The Creative Diary of Chris Elphick

The Northern Lights, Skye

There were a couple of reasons behind us visiting Skye in March, rather than heading up to to the Isle during our Summer holidays. The first was monetary considerations (it is far cheaper to holiday during winter months). The second was my wife's life-long wish to see the Northern Lights. Whilst most people head to Iceland for the chance of seeing them, the Aurora Borealis is also visible from Skye and the north of Scotland. Unfortunately, they are best discerned during the colder months of the year! Of course, it is still down to luck whether your visit coincides with a show of the lights, or whether the weather permits seeing them even when they are on display. We visited Sky last March in the hope of glimpsing them, only to have the sky overcast on the one night they were active! Thankfully, we were lucky this time. And we only had to take a few steps from our holiday cottage to photograph them!

The Northen Lights, photographed over Loch Cleat, Skye

This glimpse of the Aurora Borealis has fuelled our desire to see a more spectacular display now and we are already making plans to hopefully visit Norway in a few years time. When the conditions are right, the displays there can be truly spectacular!

The Old Man of Storr, Skye

Heading back to our holiday cottage from the Cuillin Mountains, we took our favourite route past the Old Man of Storr. Again, we had neither the time nor the inclination to climb this today, but we have climbed this range in the past (I will post some photos of my previous visits to Skye some time in the, hopefully near, future). For today though, the best we managed was a quick stop-off in one of the numerous lay-bys in the road here for a couple of pretty shots :)

The Cuillin Mountains, Skye

Our penultimate day on Skye :) Time, we thought, to head out to the Cuillin mountains :)

En route, flying high over the sea loch at Carbost, I got the chance to photograph this mighty birdy of prey - a White-tailed Sea Eagle!

A White-tailed Sea Eagle

White-tailed Sea Eagle

Probably my best shot of the White-tailed Sea Eagle

The wing-span of the White-tailed Sea Eagle is massive

The Cuillin Mountains are a magnificent mountain range located in the south-west of the Isle of Skye. Its natural beauty led to the range being designated as a National Scenic Area.

The road to the Cuillin Mountains

A rainy day at the Cuillin Mountains

The weather today, as it has been all week during our holiday in Skye, was ridiculously changeable, as you can see from these photographs. We often found ourselves in the midst of a torrential downpour one moment, only for the skies to clear a few minutes later. With this in mind, and with our energy levels running low, today was very much a day to drive around and just take in the spectacular scenery.

The Snow-topped Cuillin Mountains

Gushing waterfall at the foot of the Cuillin Mountains

Sligachan, Skye

The Isle of Skye, famed for its rugged landscapes, was not always as it appears to today. According to legend, the dramatic mountains and verdant valleys, which have made Skye one of the major tourist draws in Scotland, were carved into the island by two sparring warriors.

Scáthach was the fiercest warrior Scotland had ever known. So renowned were her skills and strength in battle that she soon gained the reputation as the world's greatest warrior. However, when word of her notoriety reached Cúchulainn, the Irish warrior who believed he should wear that crown, he was none too happy with the claims. Believing he alone deserved that accolade, he headed over to Skye to fight Scáthach and reclaim his former glory.

Scáthach and Cúchulainn were both mighty warriors and their battle was intense and prolonged. For weeks they fought, their swords gouging entire mountains across the islands as they fought. But their skills were evenly matched and neither could thwart the other. However, on they continued to fight.

Seeing no end to the battle, Scáthach's daughter began to weep. And the faeries took pity upon her tears as the fell into the Sligachan river. They instructed the girl to head home and collect certain herbs and nuts along the route. Brewing these up in a cauldron over her cottage fire, the daughter wafted the smoke from the cooking meal out onto the wind, where it was carried to her warring mother and Cúchulainn.

The scent of the food reminded the two warriors just how hungry they both were and, agreeing to take a rest for a while, they lowered their weapons and followed the trail of smoke to its source. Discovering that the food had been cooked by her daughter, Scáthach invited Cúchulainn into her home to eat. The meal was delicious and hearty and filled both warriors with a sense of well-being that both warriors decided to call a permanent truce to their fighting and thereafter became firm allies.

Sligachan Bridge, Isle of Skye

The spot where Scáthach's daughter's tears had fallen into Sligachan river is now marked by a picturesque stone bridge and the waters beneath its arches are said to be magickal. Eternal beauty, it is believed, is bestowed upon those brave enough to lower their face in the icy enchanted waters here.

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Digg, Skye

If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be here, in the hamlet of Digg on the Isle of Ske:

Digg, nestled beneath The Quiraig on the Isle of Skye

Tulm Bay, Skye

Our holiday cottage in Duntulm, Skye

I took an early morning stroll down to Tulm Bay this morning, which is about a 5-minute walk from our holiday cottage in Skye. It was a lovely walk down a gently sloping path with the brooding remains of Duntulm Castle dominating the view to the left.

Duntulm Castle was built in the 14th Century and was the home of Clan MacDonald of Sleat during the 17th Century. The castle fell into ruins in 1732 when Sir Alexander MacDonald built a new home, Monkstadt House, 8 km to the south, using much of the castle's stone for its construction. Legend holds that the owner abandoned the castle after his young son fell from a window and was dashed on the rocks below. The infant's nursemaid's punishment was to be set adrift on the sea on a tiny boat. It is said that the nursemaid's sobbing can still be heard in the castle as she wanders the ruins, clutching the dead infant in her arms. The ghost of a prisoner in the castle has also been reported several times from the castle. Starved of food and water in its dungeons, he went insane and tried to eat his own hands to satiate his hunger! The castle is a forlorn and ruinous site today. And its grim and moody appearance makes no secret of its ghostly heritage.