One castle, two aborted drives and a beach walk
0330 I’ve slept well so far but make the fatal mistake of thinking when I wake. Takes a little while to get back to sleep.
0500 It’s very light outside but, no, still too early.
0630 I guess this will have to do. I get up. It’s blustery outside with patchy cloud. But the forecast doesn’t look so good. Do I really believe it?
Over breakfast I do a little work sorting pictures for my blog. I’m still not happy with my current workflow. Combining photos from my photo and camera is tricky enough, but then when I export edited photos out of Lightroom back onto the iPad it gets really confusing with multiple versions of photos that are really hard to distinguish. I need a better way. I work on devising one.
The weather today seems really unpredictable. It’s still only patchy cloud but very gusty. I want to head to Dunvegan today but much of the way will be minor road and I don’t want the added hassle of heavy rain. I decide to leave that until this afternoon when the forecast rain should be clearing. I decide to head to Eilean Doran Castle this morning instead. Since I went there with my big camera yesterday, I’ll be able to travel light with just my phone. That will be nice. The castle opens at 10 am.
0930 The rain sets in.
1100 I leave for the castle. It’s still raining but I know the way and I know the roads are good. There’s a lot of traffic for a Sunday morning. Which reminds me, so many camper vans and bikers!
1130 Arrive. It’s VERY busy here.
1200 I finish the tour. It’s quite small and very busy but interesting. There’s no photography allowed inside which seems quite rare these days but that’s ok. I’ll admit it does mean I take in more of the details. And I discover that the current castle is a rebuild from the early 20th century. Not apparent from the outside but the inside furnishing and services are definitely not medieval.
1215 It feels like lunch time so I have something in the café.
1245 After checking out the gift shop and food hall I head back to base. It’s still raining but gets lighter as I get back.
1341 I go back via Broadford to see if I can find a rucksack or bag to make the next pack easier but find nothing. At base I slip on the entrance and fall. Nothing injured just sore.
It’s crunch time to decide now whether to attempt Dunvegan today. It will be 1+ hours drive each way, on small roads with likely high tourist traffic and possible wet conditions. Just doesn’t seem like much fun to me. If the weather clears I’ll find somewhere scenic and close by to wander later. For now I can start to cleanup and do more blog work.
1515 I’ve posted another blog entry. Slowly catching up. The rain has stopped so I’ll look for a local option to explore.
It’s about 15 degrees. It’s hovered in the high teens for all of the stay here. Definitely long trouser weather. I notice it’s 30 in London today. Better have those shorts handy when we arrive in London on Tuesday morning.
1536 I decide on a drive to Elgol. Only 30 min drive. Still a minor road, but I can always turn back if I want.
1545 The moment I get off the A87 at Broadford I’m on a narrow one track road. I can’t do it today. I’ve been up a long time and I’m starting to feel tired and I just don’t want to. I’ll go for a walk from the cabin instead.
1602 Start my walk. It only takes about 15 min to get to the beach. It’s very pretty with rocks and islands. I wander around and get my walking boots thoroughly wet. On the way back I pass some cows enjoying a bit of shade.
1730 Back at the cabin.
1800 I know I will have plenty of time tomorrow but I feel I don’t have a plan so I map out one to get my timings and a checklist. Dinner time too.
1900 Cooper Family Call time.
2000 I start working through my exit checklist for tonight, including ringing to book a taxi for tomorrow. Anyone who knows me well will understand my trepidation at that last one - but I do it! Yay me! A woman took my booking and she will be my driver. She picked my accent and it’s clear to me that she’s going to want to chat the whole trip.
2200 Jobs done. Time for bed.