The last time I cycled through Kylesku there was no bridge. The last remaining bottleneck up the west coast was removed in 1984 when they spanned Loch a' Chàirn Bhàin and opened up the wild north west! The bridge has a beautiful curve to it that sits well in the natural scenery and, with some road straightening, it shaved 2 miles off the journey to Scourie as well as a lot of hassle for locals.
I put shorts on this morning and after a chill start to the day, the sun shone and it was very warm.
The road out of Kylesku has several long climbs but the views of Quinag were very tempting- must return one day!
Later we looked south as far as Stoer Heat and the Old Man.
We got to Scourie in under 2 hours and just caught Christine from Minch View B&B before she went to the mobile bank in town. She made us tea and biscuits and let us leave our luggage in the room so we could set off for Handa Island unhindered by the great weight.
It was exciting to be finally getting a wildlife trip in as all previous attempts had been thwarted by the weather. We arrived at Tarbet and just had time for a quick pot of tea before getting the boat across to the island. It is owned by the Scourie Estate but with Scottish Wild Life Trust providing volunteer presence in the summer season.
We took a walk around the island and saw astonishing numbers of Great Skuas as well as acrobatic Arctic Skua. When we arrived at the cliffs the the views were spectacular. Guillemot were (in the words of John Hedley) perched on ledges, with vertical edges. The very similar looking Razorbills were also in abundance and Fulmars nested and soared effortlessly from the tops.
We finally spotted a total of 4 Puffins so Sue was happy!
We returned from the island and went to the Shorehouse Restaurant where we had reserved a table. We had crab and langoustine salads in a beautiful evening sun and while an elderly otter played in the bay.
This turned into a spectacle as all binoculars and cameras focused as the otter astounded all by waddling up the beach, onto the grass, had a momentary face-off with a sheep before disappearing into the freshwater of Loch Dubh
Figures:
Distance:- 38.9 km
Cycle Time:- 2 hours 52 minutes
Average speed:- 13.5 kph
Total Distance:- 2666 km
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