Bioda Buidhe Trotternish 17 Nov 2018

This walk, which was well attended (nine), set off from the Quiraing car park but headed south into the blazing sun towards Bioda Buidhe (pronounced beete booye and meaning the yellow pointed top), rather than north to the Quiraing.

Looking back towards the Quiraing.

Looking east over Cleat

Looking south towards Beinn Edra (600 m)

In retrospect, I'm not sure when we reached the top of Biode Buide as no one mentioned it, there was no cracking open bottles of champagne, no hugging or selfies, no planting flags 'n stuff like that. Guess that's just the British way.

To the east, mountains on the Scottish mainland, before which we see the northernmost part of the island of Rona, then Loch Mealt on Skye, and Loch Cleap (with reeds).

If one zooms into Rona on the above image, one can see what I thought was the steamer Waverley when seen through binoculars but Ella said it couldn't be at that time of the year. Besides, the Waverley has two red funnels, not one white funnel, and it moves. This turned out to be Rona lighthouse.

Mmm, what should we do now?

A hang glider manages to stay airborne despite the almost total lack of wind.

On our way down. The Outer Hebrides can be seen in the distant haze.

This time last year it was snowing on Skye.

Lovaig Bay via Coral Beaches

Images by Rhona:

Fairy Pools 17th October 2018

David: "No report or comments on facebook, just it was a really good outing and well organised by Linda again who re-organised the date due to bad weather."

Photos by Charlie:

Camasunary 3 October 2018

David's short report on this walk - he was unable to attend himself:

"A varied day weather wise - but then again us U3A’ers are a hardy bunch.

 Ray commented:  Very enjoyable walk to Camasunary today. Great company, great conversation and great scenery.

Luckily no-one was killed or maimed during today's adventure.  (said with a smile and a wink!)

 Unfortunately Sue's camper ended up in the ditch and Linda dived into the river. (She absolutely refused to repeat it so I could take a photo.)

Charlie Commented:  Great walk and companions!  And thanks to Linda for organising the walk and day!"

My own memory of the walk was that showers were somewhat heavier and more prolonged than the weather forecasts had predicted. We only realized later that Nick had left his waterproof coat in the car; who knows whether this was a case of forgetfulness, brazen machismo, or inappropriate optimism. But whenever the sun broke through the cloud cover we were treated to an endless sequence of rainbows. For lunch the group split into softies, who retired to the Camasunary bothy to eat in comfort, and the toughs, including Jess the cockapoo (though she didn't have much choice), who consumed their victuals perched on wet jagged rocks in the rain.

The following images were taken by unspecified photographers (apart from Su's van-in-the-ditch photo:

U3A Skye Annex the Isle of Fladda!

The day after a full day of rain the day before, 13 hopeful walkers met at Sconser Ferry terminal with the aim of reaching the Island of Fladda at the northern end of Raasay. The ferry journey over gave encouragement for a dry day. We drove up the length of Raasay and were very pleased to meet virtually no cars on the way, a stark contrast to Skye at the moment.uHaving arrived at the carpark at the end of Calum's road, we donned our waterproofs and set off. We had attempted the same walk a couple of years ago without success because the tide was too high, the walk had been brought forward by a week to ensure the tides were right this time. 
The first part of the walk is straight forward, if a bit up and down over a rough track, we soon left the few houses behind to follow the coast through the hills. We kept our eyes out for wildlife as well as fungi and found quite a bit of the latter and some of the first. Many types of fungus were spotted and a nice surprise was a slow-worm under a large sheet of corrugated iron, with a further 4 in the same spot on the return journey. The coast path proved to be a little more challenging than our first attempt as the narrow path was heavily overgrown with heather and in some places was eroded, requiring care. 
The route gave great views across to Skye and beyond as well as a good Sea Eagle sightings over the hills. 
At the three-quarters point one of the team decided she'd gone far enough and retired to a shallow cave where we collected her on the return trip. The rest of the team then made their way carefully down to the seashore. 2 more decided not to cross and the rest of the team of 10 made the final crossing to claim the Island for Skye U3A! A well deserved lunch was then taken in a not too sheltered spot! We stayed dry for about half an hour and then the heavens opened for a short while. We decided to explore the inland for a while and walked up to the 3 houses (holiday homes) and found a lot of old houses showing that the island did have a significant population over the years. It certainly had a nice feel. 
After a good half hour we started the return journey, getting a message from 2 other walkers that our lone cave dweller was alive and well!!
The return journey certainly seemed shorter but with some very heavy showers on the way. Our concern about the safety of the route proved well founded as there was a sudden cry as one of the team disappeared over the side and down a slope into the woodland. Luckily she emerged smiling if not a little bloody. After a short stop in the cave to escape a downpour and effect some first aid we carried on and back to the car park but not after a further really heavy shower which soaked us all just before we got back to the cars. We drove back with a little stop at the southern end of Calum's road and Brochiel castle for photos before arriving back at Raasay house and we sat outside in the sunshine for some well-earned drinks and cakes.
There was however a little more drama at this point as certain members of the team grew anxious as they watched the ferry approach and dock even though your Chairman assured them that there was plenty of time. We left the house with 15 minutes to spare for the 2-minute journey to the ferry port and joined the queue as number 13. Even then your Chairman's assurances that he would get on fell on deaf ears as one by one his passenger decided to take their bags and walk 'on, "just in case you have to wait for the next one"!!
13 walkers and number 13 in the queue seemed to have been too much of a coincidence for them!

Oh those of little faith ... of course there was plenty of room and I joined them in the lounge for some well directed jibes and banter.
Everyone agreed this was a great adventure and although we all needed to dry out when we got back a great time was had by all.
David

Text and images by David