Longest drive.

Today was the sunniest day of our trip to Skye and we spent quite a lot of it in the car as we drove south to Broadford then west and south again to the tiny village of Elgol, but I must admit that it was worth it for the spectacular scenery on the way.  Apart from visiting the cave where Bonnie Prince Charlie hid from the Redcoats in 1746 before being ferried to the mainland and then on to France, the main reason for the visit was to see the honeycomb cliffs and the coloured pebbles on the beach.  The view of the Black Cuillin massif was also wonderful.


There was some debate as to how the honeycomb cliffs were formed with J suggesting it was due to large pebbles being lodged in the sandstone cliff and then being released as the sea eroded the cliffs, but further research suggests it’s due to expanding salt crystals breaking off fragments of rock , creating a small hole that becomes larger over time !!. I prefer J’s suggestion as the holes are pebble shaped (but the scientists probably know best).
Elgol is a tiny village where most of the commerce takes place on the pier – 2 ice cream vendors and , lobster rolls from a van called The Creel.  There is also a small shop at the higher car park that sells tea, coffee etc and some Scottish apparel. Apparently you can also get married there – see bride in extra – possibly a humanist wedding.   I wasn’t close enough to hear what the gentleman was asking the bride.
After “lunch” we headed for the hills from where we had more spectacular views over the sea to the mountains and islands beyond. I wasn’t prepared for the terrain and had worn my new walking shoes which were covered in mud from the peat bogs.   

The very large cattle were also friendly.