The last few days have seemingly passed at a different pace compared to the rest of the trip, and in hindsight it was just what I needed. We had another almost full day on Skye before the evening ferry to North Uist, so I’ll cover that here before I move onto my time in the Hebrides in the next post.
The weather was great for our last day in Skye, so we took the opportunity to drive a little further to Neist Point on the westernmost point of Skye. On the way we stopped by at the Steinn Inn (self-reportedly the oldest pub on the island) to eat lunch in the precious Scottish sunshine.
Neist Point juts out from the surrounding sea cliffs, so you get a great view of the coastal outline on either side as you walk down towards the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself was a bit decrepit, which was a shame as we both agreed that the location would've been ideal as an artist retreat or just as luxury middle-of-nowhere accommodation (especially now given the tourism boom in Skye). We wandered over the rocky cliffs sloping down towards to water’s edge and kicked over some of the annoying rock stacks that bored tourists seem to have a habit of building whenever there are small flat rocks provided in abundance. I just thought it ruined the scenery - a mild reversible form of vandalism. There was also a particularly high cliff that sat in front of the lighthouse, blocking it from view from the road. We huffed and puffed to the top and given the clear conditions were able to enjoy a view of the Outer Hebrides in full as a line of shapes rising out from the horizon.
After that we drove back up to Uig in the north ready for our ferry to take us out west. The weather stayed calm and the almost two hour trip was gloriously comfortable and free from any white knuckles or sick green faces. We arrived late to the cabin where Keith was waiting with a hot home cooked meal and I with some Talisker. We drank and ate in front of the pungent peat fire and I started to get a little of the appeal of living a crofter’s life.