Blue sky (Isle of Skye)

From time to time, the stars are aligned. We are at the right place at the right time. It happened to us in Loch Slapin, in the south of the Isle of Skye.

There is a whale!

When we left Mallaig on sunny day with little wind, the sea state was very calm as we approached the Isle of Skye. These were ideal conditions to re-calibrate our electronic compass. While we took our bearings and wrote down the results, the activity of the birds and dolphins around us provided for entertainment.

At some point, we saw something much bigger. There was as whale! We spend a long time watching the whale, trying to guess where it would surface next.

Loch Slapin is a peaceful sea loch on the south coast of the Isle of Skye. It extends approximately 6 km inland from the Sound of Sleat and offers stunning views of the surrounding Black Cuillin mountain ranges, notably of Bla Bheinn, a 928-meter peak.

Because of the mountains, this anchorage is exposed when there is wind. Fortenately, we expected 2 days of sunny and settled weather that allowed us to leave the boat and explore.

Torrin pools and waterfalls

On the first day, we took the dinghy to the west side, where a river joins the loch. We walked up a hillside to find a series of pools and waterfalls – lesser known and lesser visited than the Fairy Pools.

There is no organised accesses to shore, so we had to improvise.

Trail to the mountains

On the second day, we explored the east side. The lovely trail of Allt na Dunaiche Waterfalls brings you closer to the mountain range. The courageous can then climb up to the peaks.

On the third day, the weather changed and it was time to lift the anchor. We set sails for Tobermory as we continue our way south.