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After climbing Ben Tianavaig, we still had a couple of hours to spend and the afternoon looked bright and sunny. The easiest would be to go to the Old Man of Storr, but the crowds put us off, so we drove past the countless cars parked on the verge of the road and headed further north, to Rubha nam Brathairean, the Brother's Point.
The Brother's Point is a small headland, the easternmost point of Trotternish. Easily accessible from the main road (A855). It is not certain where the name comes from - most often said to have been a place where monks lived and worshiped in safety more than a thousand years ago. The walk is mentioned in various Skye guides, so we didn't expect it to be completely deserted, and indeed there were people about, but nowhere near as many as we saw while driving past the Storr sanctuary.
The starting point is just north of The Glenview hotel. Not a large layby, so might be tricky to find a parking spot. Especially if there are lorries parked right in the middle
After a short walk back down the road, we turned to a waymarked track. It leads past a few cottages and then turns right and descends to the shoreline. There is a signpost in case you are already lost
The walkway to the shore:
Having turned the corner, we saw the shoreline and the cliffs, which reminded us of Preshal Beag - the same sort-of hexagonal columns:
Before wandering off in the direction of the headland, it's worth taking a look at...
The ruins to the left hand side are of an abandoned salmon netting station. Not an ancient site, but a good place to lurk nevertheless:
We caught a few odd looks from other visitors, who aimed straight for the distinctive shape of Brother's Point and didn't bother with the "sidekick" ruin, especially that it didn't look that spectacular. But we like exploring the unknown
After spending some time in the ruins of the netting station, we continued to another attraction of this short walk - the sea shore. Brother's Point can be seen to the right of the picture:
Lucy posing with Gaelic translation of biblical Psalm:
We will be careful! We have been warned!
The short stroll along the rocky beach was a good excuse to take more pictures and gaze in the distance. This is not a route to be rushed, but something to enjoy at a lazy pace.
From the beach, there are good views to the north, to the cliffs of Kilt Rock:
Zoomed:
Just before reaching the small peninsula, we had to climb up to the cliffs as there is no passage on the beach below:
The small headland is very impressive and unusual in shape. it had been used as a natural fortress in the past. According to CANMORE database:
Not an Iron Age defence, but a later complex occupying the whole of Rubha nam Brathairean, probably a monastic establishment.Looking south along the cliffs, with Red Cuillin on the horizon:
The middle part of the headland is called Dun Hasan:
The structure (...) occupies the whole of the level summit of a triangular precipitous crag known as Dun Hasan, which rises some 20' above the approach route from the SW along a crumbling knife-edged ridge. The path to Dun Hasan is certainly eroded:
Not really a scramble, but it's nicely exposed and photos taken from above make it look much more hairy than it is in reality:
View back down from Dun Hasan to the traverse path (seen to the right) and the vertical eastern side of the connecting ridge:
The Storr in afternoon sunshine - an unusual angle:
We spent some time on the flat top of the Dun, then descended the other side to explore the rest of the headland, which is flat, covered in grass and visited only by sheep and occasional tourists
The afternoon was shaping up nicely with sunny spells over Skye and good distant views to the mainland mountains:
Kilt Rock cliffs:
I was surprised to see the water green-ish colour - it looked like tropics! I believe that it probably wasn't as hot though. We didn't check - our Skye explorations didn't go as far as swimming in the sea!
It was nice to sit on a rock, stretch our legs and enjoy the wonderful surrounding. This place is perfect if you want to escape from the crowds on Skye yet still be able to see and photograph the fantastic coastal landscape of the Misty Isle. You won't be alone - there will be a few people about, the site is not totally unknown, but it still possesses the touch of primordial solitude...
We returned to the car and drove back to Sligachan for tinned soup and a good night sleep, before another Skye exploration on Friday, this time we climbed an iconic Skye Graham. TR in progress
