There

There
were 14 weeks of rain on Skye last winter. Imagine a whole
season with raindrops as its soundtrack and drizzle as a constant
veil.

For my September
visit I came prepared, packing walking boots and waterproofs in an
effort to combat the elements. I needn’t have worried. Almost every
day was suffused with a butterscotch light that made the
saw-toothed coastline appear soft at the sides.

Skye is ancient, known as
Scotland‘s “dinosaur isle” for the footprints and fossils that
have been found here. In some ways it still feels like a relic –
single-track roads form a web across the land, cultivating a quiet
kind of friendship between drivers who take turns to give way.

Contemporary design has made its mark here too. I stayed in the
“hen house“, located in
the hamlet of Fiscavaig and fashioned from timber and plywood.
Floor-to-ceiling windows let the best of the island in.

Days in Skye are best spent walking, broken up with visits to
the Old Inn in Carbost, where fishermen spend their lunch breaks by
the loch. Nights are measured in drams of Talisker whisky, which is
traditionally enjoyed without an ice cube – because in winter it’s
the only way to warm up.