of the village. The one in use today, which is at the south end of Stein, was built late in the 1800s.

I had a pint of cider at the Stein Inn and thoroughly enjoyed it as you don't get cider in the States; which we had along with the usual bag of crisps (potato chips)

Christy

Highland Cattle, Waternish

Christy

Dunvegan Castle, home of the Macleods

Dunvegan Castle, home of the Macleods and the Fairy Flag, rescuer of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continually inhabited castle in Scotland, sitting on a rocky outcrop, surrounded on almost all three sides by water. It must be in the folklore of all Macleods, who live in farflung places, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.

When I last visited Dunvegan Castle we must have travelled the single track road, all the way from Portree. As I was told that back in the sixties that's all there was.

The above photos were taken on our Sunday afternoon walk to Coral Beach. I will post some more photos of our visit to the Castle.

The Macleods still live at the castle, occupying the upper floors. I heard they also have a flat in London and that the current Lord besides making Dunvegan Castle into a number one Isle of Skye tourist attraction,with hords of buses and ones like ourselves visiting; is also a film producer.

I wanted to refer back to 'In Search of Scotland' by H.V. Morton, who visited in the late 1920's. Back then the 23rd chief, Macleod of Macleod was in his eighties and lived in England. Twice a week the castle was open for visitors to see the Fairy Flag. A middle-aged English woman lived alone at the castle, and as Morton was guided '... through room after room completely furnished, but with the chill of loneliness over them ...' That is certainly not true now with the troop of visitors touring through.

We will re-visit Dunvegan Castle in a later post.

Christy

Walk to and from Coral Beach

Couldn't resist taking this photo of dad with son.

Homeward bound.

Christy

Sunday afternoon, the walk to Coral Beach

Christy

Back to the cottage for Sunday lunch

Back to the cottage for Sunday lunch. Held up for a little while by some local Glendale sheep.

The drive up to our cottage. We have to keep the gate shut because the sheep wander everywhere. One night we came across them all over the drive up to the house.

These sheep may be the same ones we came across earlier in the day. They were asleep, we woke them up.

The view across to Loch Pooltiel, from our cottage.

Christy

Sunday Morning, Neist Point

View on drive to Neist Point

The steep walk and steps down to the Point

Then a walk back up to Neist Point

My sister BB, while sitting here, she got to see a basking shark

The morning mist lifting

Neist Point lighthouse

Unusual rock formations at the Point

Sunday morning after a cooked breakfast we decided to take a local walk. Before leaving the States I had downloaded some walks in the area where we would be staying and this was one of them.

Neist Point was about a twenty minute drive from where we were staying in Glendale. We parked the car and then took the steep steps down and walked across, and then up to Neist Point, where a lighthouse sits. If you like you can stay at the lighthouse for B&B.

BB sat while Trev and I walked on to the lighthouse and rock formations. While sitting BB got to see a basking shark, we missed that. But our walk on a glorious day what more could you ask for?

Christy

Single Track Road We Drove Out On Every Day

This was the single track road that we took out every morning from Glendale to join up with the main road. What a view we had of the Cuillen Hills.

Christy

Isle of Skye, My Book on Blurb

I have made a book on Blurb, from my photographs of my week on the Isle of Skye. This is the link to it, where you will see a preview.

My Book on Blurb

I am really pleased with it. Jen at work, a graphic artist, went to a seminar where they featured Blurb and she received some very nice coupons to use their service. So she gave one to me worth $38.00 so on the day it was to expire I was able to finish my book. It probably took 15 hours all told. It was fun to arrange and look at my photos all over again and relive my time there.

Christy

Across the Skye Bridge on the Isle

Here we are on the Isle of Skye, with a view of the Cuillin Mountains. By now it's late afternoon and it's been a long day. From the Skye Bridge to the cottage was at least an hours drive, of course again longer because of the photo taking.

The view from my bedroom window.

My journals and books for the trip.

We were delighted with the cottage we had chosen to stay at, 6 Fasach, in Glendale. The heat was on when we arrived and so cozy. It's a good job we got there while it was still light, because it would have been very hard to find in the dark.

Christy

Still on the road to the Isle of Skye

Glenfinnan, this is the viaduct at Glenfinnan and when we were there, there was actually a train going across. It has appeared in many films, such as Charlotte Grey.

A true Scottish scene of heather.

This was in the area of The Five Sisters of Kintail. I'm not sure if these are The Five Sisters.

Loch Dunne

Eilean Donan

We had a glorious Saturday to travel on up to the Isle of Skye. It seems that Scotland and the Isles have had their wettest year in 100 years, but all that rain in just 50 days. I think we had the only week that did not rain. As when we got back to my sisters and I looked at the weather forecast, it was raining again up there. How fortunate we were.

Isn't Eilean Donan so romantic, a little austere, in that Scottish way how wonderful to build a home on a rocky outcrop, looking up the Loch both ways.

We passed through Fort William, the name makes me think of cowboys and indians. Ben Nevis rises here, the highest mountain in the British Isles. All names that conjure up pictures and stories in ones mind.

Christy

The Journey Begins, 1st Day, Loch Lomond

Peugeot 308 diesel, and my brother-in-law taking photos at Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond at 9:00 am

A man and his dog on Loch Lomond

Ranoch Moor

Our journey to the Isle of Skye from my sister's house in Suffolk, began after midnight on Saturday 12th September 2009. We travelled up the M1, which is the first Motorway built in Britain and it gets very congested, so leaving at that hour of the morning was great, because it meant that we were sitting by the side of Loch Lomond by 9:00 am drinking coffee and eating biscuits even though we stopped a couple of times on the way up.

I had rented a car at Heathrow airport, but it was a Ford Focus petrol and probably got about 38 to the gallon, I was able to change the car at Stansted airport, which is not too far from my sisters for a Peugeot 308 diesel, which averaged well arround 58 miles to the gallon, so 20 miles more per gallon, which is a big savings. I was so happy that I had bugged them to death to change the car.

From Loch Lomond on, all the way to the Isle of Skye is A and B roads, so the going from then on was slow. Made even slower by me wanting to stop quite often for photos. I had not travelled any of these roads since my teens.

Scotland has a desolate beauty, which cries out across the ages of it's history. Bringing back to mind songs you sang in Primary School, "I'll take the high road and you're take the low, and I'll be in Scotland afore you ..." We passed through such places as Ranoch Moor, The Sisters of Kintail, Fort William, to name a few. And some in our recent history, Lockerbie.

So begins my journey.

Christy

Reading Matter for UK Trip

It's always fun to receive a package in the post. I think that's part of the fun of Ebay. These are some of the books I bought. The one on England was printed in England, by Methuen & Co. Ltd. 21st edition, printed 1934. 1st edition was 1927. The book on London is a paperback DaCapo press printed in the States, no lovely sepia photos in that one, and of course the one I most wanted on Scotland printed by Dodd, Mead and Co, USA 7Th printing 1933, 1st printed 1929.

So from all the printings of H.V. Morton's books, you can see how popular he must have been in his time.

I do have one more book on it's way from Canada, an Ebay purchase on South Africa. I couldn't resist because his writing is so quintessential to the time he is writing in and a snapshot back for us to the last century. You never know I may one day get to South Africa, I'd love to go.

The Avon at Stratford

Portree Harbour