25th Aug 2008 - Isle of Skye (Cuilin Hills & Portree)

Day 7

Rise and shine, the rain has stopped, I woke up @ 6.45am to this great view although the sky is still quite overcast... not too bad eh =) I made myself a hot chocolate (not really hot but more like lukewarm) and ate some biscuits while enjoying the view. Later, I packed up my stuff and took some shots of the surroundings before heading off again. Next destination is Glenbrittle.

Along the way, I saw some cows (mountain cows?) which are so cute !!! Papa cow, mama cow and baby cows... with long hairs and sharp horns. I didn't stopped very long as I needed a toilet break (that's the first thing you do when you wake up at home but out in the wild you got to go and hunt down one :p) I thought there would be one at Glenbrittle but to my horror it's just a beach with no toilet! The view of the beach was great but I think I'd enjoy it more if the nature's calling was not as urgent. I quickly head to Sligachan for the Cuilin mountains. There is a toilet but it's only limited for their hotel/restaurant customer only. I saw a signboard saying there's a public toilet 3miles away at Sconser. Off I go in full speed. The village of Sconser sits on the shore of Loch Sligachan at the foot of Glamaig, one of the Red Hills (sometimes called the Red Cuillin) of Skye. It is also the ferry terminal for onward traveling to Isle of Raasay (20minutes ride) and also home to Isle of Skye Golf Club (a 9 hole golf course). But all this means nothing to me as I'm here for the toilet :p

After that, I went back to Sligachan again, parked my car and went for a walk. This is the entrance route to the Cuilin Hills. The Cuilin are a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye and are counted among the most spectacular peaks in Scotland. The true Cuillin, also known as the Black Cuillin, to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan, each with a distinct character. The Red Hills are lower and, being less rocky, have fewer scrambles or climbs, are formed of red granite, and rounded and gentle in appearance. The Black Cuillin on the other hand, are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro, they are very rough rock which makes for superb grip for mountaineers. Note however that these hills (especially the black) are for serious climbers.

From here I got a very good view of both hills with the Red to my left while the Black to my right. The peaks were hidden behind misty clouds making it rather dangerous and mysterious. The route was rather flat hence I ventured in happily. I walked quite far in nearing the base before I turned back as it started drizzling. Out at the entrance, there's a very beautiful stone bridge linking the main road to the footpath.

Back at my car, I had an apple while looking back at the magnificent Cuilins before heading back to Portree. Arrived at the Bayfield Backpackers hostel reception at 1.45pm but it's not opened until 2pm so I went to the harbour for a stroll. The sky has cleared up and the sun is shining brilliantly hence there's quite a lot of tourist around the the harbour enjoying fish & chips bought from the shop next to the Lower Deck Seafood Restaurant. There's a huge flock of seagulls loitering around the harbour and fighting fiercely over the chips thrown to them by the tourists. It's quite interesting to see how some bigger and stronger seagulls protecting their turf by spreading their wings and with a open beak, running towards other approaching young seagulls, to chase them away.

As it's time, I went back to check-into the hostel. The Bayfield Backpackers is definitely one notch higher in class than the Portree Independent house, with just a pound more in cost. It is very clean and new with fantastic view from both the dorm room and the dining room. For just GBP14 pppn, it's definitely a steal. So the first thing to do of course is to take a long hot shower and then went out to Somerfields to buy some food. Bought a quiche and salad for dinner. The hostel's dining room had a great view and the owner played some very nice and relaxing music making it so much cozier. Although the kitchen here is smaller but its sufficient and the dining room is so much airier here. I felt so relaxed sitting here, eating my dinner, reading up on Edinburgh and also writing my trip report. I've decided to turn in early tonight as tomorrow will be another long journey to Edinburgh hence I need to start early. Back in the dorm room, there's a senior couple where the guy was playing some beautiful songs on his guitar while his partner was reading at the bed.

24th Aug 2008 - Isle of Skye (Round north Isle)

Day 6

Skye or the Isle of Skye, is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills. The main industries here are tourism, agriculture, fishing and whisky-distilling and the largest settlement is Portree, which is known for its picturesque harbour. Just over 30% of the residents on Skye speak Gaelic.

***

The Swiss lady has left when I woke up and the other 2 Spanish girls were packing up to leave as well. While having breakfast, I chatted a little with the 2 guys sitting at the same table who were traveling on motorbikes. Later, I checked out from the hostel and went to the tourist information centre to get some maps and info about Isle of Skye. I’ve then decided to follow the route up north round the Isle. My first stop is the 'Old Man of Storr'. The Old Man of Storr is part of a weird wonderland of rock scenery and outcrops that lie below the cliffs. There’s a small area for car park at the side of the road. The climb is not too steep where you first go thru a thin wood before coming to a rocky clearing. The view is great even from here. I was hesitating (fearing for my knee) if I should hike up the hills to the stones as I could see that the way up is only going to be steeper. Well, I thought since I’m already here, I’ll just push it and be really careful. I wasn’t as tough as I thought although I did needed breaks from time to time but I made it to somewhere near the bottom of the big rock. You can actually go further to the rock itself but that would really require a little more serious climbing so I decided not to do it. The higher I went the windier and colder it gets, but still its well worth the hike as the view from the top is absolutely amazing. While at the top, I received a SMS from my sister. How I wished she could be here with me together to enjoy this magnificent view. The descending is fine but I almost slipped once and I can just start feeling the ache in my knee.

Back to my car, I continued on the road. There is no need for Sat Nav here as there is basically just one main road and the road signs are sufficient. Off and on I’ll just pull my car over at the side road to snap some photos. The sky is still pretty dull so I’m not sure how will the photos turn out. I arrived at Lealt Falls about noon time so I had my quick lunch here before proceeding to Kilt Rock, which has beautiful cliff views by the sea.

There's a waterfall at the cliff edge flowing into the big blue sea. Kilt Rock is so named because of the strange tartan-like pattern on the brownish basalt rock. Later. I reached the Museum of Island Life near Kilmur where they show how the islanders lived years ago. I was only interested in the outlook of the houses so I just snap photos from outside the fence and avoid paying the ￡2.50 entrance fee.

Going on, I reach UIG, the ferry terminal to the western islands. I felt that the place is more impressive when viewed from the top just as you branch off the main road to enter the town. I just did a quick walk around at the jetty and then went back to the car thinking of my next destination. I decided that I’ll go to the recommended Stein Inn for dinner. Stein Inn is a very nice and cozy pub beside the jetty. As the dinner would not be started until 6pm, I ordered myself a half pint of Tennents and wrote my trip report. There’s a cute little baby gal with her parents one table away and she is busy crawling around exploring the pub. At another table sat a man and 2 ladies. The man especially was rather playful and he would voice over the baby girl’s actions, which was pretty funny. It’s drizzling outside now and I just hope that the rain would stop soon as tonight I’ll be sleeping in my car. I think this would be quite an experience. Cold, I’m certain but fun nonetheless. I’m just so glad that I had my little Micra so I could go wherever I wanted and stop whenever I wanted. I’m starting to have second thoughts about selling it away before I go home. I ordered breaded haddock with salads and chips which was pretty good.

After dinner, I set off back to the main road B886 and then A850 towards Dunvegan Castle, in search for a suitable place to spend the night. It’s still raining and quite windy. I thought the castle could be seen from afar, but I was wrong. So I drove on towards Ose and along the way there were some places which would serve a good parking place but they were either taken up by other vehicles or they don’t have a good view. Yes, I am searching for a place with great views as well so I can wake up to it the next morning. It’s getting dark and I spot this perfect place overlooking the sea with the crossings of 2 hills in front. Best of all, this parking lane is slightly lower than the main road and there are some bushes hence my car will be hidden behind it. Happy and satisfied, I switch off the engine and climbed to the backseat and made my ‘bed’. Its only about 8.30pm so powered on my laptop and transferred my photos from the SD cards. After it was done, I put my lappy away and tried to sleep. Its still raining and the strong wind is rocking my little Micra so it felt as if I’m sleeping in a cradle. Very soon it went completely pitch dark. I was wearing 2 layers of jackets, 2 layers of socks and a pair of gloves. I also have my fleece blanket with me. The backseat is rather small so I had to curl up. I’m not sure how much I’ve slept but I woke up around 2am and decide to try the front passenger seat so I can straighten my legs on the deck. This is slightly more comfortable position wise but as I’ve moved and with my legs up on the deck, hence it got colder as I couldn’t reduce the heat loss. Just as I was trying to sleep again, my mind went wild with a couple of ghost stories I’ve heard or read before. So, I plug in my MP3 to try to divert my attention and calm myself down. Little by little, I stopped all the wild imaginations and dozed off.

Off to London & Italy

I'm off to London tomorrow for a few days before flying out to Italy (Rome, Florence & Venice) so I'll continue on my trip report after I come back from the trip. I know my progress is slow as I need to research info for my Italy trip. So please bear with me and I'll try to catch up when I come back.

Til then, take care =)

23th Aug 2008 - Glasgow, Isle of SKye

Day 5

While cooking noodles as breakfast this morning, I met with a lady from the states who were here for 5 days on a conference. She’ll be traveling to Helsinki next for a leisure trip. After checking out, I thought I should at least see a little bit of Glasgow but end up I only manage to see Uni of Glasgow from afar and also the Kevinough Museum before setting off to Isle of Skye.


I took the scenic route from Glasgow to Skye via A82 & A87 and crossing the Skye Bridge instead of taking the ferry from Mallaig to Armsdale. The entire journey was stunningly beautiful. The amazing landscape prompted me to kept pulling up by the roadside whenever I can to take photos and also my eyes kept drifted away from the road ahead. Loch Lomand, Oinch, Fort William, Glencoe, and some other small towns and villages which I’d forgotten the names. Oh how I wished I could have 4 pairs of eyes (front, back, left and right) and 2 pairs of hands (one to maneuver, one to take photos). Well that’s the pity part of you being alone and driving. The hills, the rivers, the lakes… you just have to see it to appreciate the beauty of it. The photos that I've taken just could not illustrate fully the magnificent views.


As I need to arrive at the hostel by 5pm, I can only stop so many times for some quick snaps and go. Nearing the Skye, there were 2 blokes hitch-hiking by the roadside. I also saw an asian girl traveling on a bicycle which is pretty rare (at least to me). AT one of the viewpoints on the hills, there’s a Scottish men fully dressed up in kilts with his bag-pipes music performance for hire. Finally I arrived at the Portree Independent House at 5pm sharp. Checked in for the night for ￡13 in a 4-bed dorm. It’s similar concept as with Deston House, fully equipped kitchen, tv room and toilets, but its more crowded here.

After settling my stuff, I went out for a walk around Portree town. The town cener is not very big with only 2 (or 3) main streets. I went down to the pier. There's a famous seafood restaurant at the pier front and next to it is a fish and chips shop with quite a long queue. Quite many people who bought the fish & chips, sat by the pier eating and also feeding the seagulls which were plentiful. The seagulls seemed to have their own territories and you can see that some are bullying off other younger seagulls by spreading their wings and chasing them away.

Later, I went to Somerfields (supermarket) to buy some food and went back to the hostel to cook dinner. After dinner, I went out exploring around the river. There were some bugs (maybe midgets) that were biting me constantly so I had to kept moving around and shoving them away. I can just vaguely see the Cuilin mountains at the far end. I stopped by the car park to pick up some stuff from my car and met my other roommate. We then walked back to the hostel together. The lady (in her fifties?) is actually from Switzerland who was a biologist and she has been staying in Scotland for the past 5 years as she loves the nature and landscape in Scotland. Tomorrow, she'll be going to The Hebrides for a year to learn the Scottish Gaelic (a Scotts language). Her reason for learning this language is because she was very fascinated by this language as it is totally different from any other language. How inspiring. To learn out of interest and because you like it.

22nd Aug 2008 - Grasmere, Hawkshead, Glasgow

Day 4

Woke up early and prepared the journey to Glasgow, but only to find that the drive would only take me about 2hrs 40mins when I keyed in the postcode of the University of Glasgow (instead of 5hrs I thought). Hence, I thought I would visit Grasmere village and Hill Top Farm although it’s really not fuel efficient. Arrived at Grassmere and went walking round the village. The main center is filled with hotels, B&Bs and shops. It’s quite a small area. Went further towards the residential area where there’s a nice lake. There’s a riverside walk trail but I didn’t do it due to time factor.

Left for Hill Top farm and the car park is already full. There was 2 National Trust ladies standing guard so I asked them if there’s anywhere nearby I could park the car. They ask me to try at Near Sawrey. Parked my car at some kind of hall and walked back towards the Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm ticket office. It’s about 5 minutes walk away from the actual entrance of the Hill Top farm. Similar to the Beatrix Potter’s Gallery, it is time allocated entrance and mine is timed at 12.20pm, which is more than an hour away. It’s raining when I came out of the ticket office. With more than an hour to kill, I decided to check out a trail nearby as suggested by the ticket officer. The trail goes up a slope and I dare not go far up fearing my knee injuries while descending later on. So I went to the farm to visit the souvenir shop and also Potter’s garden. The shop is small with lots of tourist inside and I finished glancing through in 10mins. Went out of the farm and stood in the rain across the road under my umbrella looking at the hills, sheep and grassland. Finally, it stopped raining and the sky is blue again. Everything seemed refreshed after the shower. I went back into the farm to take the photo of the actual house. With 40mins to go and no other interesting places to go, I decided just to wait outside the house and do some people watching.

Finally it’s my turn to enter the house. No photo is allowed inside the house and they have kept the house in low light to preserve the things inside. Inside the house, there’s an actual wall fire in the living room, Potter’s art work, her collections and also some of her brother’s landscape paintings were also shown in various rooms in the house. At some areas, there's a Potter’s published book turned to a certain page. If you examine closely, you’ll find that the drawing is actually based on that place or the viewing angle.

Beatrix Potter moved to Castle Cottage (a bigger house), situated just across the road after marrying William Heelis, but she still comes back to Hill Top everyday to do her drawing and tend her garden. She extended one of her room upstairs to make it her office. In her office, there were landscape drawings done by her brother, and also a drawing each from her parents. Potter took after her father in animal illustrations while her brother took after her mother in landscape paintings. From the window of her office, you could see the by the willow tree.

After finishing the visit, I went back to my car, made myself some soup to go with biscuits for lunch. Then I set off to Glasglow. The scenery along the route is very nice, grassland and hilly terrains. All these changes as I near Glasglow, it’s obvious that I’m entering a city. Tall buildings, queuing traffics and flats. I check-in to the student’s dormitory of University of Glasgow at 5.30pm. The university opens up the hostel to the public during semester breaks. For a mere ￡16.80, I got a spacious single room (room 336) to myself. There are plenty of shower rooms and toilets outside the hallway and several kitchens in each floor. The tenants of a few rooms will be designated to use a certain kitchen. Also on each floor there’s a laundry room and it’s absolutely free (just bring your own washing powder or buy from the reception for ￡1). Also, if you have your own laptop, you can borrow a RJ45 cable from the reception and you can surf for free. This is the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in by far and it’s definitely so much better compared to the dorm I stayed when I was studying in UTM years back.

Although I wanted to go out and explore Glasgow, I know I needed to first settle my accommodations for the following few nights in Isle of Skye and Edinburgh. I decided to spend 3 nights each in Isle of Skye and Edinburgh. With the internet access, I started calling the hostels in Isle of Skye. It’s probably due to the Bank Holiday Monday that I could only get accommodations for Friday and Sunday nights in 2 different hostels in Portree. Next I tried several other hostels, B&Bs and Inns but to no vain. Gosh, how time flies by. I stopped my search as it’s getting really late and I need to do my laundry and also shower. Well, I’ll just have to see how it goes when I get to Portree tomorrow. Made myself some hot chocolate and went to bed at 2am.

21st Aug 2008 - Keswick (Walla Crag & Ashness Bridge - A Farmed Lanscape)

Day 3

Woke up @ 7am and freshen up preparing for my walk. According to the walking guide, this trail is approx 9km, considered moderate and will take 3-4hrs. Well, from experience I knew that most likely I’ll take double the time said in the guide (time spent to take photographs, take breaks to catch up on my breath, getting lost…). So I made sure that I start early just in case I got lost then I’ll have more time to hopefully find my way back.

The guide is divided into 6 main sections starting from the Moot Hall but I took a short cut since the trail actually takes me somewhere in between my hostel and the Moot Hall. The initial 4 points are rather easy to follow as the guides provided are very clear and the trails are either roads or on clear footpath signs. I first pass by a farm house and turn into the woodland going uphill. As the footpath curved round to the left, I got a good view across Walla Crag and Falcon Crag. There’s a stream on my left and big grasslands on my right. Very soon, I saw herds of sheep grazing on the grassland. Looking downwards, I can see the lovely Borrowdale. Keswick is actually at the junction of several valleys, including Borrowdale.

Continuing on the path towards Walla Crag, I came out of the woodland to a vast opening with clear views of the surrounding rolling hills. Felt great to stand in the open field and take in the magnificent views. Next, I climbed over a stile (it’s just a wooden plank placed at the wall fence so you can get to the other side of the wall) and reached the viewpoint of Walla Crag. It has stunning views over Keswick and the surrounding fells and the Derwentwater Lake. Simply breathe taking!!! The wind is very strong up here and I had to be careful not to be blown away. There’s a fellow hiker arriving at the viewpoint and left after a 5 minutes break. I lingered little bit more and moved on as other hikers start arriving.

Looking at my guide, I couldn’t make out the path I should take as there were 2 possible trails and both of them are not really clear. There weren’t any sign posts as well. While checking my maps, the couples behind me followed one of the trails although I think the guide pointed to the other. Then there’s a senior couples who came and took the trail I though to be true. So, I followed on. The senior couples were really fit and quick. Very soon I lost track of them while I’m stopping to snap photos. As the path is now very unclear, I’m not sure which way I should go. I can see a possible trail on the left leading up towards a steep hill but then the guide did mentioned not to take the trail towards the left. But if I don’t take the trail, there isn’t any other obvious trail around. Standing in the vast grassland, I looked around for signs of other hikers. Then I recognized the red rucksack carried by the senior couple earlier on and they are already half way up the steep hill. So although unsure, I followed on to the trail leading uphill, constantly looking back down to find if there’s any other trails that I’ve missed.

The climb was a pretty steep and I had to stop couple of times to catch my breath and rest my weakening legs. Finally I reach the top but it started to rain so I decide not to stay but work my way down. I wasn’t sure if the path I took was the correct one and soon I know I followed the wrong path. As the path has now disappeared and although there’s sign of possible footpath but it doesn’t seem to be leading to the correct path. I am officially lost. I don’t know where to go; I can’t see anybody around but sheep. Studying the map and the guide, I figured I need to find a way towards the lake. I could see some trails some distant away so I thought if I could work my way there then I should be ok. So I cautiously make a straight line walk through knee-deep bushes and small trees. But as I near the trail, I came to realize that there’s an edge drop to the streams below hence I can’t get to the trail directly. So, I’m stuck again but I’m still calm as it’s only about 12noon so I have another 8hrs to get myself back before its dark. Worst case scenario is I back-trace my trails and go back to where I come from.

Suddenly, I heard some noise like people’s yelling from a far. I stopped and listen. Nothing. So I continue on walking up alongside the streams then I hear it again. I stopped and scanned. There, I saw a group of people on the opposite side of the hills. That’s a slight relieve. So I reassess my location and try to work my way towards the group of people. There’s a fence in between me and them so I climbed over the fence only to find that it’s a sharp fall to the stream. I continued going upwards as I think there should be a place where the streams start hence I could cross over. Finally I found the place where I could cross the streams and made it to the opposite hill. Now, with the fresh shoe marks in the mud and clearer trails, I am much more confident that I could continue on this walk. However, while on the way, I almost sprained my right ankle as its pretty slippery and muddy. Now I started descending the hills. On a split path, while figuring which path I should take, I saw the hiker I met at the Walla Crag viewpoint. Hence I followed him downwards but my speed now is very slow as my old injuries on my right knee started to pain again. I had to constantly rest to release the stress on my knees.

At the bottom of the hill is the famous Ashness Bridge. Many hikers and tourists stopped here for a picnic lunch. I too sat by the river and had an apple and rested. I was very relieved that from this point onwards, it’ll be level road walking and no more climbing up and down. Walking along the lake’s shoreline was pretty nice and relaxing. While passing a grass field, I noticed an old Herdwick sheep. I inched closer trying to get a close-up. Then the sheep looked up straight towards me. It’s so cute, like a cartoon character. After a while, he moved away.

Continued on, I reached the lakeside I was at yesterday. So I sat down and rested. Later as it’s getting sunny, I found a shaded natural chair formed by the roots of a tree. I took off my wet shoes and socks. Lean on to the tree and rest. It’s very relaxing listening to the lapping waves, chirping birds, and mild wind. I would have stayed for hours if not that I needed to use the toilet. After my toilet break, I sat by the docks. My knees are hurting and I thought does this means that no more hiking / climbing while I’m at Scotland?

Feeling hungry, I went back to the town and bought a ready meal (Tikki Masala chicken rice). After my shower and dinner, I rested at the tv room munching on Pringles.

20th Aug 2008 - Lake District (Keswick) - cont

Day 2

After the gallery, I drove to the Hill Top Farm (10-15mins away) to visit Potter's house. But the carpark is full hence I decided to leave and head to Keswick. I checked-in to Deston House, Independent Hostel without prior booking as I couldn't get hold of them whenever i called. Independent hostel meant that they only open the reception at certain hours only so lucky when i arrived there's a staff there doing the daily cleaning and checked me in for 2 nights. A bed in the 6 bed female dorm costs GBP13 pppn. They have a fully equipped kitchen with all the utensils, free coffee and tea, huge dining room, tv room, toilets and showers.

The staff showed me the way around the hostel and also showed me how to get to the town center so I could get a local map from the tourist info centre at the Moot Hall, which is just a mere 10 mins walk away. Bought a walking guide (60p) for tomorrow's activity and got my local map. The Keswick town is slightly larger than the Windermere. The heart of Keswick is its Market Place, ringed round with shops and hotels. which is now renovated into a pedestrian priority area. It is now rapidly becoming known as the" outdoor clothing capital" of England because of the number of national and local specialist retailers supplying every need. It has a fantastic setting between Derwentwater, Blencathra and Skiddaw, and is the favorite centre for Lakeland climbers and serious fell walkers.

With the map, I found my way to the lake. Similar to the Windermere, there're more swans, ducks, gondolas and tourists. You can also take a boat ride round the lake Derwent or hire a small speed boat yourself. Following the shoreline and a path thru the thin woods, I reached the connecting lake where there's less people. As it's starting to get dark, I went back to the town to find a supermarket. Found the Co-op store and bought some instant noodles and soup pack. Went back to the hostel, showered and cooked noodles. Nice hot soupy noodle. After dinner, I loitered in the TV room reading up on Scotland while watching the TV programs.