{"id":20011,"date":"2019-08-19T09:19:18","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T09:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=20011"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:37:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:37:21","slug":"over-the-sea-to-skye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/over-the-sea-to-skye\/","title":{"rendered":"Over the sea to Skye"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Karen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Since\nre-locating to the Highlands six years ago, I\u2019ve made hundreds of\njourneys up and down the A9 and the Highland Main Line, to keep up\nwith family and friends in Perth and Edinburgh, and to honour work\ncommitments in the Central Belt. I nearly always tackle the journey\nin one go, setting the cruise control if travelling by car, or\nloading up my laptop on the train, focused on getting to my\ndestination with as few interruptions as possible. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nI mentioned in my last article, setting aside free time for myself\nhas become something of a challenge over the last couple of years.\nI\u2019m trying to build in more \u2018me time\u2019 on a daily basis to\naddress this imbalance. With this in mind, I detoured through\nNewtonmore and Kingussie on my most recent drive north and enjoyed a\nflask of coffee overlooking Ruthven Barracks; a landmark I\u2019ve\npassed hundreds of times but had never previously taken the time to\nvisit. The result? A more memorable car journey; a welcome break from\nthe monotony of the A9; and inspiration for one of the themes in this\narticle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kessock Bridge, Black Isle, 1991<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pausing\nfor a coffee break at Kingussie last week prompted me to reflect on\nchanges to the communities between Perth and Inverness following the\ncompletion of the \u2018new\u2019 A9 in the 1970s and \u201980s, and the\nbypassing of small towns and villages along its route. Clearly,\ndestinations such as Aviemore and Pitlochry have continued to thrive,\nbut I can\u2019t help but wonder about less frequented places. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With new roads come new bridges. Living on the Black Isle, my husband and I are dependent on the Kessock Bridge for quick and uninterrupted access to the Highland capital of Inverness. The bridge opened a few years before I was born but I\u2019m always fascinated by the way of life that must have existed before its construction, when ferries operated between North and South Kessock, and when the Black Isle peninsula surely must have felt like an island. Other bridges throughout the Highlands pique my interest too, such as those at Ballachulish and Kylesku; communities where the construction of a bridge marked the end of one era and the beginning of another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, Kyle of Lochalsh, 1995<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One\nbridge whose construction I can recall is the Skye Bridge. In the\nsummer of 1995, my family ventured north for a caravan holiday at\nBalmacara and Portree, as construction on this crossing, linking\nmainland Scotland and the Isle of Skye via Kyle of Lochalsh and\nKyleakin, was approaching completion. With this example, I don\u2019t\nhave to speculate. I can remember the ferries operating to and fro\nacross Loch Alsh. Nowadays, when travelling, I\u2019m grateful for\nSkye\u2019s accessibility. I always get a thrill when driving over the\nbridge, cresting its arch and momentarily taking my eyes off the road\nto glance at the view northwards to the Skye Cuillin, and the\ndistinctive flat peaked summit of D\u00f9n Caan on the neighbouring\nisland of Raasay. I\u2019ve even had the pleasure of sailing beneath the\nbridge a few times. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening of the bridge in 1995, and the subsequent scrapping of the controversial tolls in 2004, has undoubtedly boosted the economy of Skye but, in my opinion, this has come at a price. There was something magical about the ferries, now replaced with deserted slipways and silence, save for the hum of traffic crossing the bridge. In the same way that I\u2019ve lost out on new experiences by not detouring from the A9 on my way to and from the Highlands, maybe we\u2019re all missing out on our journeys to and from Skye; time to pause, stretch our legs and savour the moment before leaving the mainland or island. Of course, sailing over the sea to Skye is still possible via Glenelg or Mallaig, and highly recommended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Skye Bridge and Eilean B\u00e0n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou\u2019ve been following my writing, you\u2019ll know that I lost my dad\nto cancer just over a year ago. In recent months, I\u2019ve been reading\nabout and reflecting on grief, trying to make some sense of the\njourney I\u2019m on. One of the themes I\u2019ve uncovered and experienced\nfirst-hand is how grief can make a person return to their roots. I\ntake comfort from perusing old family photographs and feel an intense\nlonging to return to the places I visited when I was growing up, not\nto mention the sense of freedom I took for granted back then. I\u2019ve\nalways been content to be in my own company. However, nowadays, more\nthan at any other stage in my life, I crave peace and quiet, and\nquality time alone. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kyleakin Lighthouse, Eilean B\u00e0n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite living in the most sparsely populated region in the UK, finding solitude can sometimes be a challenge. The Highlands have become noticeably busier during my lifetime. Inverness is one of Europe\u2019s fastest growing cities; there has been a growing trend towards \u2018staycations\u2019 in recent years, with more Scots holidaying in Scotland; and, over the past four years, the creation of the North Coast 500 route has resulted in a tourism boom in Inverness-shire, Ross and Cromarty, Caithness and Sutherland, attracting visitors from around the world. Skye too has become something of a mecca, and locations such as the Old Man of Storr<\/a>, Neist Point<\/a> and the Fairy Pools<\/a> are now so accessible and so popular that, for me, their appeal is lost during the ever-lengthening tourist season. Whilst I\u2019m delighted to see others appreciating the places that have inspired me since childhood, I find myself having to probe a little deeper into the landscape to experience isolation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes even the smallest of detours can reap huge rewards. One hidden gem I\u2019ve uncovered on my recent travels is Eilean B\u00e0n, the island linking the two sections of the Skye Bridge. Whilst exploring this six-acre island on a sunny afternoon last year, I was able to \u2018tune out\u2019 the rumble of traffic overhead and immerse myself in the idyllic surroundings: a quirky wildlife hide overlooking the shoreline; the modest 21 metre high Kyleakin Lighthouse; and the old lightkeepers\u2019 cottages. One of the cottages is a museum to former resident, author and naturalist Gavin Maxwell, who owned the buildings in the 1960\u2019s, after leaving Sandaig<\/a> (between Glenelg and Arnisdale), immortalised as Camusfe\u00e0rna in the best-selling book, \u2018Ring of Bright Water\u2019. As I followed in the footsteps of Gavin Maxwell around Eilean B\u00e0n, I was constantly aware of the juxtaposition between the busy modern trunk road overhead and the unchanged peaceful surroundings beneath it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\ntiny island in Loch Alsh is a world away from Kingussie and\nNewtonmore in the landlocked Cairngorms National Park, yet both these\nrecent experiences serve as gentle reminders to enjoy the journey and\nperhaps be less focused on the destination; a metaphor for life\nitself. People talk about \u2018moving on\u2019 but, for me, that isn\u2019t\nan option. I\u2019m mapping a way forward by building a bridge between\nmy old life and my new one, always carrying memories of a lost world\nvery close to my heart. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since re-locating to the Highlands six years ago, I\u2019ve made hundreds of journeys up and down the A9 and the Highland Main Line, to keep up with family and friends in Perth and Edinburgh, and to honour work commitments in the Central Belt. I nearly always tackle the journey in one go, setting the cruise control if travelling by car, or loading up my laptop on the train, focused on getting to my destination with as few interruptions as possible. As I mentioned in my last article, setting aside free time for myself has become something of a challenge over…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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