Wednesday 7th April
We awoke to a very pleasant morning – little wind and a fair bit of blue sky. After a good breakfast we made our way back to the ferry, playing leapfrog with the dustcart as we went. once again, we arrived at the jetty to see the ferry on the far side. We spent a few minutes with a collie whose party piece was to round up stones. She brought them to us, we threw them away, and she brought them back unless we had thrown them into the water, in which case she just found another stone.
When we left the ferry, which we had shared with a family of cyclists, we made our way towards the “Otter Haven”. This is a stretch of beach above which someone has built a large and snug hide. No doubt that there are otters there from time to time, but our observations were limited to a pair of herons, two geese and a mallard as well as a pair of long-tailed tits. As we were leaving I caught a glimpse of what may have been an eagle, suddenly appearing over the mountain top but disappearing again before I could train the binoculars on it.
Then the long climb began. We succeeded in staying on the bike until over the 700′ mark, but that was where the 20% gradient began so we stopped for a bagel and some dried fruit.
Once at the top we had a lovely 5-mile romp towards Broadford. We were due in Scorrybreac B & B, but not yet, so went to visit the hand spinner’s wool shop to get Mrs. Wow’s fix. After that we dropped in to Beinn na Caillich where we experimented with different types of cake. Thereafter, we ventured to Scorrybreac where we were admitted and we made ourselves at home.