Skavaig
Bliss
Sun 26 Jun 2016 13:36
Scavaig "one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring anchorages in Europe, set deep in the cirque of the Black Cuillins of Skye. All the anchorages, even in settled weather are subject to violent downdraughts, which in heavy weather are capable of 'blowing an anchor out'. ". I don't like to think about that but, Skavaig was recommended very highly to us by some lovely people we met on Barra, and when the forecast looked so favourable we had to see for ourselves.
It is the most awesome place we've yet seen! We dropped anchor at about 7pm and had the place to ourselves, apart from a hundred or so seals, four deer and two herons. The anchorage lies at the end of Loch Skavaig and we are nestled below hills with waterfalls pouring down. Very light wind and a very quiet night.
In the morning we were surprised by the number of day-boats dropping tourists ashore at the rickety looking landing stage. We really had been lucky to have the place to ourselves last night. We spent some time studying charts and books planning the next few days and decided we wanted to spend the day here, go ashore and get as close to the Cuillins as we could, it didn't look as if we'd be able to climb anything but you never know!! We had an OS map of the area, packed some lunch, water and swimmers. There's a big inland lake that most of the day visitors come to see, with a waterfall that pours down huge slabs of smooth rocks into Loch Skavaig. I'm sure if our boys were here they'd slide down it!
Loch Coruisk, fresh water loch on Skye, with the Cuillin Ridge behind
We walked the length of Loch Coruisk, one or two walkers still around, then started to climb up alongside the rivers, not dissimilar to Wasdale in the Lake District, on our own now. There was a choice of two possible routes, left or right, right looked slightly more accessible and we kept going, up, up, to the top! A challenging scramble, we were a bit nervous about coming back, but it was too enticing. When we reached the ridge we had a clear line of sight to the north and south, to the north, Loch Harport which was our first port of call on Skye, and way below us the fairy pools! And south, Loch Skavaig, and the Sound of Sleat, fantastic. Oh, and to the west was the Inaccessible Pinnacle, the most challenging of all the Munros. We were satisfied with our progress and weren't tempted by any of the peaks along the ridge, it was time, with some trepidation to retrace our steps down the scree and rocks, to the loch for a rejuvenating swim before a well earned beer back aboard Bliss.