After a couple of days in Mallaig, including the bank holiday Monday, we set off for one of the most celebrated sailing destinations in Europe ( that’s what it says in the pilot book!), Loch Scavaig on Skye. This is surrounded by the imposing bare mountains of the Cuillin rising to 1000m from sea level.

We opted not to try to jostle with monohulls in the tiny anchorage, but put the hook down in a wide bay next door, Camasunary. There is a terrible irony of these wild and remote places becoming so popular, thereby destroying all sense of their remoteness. Trip boats were coming out from Elgol every hour or so, and there were about 6 boats in the anchorage at any one time. In our slightly less spectacular bay we were completely undisturbed.

You can see the cottage that used to belong to Gavin Maxwell on the right.

We stayed a couple of nights, then headed out past Soay Island (no sheep in evidence) towards the island of Canna. This is another delight, more low-lying but with basalt escarpments and a secure harbour. The island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, and boasts an excellent cafe.

So the weather is giving extremely light winds for another week or two, and we are ambling around the islands trying to catch a breath of wind if we can. Not quite what we expected, but so relaxing.