Is it still Summer in Britain ?

…Not in Scotland it’s not…

I awoke in Glen Nevis having been rocked by the wind all night, and there were gales forecast for later in the day, with winds gusting up to 80mph !

Undeterred I still packed up, and in late morning left the campsite, initially calling in to Fort William to connect on t’internet, before setting off on the ‘Road to the Isles’ for my trip to Skye, still not promising as I travelled along the roads, in heavy rain, and very strong winds, ferry crossings having already been cancelled, and warning notices sent out for high winds on the Skye Bridge.

As I travelled along by the side of Loch Clunie I recognised the area, having stopped there quite some years ago with Susan,in a great cottage by the Loch, and many more happy memories (including getting lost !)..as I passed through Glenshiel,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Shiel and the early evening setting in I decided to find somewhere for the night, turning off the road towards Armadale, and eventually finding an area up the hills, overlooking Glenshiel, and towards the ‘Five Sisters of Kintail’ http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/kintail/Fivesisters.shtml which I had climbed those many years ago…as the winds and rain tore in, I knew it was going to be a rough night, and it was …all night being battered by wind and rain, and not getting much sleep – but, I survived !, and up, bright and early set off along the road, again heading for Skye, although I did wonder whether it was the best idea as the winds continued to drive in from the coast.

I called by Eilean Donan castle http://www.eileandonancastle.com/ along the side of the road,on dark murky waters ,although at £6 entrance I didn't hang about !

Then following signs for Plockton http://www.plockton.com/ ,famous for the television series ‘Hamish McBeth’ ,I made lunch there awaiting the rain to subside, before having a quick wander around the village, then off to The Kyle of Lochalsh, where the public toilets  had showers available, so, for the paltry sum of £1-40 I hired a towel, and treated myself to a nice hot,cleaning shower – not sure when I’d get the next one ..

Then it was  off across the Skye bridge http://www.skye.co.uk/ , and along the roads through Broadford, Sligachan, staying on the Eastern coast, hoping to avoid the (more) bad weather forecast for the next couple of days, it seems they’d already had a lot of rain, as the waterfalls were in full flow ,and eventually finding a sheltered clearing in a Forest, which hopefully will protect me for the night, and see what tomorrow brings….Nighty night !