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Scottish Islands


8MileBU

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I just spent a week in Skye in a place called Borneske*****.  Could happily live on that island for the rest of my life.  Wasn't ideal with a 5 year old and a 3 year old but they loved what they were capable of doing.  A lot of driving as well as we were practically at the top of Skye but the drive was completely worth it with such class views.

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22 hours ago, Karpaty Lviv said:

Friend has asked me where up north and the islands she should visit? I haven’t ventured up that way sadly, I mentioned Skye but that’s about it.

In my humble opinion of the ones I've been to

Skye is a must, but it's the Disneyland of the islands. Holiday time is heaving. With some of the greatest scenery known to man and relatively simple to get to, it's understandable why it's so popular. 

Islay is my particular favourite but decent accommodation is expensive

Mull is meh but worth a visit as you need to go there to see Iona

Arran is another must see

Outer Hebrides Thousands of years of history and beaches that have to be seen to be believed. Another must do

All the other smaller islands have their own particular charms but you have to be looking for peace and quiet as most of them are probably best described as remote 

 

I suppose it depends what your friend is looking for when going on holiday, but for me it's the scenery, the history and whisky, so the islands tick every box.

I also camp everywhere so it's always done cheaply. There's nothing quite like opening your tent in the morning to be met with the view of Sligachan . Especially this year accommodation prices are going to be ridiculous, if you can even get anywhere. Even some of the more popular campsites are fully booked 

 

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Just back from 12 days in Lewis, 2nd visit of the year. Son, daughter, spouses and 3 granddaughters so a real family trip. Took hunners of photos. Fabulous weather while apparently it was pishing down here in the Lowlands. Going back in October, cannae wait. Here's one from when we went to Harris on my birthday. Snapped this before but hey, the cows!

QS6A6764.thumb.jpg.09a1401e12382f0ba1345228258d2703.jpg

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On 09/07/2021 at 09:02, LongTimeLurker said:

Not looking to get into an argument with you over this but the comments above such as the island that has to be Boreray in that scenario being way too big are still applicable to the clearer picture. From what I can see by map there's no way you can have a gap between Hirta and Boreray if the vantage point is from Lewis and there's nothing that should lie in between like that in the further distance beyond them. With the Shiant Islands you could see a gap between the two main islands from certain parts of Lewis and the smaller more distant island could be something around the northern tip of Skye.

 

On 09/07/2021 at 10:45, The Mantis said:

No arguments here, this isn’t the EOS forum 😉

Nobody can fault your logic, but I took the photos myself. They were taken from a small hill, Forsnabhal/Forsnaval in Uig.

What I’m going to do is pay a visit to Murdo, the skipper who took us there in 2016. He’ll soon clear it up. He did already, I’ve just forgotten what he said 5 years ago.

Murdanie emailed me an answer which seems to work. I had thought maybe the gap was due to a low lying spur but I didn't think there was such a thing to the North end of Hirta. However I took the photo from 50 miles away at about 600ft up so it probably fits. Gallan Head is the peninsula to the north of where I shot the pic.

"From right you have Stac an Armin, Boreray, Soay behind Boreray, Then the little Stac (like) is the tip of the Cambir which is the end of the arm of Hiort towards Soay and is at Soay Sound, then the long gap is where it is not so high and you come to Conachar that brings Hiort into play.

Due to the magnetic anomaly around the Archipelago before satelite navigation we used a transit bearing of the north end of Soay visible through between Boreray and Stac an Armin to give us a couse direct to Gallan Head. We kept on that line till the compass stabilised itself once away from the islands."

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  • 2 weeks later...
33 minutes ago, The Mantis said:

Nice pic. Where did you stay?

Just in Port Charlotte in an Air BnB.    Spent a week there after being up in Arduaine for a few days, went over to Mull and Staffa from there.  Wish we'd booked to stay over in Iona rather than trek back across Mull for the last ferry.  

Puffin.jpg

Staffa.jpg

Fingal's Cave.jpg

Edited by Pettigrew
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14 minutes ago, Pettigrew said:

Just in Port Charlotte in an Air BnB.    Spent a week there after being up in Arduaine for a few days, went over to Mull and Staffa from there.  Wish we'd booked to stay over in Iona rather than trek back across Mull for the last ferry.  

Puffin.jpg

Staffa.jpg

Fingal's Cave.jpg

Aye the Mull miles can be a bit long...
Staying in Tobermory for a long weekend in September. Booked on the Sea Eagles trip for the Sunday.

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At least one positive from the SG's shitshow today is that capacity restrictions on ferries will return to normal, instead of the farce that has persisted until now. 

Now it's just the incompetence of Cal Mac as well as Ferguson's to blame for the lingering disruption to ferry services for the rest of the summer season. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 05/09/2021 at 17:17, jamamafegan said:

Has anyone been to the Isle Of Rum? I’m there Wednesday to Monday. Is there anywhere to eat like a restaurant or bar? I know there’s a post office which has food but would be good to be prepared before I go. Planning to wild camp half of the trip.

A few years ago, there's not a lot on the island at all. Kim's kitchen at the village hall used to do food, unsure if that's still the case. I don't want to put you off but, 5/6 days on Rum could potentially be a bit long. Probably see the whole island in a couple of days.  

 

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Kim's Kitchen does some food and apparently meals a few times per week (booking required). There's a well-stacked shop at the village hall.

I'd agree that's an excessive amount of time on Rum. You can cross most of the island to the Harris mausoleum and the bay at the north end comfortably in a day. There are other places to explore but I'd split the time between there and Eigg (or another Small Isle). Galmisdale Bay has a full cafe/bar serving good food on Eigg into the evening. 

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6 hours ago, virginton said:

Kim's Kitchen does some food and apparently meals a few times per week (booking required). There's a well-stacked shop at the village hall.

I'd agree that's an excessive amount of time on Rum. You can cross most of the island to the Harris mausoleum and the bay at the north end comfortably in a day. There are other places to explore but I'd split the time between there and Eigg (or another Small Isle). Galmisdale Bay has a full cafe/bar serving good food on Eigg into the evening. 

Has @Granny Danger got strong feelings for the Isle of Rum?

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