On this particular day with the sun shining, we headed off for a road trip to Elgol on the south west side of the Isle of Skye.
The Isle of Skye is a beautiful island, and with such weather it provided an excellent opportunity to enjoy the views of the surrounding mountains and lochs:
Driving down the steep descent to the car park at Elgol revealed stunning views across to the Cuillin range of mountains, and looking out to the west gave clear views of the Isle of Rum:
While taking the photos, I noticed in the distance towards the Cuillin mountain range the golden sands of a beach (middle right of the upper photo) which looked like a great place to try and get to. So after reviewing the OS map and finding a parking spot opposite a path that headed towards the area I packed the camera rucksac, strapped on the tripod and headed off. By this time I had the sunset in mind (which I wanted to take from a spot in the north west of the island), so decided I better jog sections of the route to the beach, which was an interesting challenge with a good amount of uphill stony path to follow as well as the weight of the rucksac! Time didn't permit me to reach the beach on this occasion, so from the top point of the path I grabbed some photos to put together a panoramic later (photo below), and ran most of the way back to the car - burning plenty of calories and completing the 'Monday run' that I would normally do at home!
Returning back to the cottage on the north east of the island, there was just enough time to eat before heading off again to Duntulm. This was a location I had visited a number of years ago, also for a sunset! I was in for a treat again, other than battling an abundance of midges that warranted wearing a midge jacket to try and avoid their feeding frenzy!
As the sky started to darken while driving back to the cottage it brought an end to a super day. Little did I know it had laid the groundwork for the next few days which brought some further excellent photo opportunities that started the following morning with a 3.00am rise for a visit to the Old Man of Storr (see The Old Man of Storr dawn visit).