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Travel StoriesSkye AKA Bogger's Curse
More Rain, Can Remain, Narrow Lane, Pasta Strain
Ride Date - 4 Sep 2026
By Ren Withnell
"Hi, er, can I book another 3 nights please?"
"Oh errr, well... it's the weekend and we're really busy". Oh crap. "Let me see, what's the name on the booking? Ah right tent, hang on..." I really really don't want to pack up and move "... errr.... errrm... " click click "...er yeah! Yeah we can book you in for that, that's £84"
You see we didn't know what to expect with Camping Skye - but we did not wish to arrive on Skye cold wet and tired only to find there was no room at the inn. As such we booked one night here, we would then review the situation and either book for more nights or move on somewhere else.
Camping Skye is not cheap at £28 per night (YIKES) for 2 people, one tent and one parking space (we are allowed to share one parking space). However - there's a kettle and a microwave, the toilets and shower are clean and warm and functional, there's a common room for the use of, and there's a good shop nearby. We know other campsites will only be marginally cheaper and we really really cannot be arsed decamping and recamping elsewhere.
The common room AKA Camper's Shelter. Handy.
So it comes as a great relief to hear that we do not need to move. The £84 is not a great relief to my wallet however. I tell Sharon the good news, she doesn't need to pack up. Anyhow the rain is torrential, the wind is up, and it's blummin' horrid - Bogger!!
We spend an hour in the common room, a round building we later realise is a converted grain bin, lowered and with glass windows fitted. Within are benches and a number of USB charging points. Thing is it's dry and out of the wind, which means many of the other campers are in here with us. They are primarily young fit and healthy types speaking French and German, possibly Polish? They'll be hiking with their technical tents and huge rucksacks. They're also here to charge EVERYTHING, we have to wait for a socket to appear.
Well we can't sit in here all day, there's riding to be done! Fortunately the worst of the tempest passes and by the time we're kitted up and ready to ride it's actually starting to dry out somewhat. Theoretically if I'm blaming Bogger for all the woes - should I thank him when things go well? No of course not, where's the fun in that?
Yes, OK, Skye is mountainous rugged wild remote and impressive. It's also a busy place, making it feel less wild and less remote. Not traffic jams busy but stuck behind a motorhome busy, vans and trucks busy, hikers on the roadside busy. We arrive at Sligachan and I need to check my maps, the pub car park is rammed. There's a coachload of people wandering around between campervans and cars. Sharon gets some pictures while I confirm my mental map.
Impressive views from Sligachan while maps are consulted.
We take the A863 heading north west. This road is a little quieter as we flow gracefully between clumps of trees and angular hills covered in spikey grasses and stout bushes. Like much of The Highlands the foliage appears tough and hard, I suppose it needs to be to survive the harsh winters? I wonder how clans folk went on trying to farm and cultivate here before the highland clearances? It must have been possible, people lived here for eons before the clearances.
It's hardly the fertile flatlands of Lincolnshire here. Gesto Bay Viewpoint.
It's a little lighter a few miles farther along the A863,
The B884 is single track with passing places. I daresay most folks understand what these are for, the part the emmets don't understand is they can be used to allow people to overtake you too. I note Sharon is being tailed by a pickup so at the next passing place I signal and pull in. We're passed with a thank you nod from a big farmer-looking chap. We catch him later, we're both stuck relentlessly behind a small hatchback.
After 10 miles of single track Neist Point car park would feel very remote save for the other 10 or so cars here. The rain hasn't joined us so far but here the wind is firm between gusts and brutal in the gusts. We could, and possibly should, walk out to the lighthouse, it's only about half a mile? Sharon isn't a fan of the wind and I can't be bothered, we take some snaps.
Neist Point, the lighthouse is beyond the angled promentory.
Catching the strong winds.
Back along the single track we'd passed a cafe with 2 Africa Twins parked outside. We return to the cafe, Cafe Lephin, and head in for a brew. It's only small and filled to the brim - as we ponder our options the owners of the Africa Twins join us in the doorway. 2 Norwegians, their bikes are hire bikes, and they're here doing the same as us just having a look around. Friendly chaps but we get little chance to talk as Sharon spots a table.
Would you believe it? Yeah it's £3 for a brew. Each. My poor poor wallet. Alas that seems to be the price of things, to be honest I'm more disappointed rather than shocked. I watch the Norwegians as they mount their rental bikes and think to myself just how much it'll be costing them for hire bikes each day, it'll be more than my brew.
Loch Dunvegan.
Rather than go back the way we came when we're back on the 2 lane road we head north on the A850 which will loop around to Portree. With 2 lanes and little traffic I finally get a chance to play on the mostly dry tarmac. Keeping to the limit is fine, there's plenty of bends that will challenge at this pace for the likes of myself. Ooooh, what's that? A hobbit in hi-vis keeping up with me? Cheeky! I'd best attack the next corner a little quicker.
There's occasional clusters of houses that Google maps gives names too. I know these single track side roads coming off the A850 are likely interesting and I want to ride them all - but time and energy isn't on our side. More mountains and harsh moorland whizz by then as we get very close to Portree the rain makes an aggressive return. We slow down but we don't need to stop, we're already wearing the waterproofs.
Portree is popular and accordingly busy, and complicated by unfamiliar junctions made all the worse in the heavy rain. I persist and find a place to park. We could, perhaps, maybe find a cafe? Looking at the sodden Sharon and the look on her face when I suggest this I believe the best I can hope for is a cursory look around the town then get the hell out of here. This we do, taking but one photo.
This is our only image of Portree.
Portree must have it's own rain cloud. As soon as we're out of town the rain abates and all is well. I stop at a couple of viewpoints to allow Sharon time to capture all the scenery and then we arrive back at Camping Skye as another much lighter shower passes over. Something like 110 miles today with hit-n-miss rain, some traffic and some playtime, plenty of mountains and rivers, I think we've done well all things considered.
Eas a' Bhradain, it's raining for sure.
Eas a' Bhradain Waterfalls.
Broadford on the way back from the Co-op. To the right the petrol station and shop.
We return from a walk to the Co-op with a bag full of goodies. In the common room we get set up with the stove and pots and pans, it's pasta tonight. 1 small bag of penne, 1 tin of bacon grill (similar to Spam but cheaper and tastier), and a jar of tomato and chilli pasta sauce. Cook the pasta, chop the bacon grill into thin chips and fry just enough to make it crispy, add pasta sauce and simmer. This is Sharon's doing - quick, simple, and really very tasty indeed.
Follow this with a nice cup of tea and a handful of biscuits and in spite of the weather and the dark skies and the rapidly cooling September air, all will be well with the world for a while. During all this culinary excess a stream of young people come and go. What with their healthy young bodies and hair with no grey and boundless energy why do so many of them look so sullen? I figure you gotta get old to appreciate being young.
I'm glad we didn't have to relocate and I'm glad today was not a total washout. In fact for the most part it's been dry, contrary to expectations. It would be nice to have the time to explore all the side roads, I console myself that after a while they'll probably be much of a muchness. Anyhow tomorrow's weather look pretty good if the weatherfolk are to be believed. Bedtime, we will see what tomorrow brings.
A rough route guide.
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Prologue - Skye AKA Bogger's Curse
Excuses and complaining... that is all Ren has to offer. A truncated trip, the risk of bad weather, and bad timing. Awww poor poor Ren.
No Rain, Hip Pain, A Train, Rice Grain, Heavy Rain
The Batties are off to Skye! Today though they barely make it to Scotland. Ren expands his culinary expertise, forgets something, and looks happy as always.
Blood And Rain, Finger Pain, Improving Terrain
A short and simple if a little wet ride up to Callander is followed by a (not very) long and tiresome walk into Callander. No pain no gain Ren! There's new friends too.
More Rain, No Butane, Close To Insane
Hey guess what? Ren is having a bad day, alas it's not as bad as most readers will hope. Most of his issues are entirely self inflicted but that won't stop him from blaming Bogger. Don't worry he'll be fine, Sharon is hiding the utensils.
More Rain, Can Remain, Narrow Lane, Pasta Strain
The Batties are staying put in Skye thankfully. It's now time to start exploring the island so it must be time to ride. The weather is mixed, the scenery is good, and it's pasta for tea.
Reader's Comments
Upt'North ¹ said :-
We like the Lephin Ed, visited it a few times in May. We stayed on the road that goes off at the cafe up Glendale? The point was damn busy when we went, damn windy too and dry.....for a change.
I can confirm that it doesn't always rain in Portree, it was probably the best weather day we had.
So far your story is merely confirming that I can't think why we would bo back.
Camping ain't cheap is it?
Upt.
20/10/2026 11:34:13 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
It makes your recent French trip look positively idyllic.
Single track roads with passing places. Many years ago I went round whta is now called the NC500 although then was just northern Scotland and the only people who'd discovered it (almost) were Germans on hulking great flat twins. A colleague of mine at the time had a sister who was a nurse in Aberdeen and she said they had a regular crop of these folk in with various broken bits of their anatomy.
Anyway. I was heading north up the west coast after leaving Skye and overnighting at Kylesku. I came up behind a wheezing motorhome doing 20mph or so and naively expected it to pull over at the first passing place. Fat chance. At each successive passing place I got increasingly irate - blowing the horn, flashing the headlight etc - until eventually I took my life in my hands and managed to use a generous passing place to just squeeze past, riding off cursing the driver.
It wasn't till I'd gone another 20 miles or so and being puzzled by the road signs that I realised I'd missed my turning which I'd intended to take up to Durness and had ended up going south east on the continuation of the A838 down to near Larg. I didn't fancy retracing my wheeltracks so just accepted I'd not get to the furthest north point. As it happened, the A836 up to Toungue was a delight, and very quiet.
20/10/2026 15:35:46 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Tongue is a gorgeous spot Ian and the walk over to Bettyhill is remarkable. Ed mentioned the clearances and there is much evidence along the way. A wild place for sure. The Tongue Hotel used to provide a wee dram in your room to warm you up when you returned from a day out on the hills.
Bugger, I'll have to go back.
Upt.
20/10/2026 19:02:25 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Regarding our thoughts on Skye - there's more to come on that in later missives. And no, camping ain't cheap! Still, there's more on that later too.
Ian - I daresay some drivers either simply never check their mirrors (and are stone deaf) or they cannot possibly imagine why the vehicle behind is getting all angsty. They'll have their foot flat to the floor in that 1.6 litre naturally aspirated 60bhp van - that is trying to pull 2.5 tonnes. If they're flat out then surely you must be too!
21/10/2026 10:28:46 UTC
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