Day 12 - East Skye
We didnt travel too far today and managed to avoid hoards of tourists and motorhomes. We didnt go out until late morning as it was raining heavily so we did some packing and clearing up ready to leave tomorrow.
We drove down to Kyleakin, a little village which used to be the ferry terminal from Kyle of Lochalsh before the bridge was built. The last ferry ran in 1995 when the bridge was completed and opened. There was a good view of the bridge which is actually 2 bridges. One goes from Skye to the island of Eilean Ban and then from Eilean Ban to the mainland near Kyle of Lochalsh. The rain had stopped and when the sun came out it was really warm.
We walked around the harbour area and I tried to get to the ruins of Castle Moil but it is tidal so could only be accessed at low tide which was a few hours away from so I just took photos instead.
Later we went to Kylerhea where there is a wildlife hide called "Otter Haven" run by the Forestry Commission for Scotland. It was 1km from the car park, along forest trails and Paul managed it ok. The hide gave good views over the water to the mainland. There is also a little car ferry (max 6 cars) from here to Glenelg on the mainland which was continuously on the go.
From the hide there is the possibility to see seals, dolphins and otters but not today. It was the wrong time of day to see otters. I did see a Greylag goose with one gosling, and another appeared later. Paul left the hide before me and just managed to get to the car as the heavens opened. I got very wet and had to change my trousers in the car park.
The road to Kylerhea was 7 miles but quite scary as there were not so many passing places and there were some very sheer drops on one side of the road and loads of potholes. Fortunately we didnt see many other vehicles and no motorhomes had tried this route.
Lastly we went to find where parkrun will start tomorrow. It is only a couple of miles from where we are staying. We had our meal then a last walk around Broadford.
Skye has some beautiful and spectacular scenery but it is being spoilt by over tourism and the huge number of large motorhomes, most of which are able to park for free in laybys or designated parking areas. It was similar in Orkney and Shetland but nowhere near as many as the numbers of tourists are controlled by the number of vehicles that can get on the limited ferries or planes. In Skye any number can come over on the bridge, without booking, which adds to the problems on some of the roads. I wouldnt return here.
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