Posted on by Lesley

Of friends and hot toddies

Husband has an old family friend who came to stay last week. It was his first time on the island since early childhood and as is the way of these things we were keen to show him Skye at its best.

We managed to guide him away from advice given by well-meaning friends. The Fairy Pools are not the place to go now the season has started, and we explained that there were less busy places that he might enjoy more without having to battle through groups of tourists and queues for car parking.

Tarskavaig beach

We drove him around the south of the island on the single track roads, winding our way past Tarskavaig, Tokavaig and Ord. The beaches and the view of the Cuillin are both stunning there. And deserted.

Local trees growing on the rocks

We also took him to Applecross for the day, winding our way through the Bealach na Ba, a famously tortuous road that twists and turns through the mountains until eventually spitting you out in the green and sheltered bay of Applecross. The views from there back to Skye are stunning.

Bealach na Ba

We had lunch at the Walled Garden Cafe there, and a wander around the lovely enclosed gardens of Applecross House. The solid stone walls shelter the plants from the worst of the Highland weather and create a lush and productive kitchen and cottage garden full of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Walled Garden Applecross

I can only imagine how thankful the residents would have been for this growing space in winter when the pass was often closed due to snow.

A corner of the cottage garden

It was a short stay and once he had left we settled back into our normal routine. Or would have done if we hadn’t both been struck down by a flu bug almost immediately.

Of course the first thing we did was to test for Covid, as we all feel that we must do in these strange times. It was negative. Just a plain old bout of flu, with sore throats, headaches and colds. It’s never gone away, although of course Covid has taken precedence, and our contact with the wider world last week had clearly exposed us to something. I suspect after the relative seclusion of the croft over the past two years we haven’t got much resistance to such things any longer.

As such we’ve mooched about feeling rough, and I’ve insisted on a hot toddy at bedtime to help ease the symptoms. Even if it’s not a recognised medicinal cure, honey soothes sore throats, lemon juice adds much needed extra vitamin C and the whiskey just makes you feel better 😊.

16 Replies to “Of friends and hot toddies”

    2. Have you looked through this? https://www.isleofskye.com for visitor information. A lot depends on how long you have and what sort of things you like to do. There’s a lot for a small island so you’ll need to zero it down to a couple of things. September is a good month to come usually as the tourist numbers are tailing off.

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      2. There is a fabulous tiny wool place called Shilisdair at Culnacnoc, near Staffin in the north of the island. Hand died yarns. http://shilasdair-yarns.com. There’s also the Weaving shed, in the North West of the island that’s worth a visit if you have time. Again, tiny https://www.skyeweavers.co.uk

        There are two main castles on the island, Dunvegan in the north and Armadale castle in the South.

        The fairy pools gets very busy, but if your companion really wants to see them I’d suggest getting there early before the crowds. There are no real stone circles on Skye.

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      4. Where will you be based? That will influence where you go to a degree as the distances are quite long between these places, and the roads are largely single track and slow.
        Great places to eat (I think you’re vegan?) need to be planned as there aren’t many of them. It’s a small island. There’s the Coffee Bothy at Broadford that does everything vegan, cakes and soup etc, and Cafe Arriba in Portree with a good selection too. Evening eating needs probably to be planned and tables pre-booked as everything is small here. Email me on lesleymorgan@gmx.Co.uk and I can help with more details if you like, and maybe we could meet for a coffee if you’d like?

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      6. Also check out safe park-up places if you’re in an RV. There aren’t too many. There are a few here in the south of the island (there are about five bays at An Crubh, our community cafe and hub at Duisdale, https://ancrubh.com and camping in Broadford, but I’m not sure of the location of facilities in the north of the island).

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      8. And if you’re driving to the island, check out Eileen Donan castle near the bridge, literally just before you come onto the island https://www.eileandonancastle.com
        And pick up some gorgeous bread from the hidden bakery Manuelas wee bakery in the village of Ardelve only a few miles from there.

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      10. Here’s a few links to campervan places on Skye

        – An Crubh https://ancrubh.com/south-skye-motorhome-park-an-crubh/?fbclid=IwAR0JetBVqEbEjTVNWzadYxpJsSIXbT2T6w2Bp5DaZRkrH8Sb0cz-o9AhkhQ_aem_th_AXb5i5nrFrK5U2JN2m_KESzOFcVHLyXZLLCf0xr560Ngb6spbu3FQJ9dELDvHR5yvqE

        – Broadford https://campingskye.com, a slightly bigger site

        – I believe that there is also a campervan site at Sligachan, at the foot of the Cuillins

        – And another at Carbost close to a good local pub that does food https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/certificated-locations/scotland/highlands/carbost/

        – Interesting site from a campervan perspective, May give you some ideas https://www.campsiecampers.co.uk/i-just-came-down-from-the-isle-of-skye/

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