Rain, Hail or Shine 8th Jan 2020

Vince had us up and out the door early to catch the sunrise. His initial through were to go to Balmaqueen with a view of the sea stacks, but I was keen to try and get a different view of the Old Kilmuir Church - so off we went! We stopped briefly at the beach below Duntulm Castle and I got out the car, but quickly got back inside as it began to hail.

We drove on and arrived at the Old Kilmuir Church. No sooner did we exit the car than I had to get back in as it was so bitterly cold I could not function. Vince braved on and took some shots on his own.

As the sunrise began he encourage me to come and grab a few shots, which I did, but suffered terrible pain in my hands from the cold. It was so bad I could hardly operate the camera. Back in the car I tired desperately to get circulation to return to my hands.

We headed back to Willie McLeod’s so I could change, as I was cold and wet. It was a brief stop as we had to head out for the two hour drive to the other side of the island to meet with Penny at 11.30am down in Sleat, to view our photographs and pick up a USB. I messaged her to let her know we were running late (but it was only about 15 minutes or so).

Penny’s bungalow was just gorgeous and in an ideal location with a wonderful view. We dropped off some wedding cake for her and Clive to enjoy and we ended up spending about 3 hours in total with Penny and her captivating dogs, Jessie (Liver Springer Spaniel), Lola (Black and White Springer Spaniel) and Digby (a Terrier of some kind). Missing our own fur kid Cebar (Cocker Spaniel) it was such a treat to get a bit of a fur fix from these willing cuddle-pots. Digby practically adopted Vince giving him a good “wash” - and Vince would happily have brought them all home with us for a holiday at Willie Mcleod’s if we could have.

Time flew with Penny as we drank tea and admired her bird feeders and views, then off to work in her Office/Studio to see our photographs (she did such an excellent job, we were so happy with them) and chatted about all things photographic. She had many entertaining stories to share and we so enjoyed her company. She also showed us her “Garage” which she has decked out for holiday accommodation - ideal!

We also chatted about possibilities such as us coming and spending a few nights on the southern part of the island and maybe even helping out as second shooters on upcoming weddings she may have whilst were are here. I’m sure it’s not the last we will see of each other.

Even though it was only 2.50pm the light was fading, and we had hoped to get to Elgol we both knew that was not to be - yet again! We headed home and took a couple of stops to try to catch the last of the light on a waterfall near Sconcer, but despite my efforts to trek down thought the peat bog to get a good angle, the hail came down so hard it made keeping my lens clean impossible and my shots were rubbish, I was completely drenched and my hands again so frozen (despite gloves) it was bordering on frostbite. Vince’s hands were the same - defrosting inside the car with the heating vents was the only option to get our fingers working again and alleviate some of the pain.

Coming into Portree we could see the Old Man of Storr in the distance and the back of the Storr was dusted with snow. We were so excited and stopped closer to try to get a shot - but the fast fading light made it again difficult to get the shots we so wanted with a brief patch of sunlight glistening on the snow. Light here on Skye can be fleeting and it’s sometimes the quick and the dead!

So back in the car it was dark heading home back to Willie McLeod’s house.

Vince cooked dinner for a change and we enjoyed some Butter Chicken and then relaxing by the fire with a whiskey before finishing off the Bond movie we have been watching for three nights now.