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When we say :Isle of Skye, we tend to think: the Cuillin, the Trotternish Ridge, coral beaches... But the magic island is also full of hidden spots, little treats for walkers to enjoy. I'm a frequent visitor to Skye and so far, I have explored maybe 10% of the island.
One of these yummy treats is Beareraig Bay - a place where the past meets the present
We visited this spot during our Skye holidays last year. It was a cloudy day, not good enough to climb in the Cuillin, so we picked a lowland walk.The bay is only a short distance from A855 and in theory, it shouldn't take more than an hour to walk the whole route shown on the map - but bear in mind you are going fossil-hunting! We spent half a day wandering along the rocky beach, searching for signs of both past and present wildlife.
We left the car at the car park for the Storr. Indeed, one can conveniently combine the Beareraig Bay route with the Storr. And remember, the best time to explore the bay is at low tide!
The route took us along the track to the dam at the end of Loch Leathan. From the dam, there's a good view towards the Storr:
Close-up to the Storr cliffs:
Posing with a view:
Another 15 min of walking and the track ends at the top of the cliffs, by the winding house. It's a splendid viewpoint:
The building of Hydro station down below:
The Storr overlooking the bay:
Explanatory boards at the viewpoint:
The path down the cliff is very narrow and step. We descended carefully to the rocky beach below - and soon we became "entrapped" by the landscape! Rocky and green cliffs behind us, blue sea on the other side... One of these magic moments!
Kevin studying the path
:
Rocks and sea come together:
Wildlife was abundant, from sea birds to different seashore creatures. Herring gulls watched us with some interest:
Limpets attached to the rock:
A sea anemone and a common periwinkle waiting for the tide to come in:
Just out of the water, an edible sea urchin:
We found quite a few bits of broken sea urchin shells, an undeniable proof of otter activity, but no otter showed up anywhere
We only walked a short distance along the beach when we discovered the first message from the past:
There's plenty to study in Beareraig Bay, a lot of "stamps" engraved in the Jurassic rock. The most common fossils are ammonites, the now extinct group of molluscs. They were closely related to present coleoids (squids, octopuses) but they resembled sea snails. The biggest fossilized ammonite shells, found in North America, reach 2 metres in diameter! Individuals found in Beareraig Bay aren't exactly that big, but still they look impressive:
The second common fossil type are belemnites, an extinct order of squid-like creatures. The fossilized parts we find today are their hard internal skeleton:
This one looks like a dinosaur bone, but i think it is still a belemnite:
A different fossil type - some sort of clams:
The Jurassic rock itself takes in strange shapes - these here looking like huge balls (diplodocus eggs???
)
As one wanders along the seashore, it feels like we suddenly traveled back in time. I almost expected to see the shadow of pterodactylus gliding in the sky above...
In the meantime, I was preoccupied by turning over every pebble
We lost the sense of time... And it was TIME to go... The tide was coming in...
The last moment, the last pose before leaving this magical place...
Well, if I'm still alive and well next year (no reason why I shouldn't be
) I'll go back to Beareraig Bay - one visit is certainly not enough for me!
