Isle of Skye

amy doyle

06 Aug 2024 — 6 min read

It's overwhelming. Beaches, waterfalls, sea stacks, volcanic formations, mountains, lochs, glens, streams and rivers, quaint sea side towns...oh, and, sheep (we'll get to that). In other words, the Isle of Skye is beautiful and varied and an amazing, amazing hiking experience.

Plus, I've got really good hiking buddies!

Craig and Jon at the top of Ben Tianavaig

We are delighted that Craig's brother, Jon, joined us for a week of hiking on Skye. Seeing as they are both Eagle Scouts and experienced hikers, I felt I was in good company. Accept half way up Ben Tianavaig, Craig announces "my Eagle project was lame...". Hmm, I guess it set the tone for a lot of reflection that happened for us on this spectacular island.

Our hikes were as follows: Ben Tianavaig, Brother's Point, Rubha Hunish, the Quiraing, a stop at Dunvegan Castle and gardens, Coral Beach, Neist Point Lighthouse, the Cullins via the Fairy Pools, and Talisker Bay.

Ben Tianavaig

A bit south of the capital town of Portree our hike started through a fern-thick path and then switch-backed up the ben until reaching the top at 1350 feet. Stunning views were ours to enjoy all the way up.

Brother's Point and Kilt Rock Falls

Named as it does look something like a kilt, with pleats and plaids. I tried to picture a giant Craig in it, and decided it was time to get back on the trail.

Rubha Hunish

This is the northern most point of Skye, and the furthest north on the planet that Jon has been!

The Quiraing

I found myself clinging to the cliff walls along the narrow paths of the Quiraing. In the north central area of Skye, you see out onto beautiful and serene views of the bay, while the cliffs and volcanic formations loom ominously behind you.

The Cullin Mountains, hiking the Bealach Brittle loop to the Fairy Pools and back

Five days of hiking the stunning beauty of this island, and, yes, I said at the beginning of this post I'd come back to sheep, and reflection.

There were sheep everywhere on Skye. And, what comes with sheep, but, sheep-poo. Hold that thought, I'll come back to it (sorry!)

As some of you know, two weeks before we hiked Skye, I had to make an unplanned trip back to New York to help a family member, and to take care of some things at our house. Initially I was upset and angry that my lovely Scottish trip was being interrupted. I was worried and scared and disappointed and frustrated by so much (yes, also, in addition, another two trees came down in our back yard! see my blog, The Trees for more on this: https://amys-blog-dont-even-get-me-started.ghost.io/ghost/#/editor/post/6616c24685f0790001f21875 ).

But...

I got to see my cousin Sandy, up from Texas, when I was back in New York...

I appreciated my friends and neighbors so much more. And, the weather in New York was perfect summer. I'd been so cold in Edinburgh.

And, when I had time to reflect...

I realized that I was given the opportunity to share in my family member's very, very difficult journey. That being there for someone is not always fun stuff, but really knowing a person is also experiencing them, and letting you know them, when they are also not at their best. This hike through life is sometimes difficult and really, really hard. Lots of up hill climbs and rocks to stumble on. Skye was like going on walk-about for me; a place to try to make sense of it all.

So, when does this occur to me? The whole five days on Skye, I am carefully and gingerly skirting around sheep-poop. I am so proud of myself that I have been keeping my hiking shoes quite clean from the stuff. Even when I went through a bog, way above my ankles, I was proud of myself as I still had not stepped in any sheep-poop. And, believe me, it was everywhere.

We were hiking our final hike, Talisker Bay, and I'm doing my usual, looking closely where I'm walking, not to step in the poop. But, this hike had a lot more poop than the others. So focused on this, that I was almost done with the hike before I looked up and...

I gasped! And...

If we are focused just on the shit of a situation, we miss catching the wonder of life; that everything is a gift; the good, the bad, that is life.

My mother-in-law sent me Matthew Kelly's "Life is Messy". A good read which I recommend. It puts our downs in perspective, not as something to avoid or run and hide from, but to face, grow from and appreciate. It's what makes us human, not robots (AIs!). From what I gather from the Bible, it's not packed full of stories of people living care-free lives. It is full of stories of struggle and redemption, and it's full of stories of people stepping in shit. Here's the thing, though, you can't keep stepping in the same shit before either you look up, or you run into something that knocks you completely on your head. This doesn't always happen in our time-frame, but it does happen in God's time.

I also know the pain of watching people I love step in shit and trying to stay strong to not get pulled into their shit-stepping with them. It's a difficult balance as you try to walk around, step over, veer off the path, sometimes the trail is not at all clear and got lost somewhere in the bogs and muck. For those of you who have been there, or are maybe there now, you know what I'm talking about. I don't have a whole lot of advice except: don't live in shame, and don't live in fear. And sometimes you've just got to turn it over to a much, much higher power. It's hard. We are not people who are encapsulated in plastic, bubble wrap and styrofoam. Our God has us vulnerable to all kinds of things that come our way.

But then, you find the rainbows at the end of the storm become even more precious and beautiful.