Today was our final day in Skye, and our day off, so we were ready to do something exciting. First, we had a well deserved lie in after our exhausting day on the boat (and in the pub). By one o'clock, however, we were ready to get going. Our destination? The Old Man of Storr, a 3.8 km hike to and around a naturally occurring rock formation. After some concerning rain showers this morning, the sun was shining but the periodic cloud coverage provided some well needed shade as we hiked up the hill.
While stopping a few times to reapply sunscreen, we spotted some rabbits on the hill face and some very cute dogs that were also walking the path with their owners. Once we reached the 'Old Man' (aka the very big pointy rock) we carried on to a higher peak . The Old Man can be seen on the left of the picture below, the tallest of the pointy rocks. The panoramic views from the top were magnificent! We descended in a loop, taking a slightly different route to keep ourselves entertained. We saw some more rabbits and sheep and the whole team was buzzing with a sense of accomplishment.
The team with the Old Man of Storr in the back, left to right: Lois, Kerry, Lewis, Mike, Dylan, Jennifer
Once we reached the car park, we drove back to camp where Mike and Dylan prepared us a Greek style BBQ: pork, grilled veggies, halloumi, and pitta, all seasoned with salt and lemon. It was absolutely delicious! Mike even said during dinner that he felt like he was at home in Cyprus because the food was so good! Although we look as though we are wearing fashionable hair nets, we have been wearing our midge nets almost constantly to avoid being eaten alive, although some team members certainly have it worse than others. Midges, unfortunately, are just part of a Scottish summer. We just have to be thankful that we have had such excellent weather, with only one bad day! Who would have guessed it? Not us.
Tomorrow, we head down to an estate near Oban for the second leg of our expedition. Although we are gutted to be leaving Skye, we can't wait to get back to data collection and to see another part of Scotland's amazing West Coast!
Oban here we come!
The Seaweed Team
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