Sunday 16th April, W7D3

 A bit grey and drizzly today, so set off for another attempt to see one of the sights in my little book of walks and also with a mission to check on ferries to Raasay, which is my next target. I found the tiny ferry jetty in Sconser, and copied the timetables for the short crossing. I stopped further down the road at a Co-Op garage, where I filled up with diesel, and also topped up the LPG, this being the only source on Skye. I have no guage on my gas tank, and though I'm sure I have plenty in reserve, the one thing I wouldn't want to run out of is gas for my coffee! I stopped at the pretty lochside for a coffee and a sandwich. 

This time the walks book didn't lie, and I found the ruined church (and yet another graveyard) at Cil Chriosd, on the way to Elgol, one of the extremes of the island. This one housed many McKinnons, a rival clan to you-know-who, and was spread over a wide area. It was again a Commonwealth War Graves site. One memorial I  found particularly moving, to a family who lost two sons 15 years apart, in two different conflicts, the first in the Boer War, and the second in the Great War. That just seems so unfair. 

The hill in the Red Cuillins behind the church is named the Hill of the Old Woman, after Saucy Mary, who laid a chain across the channel at Kyleakin to extract a toll from the passing ships. (It's also said she had other sources of income from the sailors. Allegedly.) Either that or it represents a Norwegian princess. As so often, you can make your choice: the Highland legends are very accommodating in that way! 

I also learned that Skye marble was greatly sought after, said to rival Carrera, and a railroad was built to carry the stone from the local quarry to be shipped from Dunvegan. 

Finally I headed back on the same road to Portree, and was able to stop at a great waterfall past which I had raced downhill on the outward trip. It cascades down from the Cuillins into a fast flowing stream, to empty into Loch Ainort. 

So back to Portree, for dinner of soup and scallops at Brose and Dulse, and my fourth and final night in this very good Campsite. Must make the most of it, as I think the next couple of nights will be a walk on the Wild side.