Aird of Sleat - 05/10/04

A cloudy morning with bright intervals as I set off on the 10.20 bus.Once at Broadford, I change buses by crossing the road at the PostOffice. The busshelter is full of bundles of newspapers. Also waitingis a young woman who is helping out some tourists with their busconnections. I engage in conversation, and it turns out she is astudent at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, where she is doing media studies byGaelic medium education. This basically means that lectures &c aregiven in Gaelic. She is a very pleasant young lady, and once we arriveat Ardvasar, she also tells me that she was at the hospital inBroadford for physiotherapy on her shoulder. The large shopping bagsdon't help. Alight at Calligarry and head down the road towards Aird ofSleat. This is a trip down memory lane, as I was here before two monthsago. The only difference is that the blackberries are ripe, and I spenda fair amount of time picking them. Pass the farmhouse at Formore,which was the farthest I got in August. Go up a very steep hill andcarry on along the fringe of a forest. Finally come out into thevillage of Aird. The road goes sharply up and down, round sharp bendsbefore ending at a carpark. The weather has worsened, and it's comingon to rain. The shower clears quickly and the brilliant sunshinereturns. I arrive at a gate, which bars progress to the farm. A signpoints to the left, where you have to scramble up a very steep, rockyas well as muddy hillside. It's tricky, and my leaky boots don't makethings very nice either. The rocks are slippery, so have to exerciseextreme caution. After quite a lot of trouble, I finally come out atCamus Daraich, which is about half amile short of Point of Sleat, theextreme southern point of Skye. Have lunch just inland from the beach.Cannot proceed at sealevel, so have to retrace my steps and go uphill.Oreintation is tricky, but I do manage to come out at the top of ahill. Steps lead down to the foreshore, and again, extreme caution isneeded. Once at the bottom, I stand aghast at the amount of flotsamthat has been washed up here. Finally, I walk down the last grassytrack and stand by the lighthouse. This is a small, demure affair, notmuch more than about 6 m in height. It's very, very windy. I havedifficulty keeping my footing on the walkway, and those winds caused metrouble before as well. I turn back, walk round the corner and up thesteps. Lose my way through a very boggy patch, but re-establishpositioning when I find myself at the gates of the farm. Bearing inmind that nobody is around, I just pass through the yard which islittered with wrecked cars and machinery. Then come out at the othergate, which was where I turned off up into hte hills before. Go downthe path, back towards Aird. I gradually gain on a couple with a dog,but decide to have a break before I overtake them. Reappear at the gateat the road's end at 3pm, and continue at a pace. Have to be back atArdvasar at 5pm in order to catch the bus back to Broadford. I reappearin Ardvasar just after 4 to catch a glimpse of the Sabhal Mor studentflitting across the road inthe distance. As it's very early, I headdown to Armadale Pier to wait at the junction, after having a drink atthe hotel. Hobble back to Calligarry where the bus pulls in after I do.The driver is a pleasant chap and we have a great yarn all the way downthe A851. His bus is knackered, the schoolkids he takes on it are OK.Everybody knows him. A lady gets on at Teanga, but the driver cannotsell the ticket she needs because the machine is out of order. Majorroadworks are in progress between Teanga and Kinloch, to make it into anormal width road - it's single track just now. It does mean a bit ofslalomming around cones &c. Oncoming traffic is regulated usingstop/go signs. Once at Kinloch we go back to full speed. The showershave abated and the low sun lights up the distant Cuillins to thenorthwest as well as the long straggling line of houses that isBroadford. On arrival there, I nip into the Co-op which I can justmanage before the Kyleakin bus pulls in at 6.10. Return to the hostelat half past six. An hour later I watch the Citylink buses come in. Iam still in room 6, and have company there for tonight.