Just back from the Scottish Islands
Posted: 05 Aug 2008, 21:17
Just back from a trip to Harris, Lewis, Skye, Scalpay (the one off Harris not Skye) and Raasay. Must have done 800ish miles in the van (with the new TDI in). A lot of that was towing a trailer packed to the gunnels. It was fantastic. Visited some amazing places. Even got a shot in a helicopter around Raasay. The midges stayed away. The weather was a bit changeable but mostly dry. It was too windy most days for fishing so I didn't get much of that done. I really wanted to bag a Hebridian Brown trout. Oh well next time.
We visited quite a few relatives (Ceinwens - my wife) and were stuffed full of tea and cakes at every one. Between these trips we visited the Blackhouses at Gearrannan, the Calannish Standing Stones (wasn't atmospheric at all - too many bloody tourists), some of the most amazing beaches I've seen, numerous castle ruins and a at least one still lived in at Dunvegan. Walked in some amazing places, visited a fairy glen on Skye (near Uig). The Fairy Glen was brilliant. The glen is a collection of small hills that look like something out of a fairy tale. A definite must see if you have young kids. Worth a look for the amazing scenery. We went out on a small boat from Dunvegan castle and visited the seals. That is a great trip and cheap as well compared to some of the more specialist companies. The boats are attached to the castle and only costs about £4pp for adults. The restaurant sucks at Dunvegan castle so we went into Dunvegan itself and had an amazing meal at The Old Schoolhouse.
On Raasay we went up to the north of the island were an old fella, named Callum, bult his own road. This was after being told to sod off by the council. Over the period of 20 years (I think) this old bloke used to take his wheelbarrow and pick out everyday to build this road. Eventually the council put some tarmac down for him but it was an amazing feat. Apparently the old fellow died of a heart attack and was found in his barrow. This island has a number of cottages in the north were you need to walk in or take a quad bike to get to them. A small community built a number of houses during the clearances on a little island just off Raasay. These houses are reached by a causeway in low tide. Before you even get to the causeway you need to walk quite a distance. The Island of Raasay is an amazing place probably my favourite of the trip. It is often overlooked I think because it is so close to Skye and so small but if your ever up that way take a detour to Raasay.
The van went pretty well considering I took the van before the Syncronutz guys had tested it properly. I only had two issues. The oil feed to the turbo was leaking slightly and one of the injectors started blowing. The first was sorted by tightening the nut the second turned into a nightmare because I over tightened the bolt and snapped it in the block. Thought I was going to get hung up to dry by my wife. Luckily though Britannia Rescue came to the rescue and sent 2 chaps that knew what they were about. They had the broken bolt out the injector cleaned up and sealed and a new bolt in in about 15 minutes. Only charged me a tenner for the repair as well despite it being 6 in the evening. Top blokes.
The van performs brilliantly. Much better than when I had the AAZ in it. Loads of torque and climbs hills really well. It was happily trundling along the mountainous roads of the north west and islands without the constant gear changes I used to have to do.
All in all I am very happy with the van and had a brilliant holiday.
http://gallery.me.com/kombiman#100128 for some pics
We visited quite a few relatives (Ceinwens - my wife) and were stuffed full of tea and cakes at every one. Between these trips we visited the Blackhouses at Gearrannan, the Calannish Standing Stones (wasn't atmospheric at all - too many bloody tourists), some of the most amazing beaches I've seen, numerous castle ruins and a at least one still lived in at Dunvegan. Walked in some amazing places, visited a fairy glen on Skye (near Uig). The Fairy Glen was brilliant. The glen is a collection of small hills that look like something out of a fairy tale. A definite must see if you have young kids. Worth a look for the amazing scenery. We went out on a small boat from Dunvegan castle and visited the seals. That is a great trip and cheap as well compared to some of the more specialist companies. The boats are attached to the castle and only costs about £4pp for adults. The restaurant sucks at Dunvegan castle so we went into Dunvegan itself and had an amazing meal at The Old Schoolhouse.
On Raasay we went up to the north of the island were an old fella, named Callum, bult his own road. This was after being told to sod off by the council. Over the period of 20 years (I think) this old bloke used to take his wheelbarrow and pick out everyday to build this road. Eventually the council put some tarmac down for him but it was an amazing feat. Apparently the old fellow died of a heart attack and was found in his barrow. This island has a number of cottages in the north were you need to walk in or take a quad bike to get to them. A small community built a number of houses during the clearances on a little island just off Raasay. These houses are reached by a causeway in low tide. Before you even get to the causeway you need to walk quite a distance. The Island of Raasay is an amazing place probably my favourite of the trip. It is often overlooked I think because it is so close to Skye and so small but if your ever up that way take a detour to Raasay.
The van went pretty well considering I took the van before the Syncronutz guys had tested it properly. I only had two issues. The oil feed to the turbo was leaking slightly and one of the injectors started blowing. The first was sorted by tightening the nut the second turned into a nightmare because I over tightened the bolt and snapped it in the block. Thought I was going to get hung up to dry by my wife. Luckily though Britannia Rescue came to the rescue and sent 2 chaps that knew what they were about. They had the broken bolt out the injector cleaned up and sealed and a new bolt in in about 15 minutes. Only charged me a tenner for the repair as well despite it being 6 in the evening. Top blokes.
The van performs brilliantly. Much better than when I had the AAZ in it. Loads of torque and climbs hills really well. It was happily trundling along the mountainous roads of the north west and islands without the constant gear changes I used to have to do.
All in all I am very happy with the van and had a brilliant holiday.
http://gallery.me.com/kombiman#100128 for some pics
