26th November 2012 - A weekend on Skye

The Cuillin from Elgol

Bla Bhienn - on the tick list!

Looking up towards Marsco

Excellent conditions today

Garbh Bhienn

The entrance to the Spar caves - tidal!

Calcium Carbonate deposits on the ground

Some amazing architecture on the walls of the cave

Someone has been here before!

Anna with some ectoplasm!

This evening Anna and I returned from a lovely weekend on the Isle of Skye. We had went up on Saturday, and had a lazy day meeting up with some friends, Beth and Matt, who live on the island. On Sunday, Anna, Beth and I went for a leisurely stroll up Marsco, a little gem of a mountain that nestles slightly east of the Black Cuillin, and a little north west of Bla Bheinn. The approach is rather boggy but very straight forward under foot, up Coire nam Bruadaran and onto the bealach seperating Marsco from its rather tougher neighbour, Garbh Bhienn. Upon reaching this bealach, the ascent North East is interesting, and you can incorporate some easy scrambling to make the slog rather mote interesting. At only 736 metres it is not a long days walk, and wont break your back, but it is full of interest, and as you gain height, the views towards its mightier neighbours are simply breathtaking. The small ridge before you reach the summit is surprisingly narrow and somewhat exposed, with steep, endless drops on either side, and with the slippy snow underfoot care was necessary.

The summit views are spectacular. We enjoyed glimpses of Alligin and Liathach to the north, the entire Cuillin ridge to the east, Garbh Bhienn and Bla Bhienn to the south west and Rhum's summits to the south. The wind was cold and persistent, and a flurry of snow greeted our arrival at the top, so we sought shelter and had a quick bite to eat before backtracking and finding a suitable route back down to Coire nam Bruadaran, and, after a further trudge through the boggy terrain which Skye is famous for, the car. All in all we had a great day - the weather was exceptionally fair, visibility was excellent and the craic was top notch too. It was great to catch up with Beth and get a bit of local knowledge whilst on the hill. The route only took 4 leisurely hours too, so well worth it if you dont have a whole day to get out and about but want to taste a slice of what Skye has to offer!

Today (Monday), Anna and I opted for a more leisurely 'tourist' approach and went or a visit to the Spar Caves which are down near Elgol. Matt had kept us updated as to the low and high tide times, which is important as the caves access is dependent on the height of the tide - if you get trapped, its either a very dodgy climb up and out, or a 12 hour wait...

The caves are evidently formed in limestone, and are trully amazing inside. You climb up and into the cave from a narrow sea cove. Once inside, you will need a head torch to help guide you deeper and higher into the cave recess. Underfoot is thousands of years worth of calcium carbonate which has been deposited from rainwater seeping through the limestone above. It is almost like ice in appearance, but is incredibly grippy. Our tour ended with a short, steep downclimb to a deep impassable pool. Next time we come to visit, I'll definately be bringing a wet suit and having an explore further into the cave to see whats going on further in....As we left, we were treated to one of natures wee spectacles - a sea otter hunting in the cove, catching a fish and coming ashore 10 metres from where we stood. It spent ten minutes eating its lunch and washing it down with some seaweed and saltwater, before heading on out to catch itself some seconds! Incredible little creatures and always a pleasure to see them in the wild!

After this we headed home, stopping of at the Cluanie for our own lovely meal surrounded by some stunning snow capped mountains. Off next weekend so maybe if the weather is alright we could pop up for some winter fun!