The landscape around me is probably the most beautiful I have ever seen. As I walked across the top of the Quiraing I kept thinking of Lord of the Rings. For someone not real good with heights it was a challenging walk but the views were stunning.
The legend here says that once you have visited you are never completely free. It really is a mystical place and as I looked to the massive form of the Old Man of Storr I waited for the giant to pull itself free from the hill and stand with a mighty roar. His thumb, which sticks out from the ground is 2385 feet so one can only imagine what a massive hulk of a man he is. The legends here are fantastic and as I look out of the window in the loveliest small hotel, on a road that hugs the coast, I am positive I can see the faeries on the hill in the distance. With great giants, faeries and silkies in the water there is indeed a feeling of something not of this world.
I had a lovely dinner here. The chef and owner is Australian and has won numerous awards for his fantastic cooking. The salmon was so good. The hotel is tiny with about five rooms and sits in a wee glen surrounded by fantastic scenery and lots of sheep. There are knitting baskets throughout the hotel with guests invited to knit a few rows. The dining chairs are covered in hand-knitted covers and there is a basket in my room with a half finished piece in the most fabulous Scottish wool.
I walked down to the shore (or should I say slipped down on my bum) and felt like the only person that had ever been there. I had a mama and twin sheep that trotted beside me the whole way. I am not sure whether they were protecting me from the faeries or the giants but they were very friendly. The babies kept brushing up against my leg and I felt very grateful that I ate gorgeous Scottish salmon for dinner and not the lamb!
I have filled my hot water bottle, made a wonderful pot of tea and will knit a few rows before dreaming of giants who walk this magnificent land.
Sleeping under the stars 