Thursday, November 02, 2017

When I bask in your light

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Raasay

It had been a long day the previous day, travelling from Islay to Skye and then the concert that night. I enjoyed the show immensely, and the venue was lovely, at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. So we had a more relaxed start this day, took a while to find breakfast, and ended up at Sconser waiting for the next ferry to Raasay, a bit after noon.

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Approaching Rassay on the ferry. The weather was amazing, one of the best days the whole time we were in Scotland. No cardigan required. We even broke out the sunscreen.

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We just picked a direction and started driving.

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Heather! (Heatherrrrrrrrr)

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We pretty much spent the whole afternoon this way, driving around, stopping often, in this gorgeous, mostly empty landscape. We met some sheep, and very few other vehicles. We passed through a few little villages or groups of houses.

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Ruins of Brochel Castle. A MacLeod one. Sadly you can't get too close - apparently it is quite unstable.

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Back nearer to the port we found Rassay House set in a different, more genteel, sort of landscape. We also came across a new distillery which is still being built (which clearly suggests a plan of going back in 10 years or so for a taste).

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And the return ferry to Skye offered this stunning view of the port town of Sconser with the hill Glamaig in the background. Apparently it's a corbett, not as high as a munro. It is also by all accounts a heck of a thing to climb. Seeing slopes like these give me a terrible urge to stop the car, jump out and sprint right up. It really feels like I could just do it! Funnily enough I didn't try that. Just went for a semi-successful jog along the sea shore later, after we checked in to our rather lovely BnB in Broadford. Later we went to a pub recommended by our host and had an amazing dinner - lobster for K and the most incredible macaroni cheese for me. I don't think any other macaroni cheese will ever match it. It was huge and we'd had a late lunch at Raasay House. I was so sad that I couldn't finish it. (I always clean my plate). I don't really understand the UK thing of serving garlic bread with mac'n'cheese but even that was good.

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