A dump and an amazing Skye Cave

[The Gurnard]

Although the weather in Scotland has been a bit changeable for the last month.. Im still living the “good life” wandering round the Scottish countryside ..sleeping in the car and boating when I can.

The F Rib has been ideal for my summer setup as it travels nicely in the car .. with all its accessories in the roof box. At night..its left outside so I have room to sleep on a bunk in the back.

This is a typical camp spot..I just pull over in a quiet area.. and because I leave no trace of my over night stays..no one bothers with me.



Its because of being “lost in the wilderness”..that I have not posted many adventures lately.. internet is non existent in these situations . It is a gypsy life..but I don’t have a worry or care in the world..and never bored. I head home every now and again to wash and clean .. cut grass and tidy garden .. repair things ..then head off again.

Im home today.. and have a little time .. so here is a quick preview of a day in my life .. from last week.

I was exploring the south west coastline of Skye .. from the Point of Sleet ..to the point on the Elgol peninsula.. following the coasts of Loch Eishort and Loch Slapin. A very scenic and remote area .. even in August when Skye is bursting with tourists.

I launched the Guppy at Ord village..there is a small slipway there too. I have been using the wee Mariner 3.3Hp to power the F Rib..as it fits in the roofbox and keeps the smell of petrol out my sleeping compartment.



This part of the coastline..especially on the Elgol peninsula has a solid line of cliffs that drop into the sea..not the highest cliffs on Skye as they are only a hundred feet or so in height..but they still form an almost impenetrable barrier for shore access..which is why the area is so remote. The cliffs are fractured by many vertical gullies and peppered with dark cave openings.



I saw several sea eagles soaring in gully updrafts .. folding wings and diving for fish in the sea ..which at times.. boiled with mackerel.



At peace with nature ..I was enjoying my day..when the call of nature called on me..so I landed on a small rocky shore to relieve myself. I saw there was a cave opening near by.



Once I had dumped my load ..I thought I would have a look in the cave. Nothing unusual ..except it was a bit more colour about its walls than most.



I don’t know why..but I got the urge to enter it and have a closer look. A tunnel lead off the back of the cave.. I saw a bone at the entrance ..and hoped it wasn’t left by a meat eater living inside the burrow.



Curiosity got the better of me so I did a worm squirm down the tunnel.. the light from my smart ass phone illuminating the way.

[The Gurnard]

I almost had a heart attack..and was extremely relieved that I had not long relieved myself ..as there might have been a terrible mess..but a bird suddenly flew past my head as I squirmed my way down the tunnel .. scared by me.. it was heading for the light outside the cave.

The tunnel opened into a smallish cavern..around ten feet high. I was amazed to see what looked like some strange alien form..glistening wet and slippery looking ..sitting in the corner.



On closer inspection it had a kind of scale skin..wet..but certainly not slippery or slimy.. it felt like cold sandpaper.



I shone the smartass phone beam around and saw it was on the roof as well as the walls.



If fact.. Turning back .. I saw it was dripping everywhere.. turns out it is calcium carbonate being washed from the cliffs above the cave..and thousands of years later..turning into this strange rock formation.



Im glad I went into the cave and saw it all with my own eyes ..so perhaps I should stop and explore sea caves more often.

I did feel a bit dirty afterwards ..as there was a fair bit of bird poo around too.. so I stripped off and had a power shower under the next waterfall that I passed.



Wow ..it was cold ..and almost painfull..getting that height of water hitting my head.. but very invigorating and I felt great once the warm sun dried me off.

Yup..its a hard life living in the wilds during the summer... but I will miss it when winter comes round again

[Paul_S]

Wow, that's awesome.

[Fred.]

Great photo's & read
Thanks

[jeffstevens763@g]

keep um coming gurnard great pics surprising what a dump can lead to

[kerny]

Awesome report thanks Gurnard ....Your posts are never crap 😉.....looking forward to you dumping many more thanks . 👍

[willk]

Originally Posted by kerny

Awesome report thanks Gurnard ....Your posts are never crap ��.....looking forward to you dumping many more thanks . ��

Yeah - his posts have evolved from Poetry to Throw-it-ry. Thank God he spares us the photos: "Nice specimen brown trout steaming on the shore of Loch Loo-mond"

To be fair, his crap has a big following - he's damn nearly a Movement.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by willk

Yeah - his posts have evolved from Poetry to Throw-it-ry. Thank God he spares us the photos: "Nice specimen brown trout steaming on the shore of Loch Loo-mond"

To be fair, his crap has a big following - he's damn nearly a Movement.

Poetry in motion


Lions led by donkeys

[SteveHall]

As I sit in my office bored, wishing I was boating your escapes help me through Gurnard!

Thanks for showing us all the world!

[Fenlander]

>>>Nice specimen brown trout steaming on the shore of Loch Loo-mond

Hmm.. so yesterday evening we were drifting about an idyllic area at the top of the loch landing on the tiny islands and excited to see "evidence" of otters... now I'm worried.. perhaps it wasn't otters but...!

[jambo]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>Nice specimen brown trout steaming on the shore of Loch Loo-mond

Hmm.. so yesterday evening we were drifting about an idyllic area at the top of the loch landing on the tiny islands and excited to see "evidence" of otters... now I'm worried.. perhaps it wasn't otters but...!

David are you sure it wasn't beavers if you were at top of loch in Salen


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

[mitchc]

We are on Skye for the first 2 weeks of September. It'll be our first time there but really looking forward to it.
Planning the trip (camp sites/launching/tides) makes me realise it will take more than two weeks to explore everything.
Very jealous of your wild camping!

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Shows you don't need an 8m, RNLI wannabee kitted out, offshore lottery win costing piece of kit too, to go on adventures. Great to read.

[willk]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

Shows you don't need an 8m, RNLI wannabee kitted out, offshore lottery win costing piece of kit too, to go on adventures. Great to read.

Any Guinness fuelled evacuation is an Adventure. A Gecko mightn't be the worst idea ever.....

[The Gurnard]

Thanks for the kind comments guys..and Im glad you appear to agree that “ Its Better an empty house ..than a bad tenant” with regards to dumping.

I do follow the access code..and ensure its left below high water mark. .that way its flushed to sea..twice a day.. which is far more that the public convenience at Crianlarich is flushed..that happens once a year.

As today is heavy rain all day..I have postponed my proposed adventure until the weekend.. so can add a little more to this mini one.

Dump Cave..as I now like to call it.. is not nearly as amazing as Skye’s best know cave .. Spar Cave.. which is only around the corner from this cave. I didn’t visit it as my smartass phone beam is not powerful enough to illuminate that huge grotto. It requires a powerful torch to see it safely.. but as long as you can see the pools of water..it is a safe cave. However ... if walking.. beware.. it can only be accessed at low tide. These photos are not mine..I have borrowed them from the net to illustrate this one.





After my extra cool power shower .. I headed to the point off Elgol peninsula for some fish dinner.. to fill the now vacant void in my stomach



Within moments..I had a full house of three mackerel on my feather lures. I only had room in my small void for two..so the third mackerel was returned.



No point in killing it needlessly ..as I like my fish lunch to be as fresh as possible. I landed and cooked the other two before they stopped twitching. Fresh mackerel taste completely different from the crap sold in fish shops. The salty taste of fish gives me a thirst..so I like to have lashings of black vinegar with it..I don’t mind that coming from a can.. assuming there is no fresh stuff close at hand.



Stomach suitably refilled .. I then went about my business of exploring the old ruins along this part of the coastline.

Dun Scaich castle being a particularly good example..it was once a house for Clan MacDonald of Sleet.



The ancient dun on top of this cliff is not so well known..but was home to some wild living folks around stone age man time ?



There is another stone age fortification on the central pillar of Eilean Ruairidch ..which has lovely views over the Cuillin mountains.



If fact..there are several ruined villages dotted along this coastline. The villages were burned to the ground by the Lord MacDonald of that era .. to make way for their sheep. This was only a hundred years so so ago.. during the clearances ..not in stone age times. This photo is part of Boreraig village where 120 villagers were cleared to make way for sheep..in 1853. Many emigrated to America as they had little left to live for in Scotland.



Wandering among the ruins ..I heard in my head .. children's voices laughing as they played outside these homes.. I thought of cooking pots being stirred in hot hearths by mothers .. and I heard fishermen hauling nets ashore to fill the pots. I always find it a poignant time when I wonder what life was like for people of old.

Then I noticed a couple of pounds in coins ..that someone recently had left in a small pocket in a wall of one of the ruins.



I confess ..my initial reaction was to take the money. I spend little on my solitary sojourns into the wilderness .. living off free fish ..berries and herbs. ..even the odd bit of road kill if it looks ok.

Then I thought.. what do I need it for ? I gave up a life of wanting many possessions ... a long time ago.. and Im a lot happier for it. I left the money and village far behind as I made my way back to my car home.


I slept soundly that night ..without a care or worry in the world.

[Fenlander]

Great report Gurnard... and just to update Jambo...

>>> if you were at top of loch in Salen

We were as far as we dare go mid tide in The Fairy Isles... I'd have uploaded an image of the evidence but seems the village broadband needs another shilling in the meter (10% of the speed we get at home).

[Fenlander]

Ahh someone's put that money in the meter... we have decent connection now.

This is the evidence... plus fish bones and bits of crab scattered everywhere...

[jambo]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Ahh someone's put that money in the meter... we have decent connection now.



This is the evidence... plus fish bones and bits of crab scattered everywhere...

Ah so you would just be south of loch Collie Bharr so I still think it's Beaver. Yes Highland wifi is a bit slow but better than nothing.


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

[Poly]

Originally Posted by jambo

Ah so you would just be south of loch Collie Bharr so I still think it's Beaver. Yes Highland wifi is a bit slow but better than nothing.


Sent from my iPhone using RIB Net

I thought beavers were herbivores and deposited ping pong ball sized round droppings? Those look otter like to me... But it seems Gurnard is the expert on all things faecal this week so perhaps he knows more!

[The Gurnard]

Originally Posted by Poly

I thought beavers were herbivores and deposited ping pong ball sized round droppings? Those look otter like to me... But it seems Gurnard is the expert on all things faecal this week so perhaps he knows more!

Yup.. you could say Im a bit of a poo professional Poly.. and you are almost correct.. Beavers do eat more than just herbs though..they are like big rabbits and enjoy carrots.. veggies and the odd tree too.. but Im not sure if they like fish or crabs..that's more otter's water snacks

Its very easy to tell otter poo.. but you have to stick your nose near it to make sure.. as it has a kind of sweet perfume smell to it.. not like other fish eaters that tend to sink

Mind and have a power shower if you do dip your nose in it Fenlander...and dont blame me if it was some other dirty dog that done the deed