Well what it really said was ‘heavy showers with rain in-between’! So what a relief to know that yesterdays very heavy showers had departed. The meadows near us have been full of wildflowers and clover, the colours fantastic not to mention the vast array of meadow grasses in a multitude of greens and browns. It should soon be time for Hay making and the promise has been for a rich full harvest. So with yesterdays storms it was with a little trepidation I ventured to see what damage had been done. In truth very little but of course the meadows have undergone another subtle change, gone are the clovers and buttercups, swamped by the grasses which are now waist high with only the occasional white daisy able to force its way to the top….
I have a bad habit of looking back in time, getting the diary out to see where and what we did on the same day in previous years. Well two years ago the weather was no better, winds, rain and dark skies….. and we were at one of the bleakest points of the Isle of Skye.
The location is Niest Point a rugged and rocky outcrop that overlooks Moonen Bay in the North West of Skye. It is at the best of times desolate and remote. The road is long, winding and narrow and then a steep walk is demanded before you get to the cost. Even so many folk take with them their creative flair and leave behind ‘rock sculptures’ like the tower above. Wet and dark it was…but also romantic with a wild spirit.
But as with all Scottish weather it soon changes and next day we were further north on the mainland enjoying some sun. The coast is still rugged and from here on northwards the cliffs become much higher. Inevitably weather, time and the tides erode the rocky cliffs to leave dramatic pillars of rock (often known as Stacks) surrounded by turbulent seas.
These stacks are often in groups, but like here they can be a lone pillar of defiance of the elements. This is ‘The Old Man of Stoer’. To try and gain an impression of scale can you spot the climber on the pillar. As with so many of these sea stacks they have become a mecca for climbers.
So there you have it 2012 and a look back to 2010 and three very different locations and images.
29th JUNE
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 