White Wave
I wake up at about 6:30am. I'm vaguely aware of a high methane content in the room. Probably shouldn't have had that curry. I try and remember what the lower explosion limit is for methane in air. I can't! I decide to open the window as a general cure all.
I look out of the window. It is very windy and overcast, but not raining. I have a bit of a lie in. The next B+B is only 7 miles away. I would have stayed at Orasay another night, but I couldn't get in two nights in a row. I actually get to have breakfast with my fellow holiday makers. This is the first time this has happened. There either haven't been any other people staying, or I have been up and away before they have surfaced. No need to be up and away this morning. I take it easy.
I get away about 9:45am. It's just spitting as bit, nothing serious. I phone "White Wave" which is the next B+B to see when I can check in. There is no answer.
I wander into Portree and buy something for lunch. Ring "White Wave" again and get an answer. I can turn up whenever I like. Great! I'll be there in half an hour. Back up the A87 to Uig and on to Linicro. I already know where the place is because I passed it on my tour of the Trotternish Peninsular yesterday.
White Wave
"White Wave" is a "rugged" B+B in a good way. It's perched on the tops in a very exposed position and I can believe that it gets a lot of battering from the elements. It's more of a hostel than a B+B. No one actually lives here. The owners live over the road. The whole place has a definite marine / environmental protection theme as well as a Celtic / Gaelic presence. It has 5 bedrooms, a kitchen, a lounge/dining area, a couple of toilets a couple of shower rooms and a boiler room. When the staff go home at night you can help yourself to beer from the fridge in the kitchen. There is an "honesty" book to write up what you have taken. I have a room up in the eves. There is no en-suite, but who cares? Nice view over to the west. "White Wave" does not appear to be too well advertised. I only learnt of its existence when talking to other B+Bs in the area. One gave me the phone number of "White Wave" as a possible place to stay. They don't appear to have a website and I only found a passing reference to them on the internet after I knew they existed and did a deliberate search. Also they are a bit off the main route, 7 miles up a single track road.
View from my room at White Wave
Apparently I'm the only person booked in. I eat my lunch and chat with the owner's wife Anne. Her husband is John White and hence the name of establishment. They use "White Wave" as a base to run various activities. I noticed some archery taking place when I arrived. They do kayaking and canoeing as well. They have a store room for all the equipment and an office here from where they run the various activities.
I get changed for hiking and set out towards Portree. The weather has not been able to make up its mind what to do up until now. It makes its decision and it starts to rain quite heavily. I stop in Portree for fuel and to change my gloves over. I turn the scottoiler up a notch. I decide to spend an hour in Portree while this rain blows over. Two things become obvious fairly quickly.
So I may as well just get on with it. I'm wearing hiking boots, jeans with my plastic over trousers and my paddock jacket. I'll be alright. Off to Sligachan. The rain is steady now, but poses no problem, although I don't fancy hiking in it. I decide a tour of the Talisker distillery is in order so I turn off onto the A863 at Sligachan and head towards the distillery at Carbost. I arrive at about 2:00pm and it's stopped raining. Hurrah!
Harbour at Carbost
There are a group of foreign bikers (Italian, I think) pulled up just outside the distillery. One of them wanders over. "Do I know where the nearest petrol station is?" Yes! It's a very long way away I tell them. They wander off glumly. Always plan your fuel stops. The next tour is at 4:00pm. However since I am on my own, they'll squeeze me in on the 3:20pm tour. Great! I'll just nip down to Glenbrittle and have a look at the backside of the Black Cuillins. "Oh! You wont have time", says the young lady on reception. "It's 9 miles away". Oh! I think I'll have enough time somehow. "I'll be back!" I say, doing my best Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation. 15 minutes later and I'm in Glenbrittle. Nice! Plus it's stopped raining. Even nicer!
Another of Clarkie's dodgy panoramic views of the Cuillins, from Glenbrittle
Loch Brittle
I take some pictures then get back on the bike. I'm just leaving and it starts to rain again. Back to the Talisker distillery. Good tour. Very well presented. There is an opportunity at the end to buy some of the whiskey itself. I decline! I'm not a big fan of the Islay malts. I'm more of a Speyside man myself. I had hoped the rain would have stopped by the time I came out, but it's still heaving it down.
 Talisker Distillery |
 Reception at Talisker Distillery |
Nothing for it but to ride back to the B+B. Just before I reach Sligachan it stops raining. In the immortal words of Smiffy, "It stopped raining and began to absolutely p**s it down". Rain isn't generally meant to hurt when it hits you, but this stuff did. Another development is the sudden appearance of some severe cross winds. I manage to do about 40mph over roads that the previous day I was taking at twice that speed. I reach Portree and stop for sausage and chips. Set off again towards Uig and the B+B. If anything it's raining harder and the wind is phenomenal. It's a struggle to keep the bike on my side of the road. Somehow I make it to "White Wave" without any major incidents. I deposit a large pool of water in the hall (it's tiled fortunately) and strip off my wet things. My gloves are wet on the inside, not because they leak, but because I have had to put my wet hands into them. Where my paddock jacket and trousers meet, the rain has blown in and soaked my tee-shirt. My necker has absorbed a lot of water and this has seeped down my front too. My jeans are remarkably dry. Just the bottom 4 inches or so are wet. The £5 plastic over trousers do a good job. The hiking boots are saturated. OK as a standby set of motorcycle boots, but no substitute for the real thing. I go to the kitchen to find a mop to clear up the mess I have made. The kitchen is not fairing too well. There are a couple of leaks. The kitchen building is new (2 years old), but it has never had to contend with weather like this. It's certainly finding a few gaps that regular rain misses.
Not such a good view from my window
I make full use of the radiator in my room and the boiler room. I change into some dry gear and sit in the lounge and write up my notes. A lot of people are turning up on spec for accommodation. Basically the people camping have been washed out. Before long all the rooms are taken. There will be no rooms left at any B+B on the island. I'm glad I booked now. One of the girls looking after us is a very nice Australian lass. She is working her way round the world. At the end of September she is off to the USA. She tells me that Anne (the owner) is an accomplished Gaelic singer and puts one of her CDs on the CD player. I finish writing my notes and start reading my book, which I brought along just in case I had a bad day. There is no television at "White Wave", so I haven't heard any news. I chat to some of the other people staying the night and learn that it is the tail end of the two storms that hit America which are causing all this havoc with the weather. A Dutch couple arrive and I spend the evening chatting to them. They have come over on the ferry to Newcastle. He rides a Harley (never mind!) but not on this trip. They have come by car. I have a beer from the fridge, "Heather Ale". This is apparently a traditional crofter's beer and it's good. I retire to bed.