Isle Of Skye

Isle Of Skye

The Isle of Skye is known for its jagged Cuillin mountains - often seen from afar as a rocky crown sitting on the sea.  Get close and it feels like you are entering Mordor, but turn away and you'll discover the other landscapes this island has to offer...
Kyleakin, Home Of The Scottish Midge
Oil on board 16x20 inches, painted in 2014
Before the bridge this was the view that greeted visitors to the Isle of Skye.  The village of Kyleakin is often passed unnoticed now, but its still worth a visit.  On this trip I walked around to this old ruin, only to be greeted by a horde of hungry midges that had been waiting to welcome inquisitive tourists for their lunch!
Trotternish
Oil on board 16x12 inches, painted in 2019
At the Northern end of the island, the Trotternish ridge forms an undulating backbone. At its Southern end you find the Storr, and at its Northern end, the Quiraing - here seen in the distance on a traverse of the ridge.  Ancient volcanoes and landslides make for quite an alien landscape unique to the Isle of Skye.
Macleods Tables
Oil on board 18x14 inches, repainted in 2019
West of Dunvegan lie the little visited peaks of Macleod's tables, so named as the clan were said to hold feasts on their flat summits.  The sides are a bit steep, but they can be breached in a few places after a trudge across open moorland to reach them.  A third flat topped peak lies out of sight behind and is even less frequented.
Skye Falls
Oil on board 16x20 inches, painted in 2011
You may thing Skye is all volcanic, but Follow the path South from Broadford and you are on the limestone trail.  At its Southern end there is an empty beach, and just along, tucked behind a rock this little waterfall plunges from the moor to the shingle below.  As far as I am aware it has no name, so I've called it Skye Falls - perhaps influenced by a certain Bond film with a similar name being released at the time.
Ornsay Lighthouse

Oil on board 12x10 inches, repainted in 2023

There is a gentler side to Skye, and if you turn South for the Armadale ferry you'll find a peninsula thats sometimes referred to as the garden of Skye. Its still rugged, but no so much, and if you stop off at Ornsay you might get a glimpse of this lighthouse guiding boats through the sound that separates Skye from the mainland.

Ornsay Lighthouse
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