Garrafad

At 4am Rob could definitely tell the temperature was lower than the previous night. All was okay though and he next awoke around 8am to discover it wasn’t raining after all but there was a pleasant cool breeze, which doesn’t sound right but you know what a breeze, of any temperature, means don’t you? Unfortunately this breeze was also the mechanism that brought the rain so just as Rob was making coffee he could see the mist that was falling water getting nearer by the minute. It was the sort of rain vaguely reminiscent of the rain in Iceland in 2016, that sort you see falling downwards but sideways at the same time. Maybe it would be just a passing shower and it was really, it’s just there were a whole lot more from where that one came from and so, right there, that was pretty much the theme of the day. Oh, and the increasing wind strength of course. Mustn’t forget that.

“So this will be a sightseeing day,” thought Rob, “to see if they’re worth a visit for photography on a better day.” And so it was and so it rained and was cloudy and misty and it was just so as Rob drove past all the cars parked at the Old Man of Storr car park. “Who’d do that on a day like this,” thought Rob again, and drove on. Really, who would, except all those people who have only that one chance to do it?

The first stop was therefore Lealt Falls and here it was truly manic. Not only was it raining like mad but there were cars everywhere and where there we no cars there were coaches, minibuses and, of course, camper vans. The best part of the visit here was watching drivers attempting to park cars to reduce the amount of walking they must do, made even trickier with drivers having to cope with the steering wheel on the wrong side whilst manoeuvring hire cars they weren’t used to*. It was mayhem. Then there were the coaches arriving who sounded their horns like constipated elephants and expected cars to grow wings and fly vertically upwards out of their way. One coach driver simply stopped and blocked everyone from leaving, Rob included of course, so the visit here was around an hour or more. Rob could have left sooner but there was no rush and why miss the entertainment?

The next location of note was a cafe for a quick snack and a coffee. On the way out, having also purchased a magnet of the Storr for the fridge, Rob noticed there was a path leading to the cliffs and decided to stroll up there to take a look and wished he’d taken his camera rather than just the phone. It was brilliant sitting on a handy sized rock with a view like that. Okay, it’s just a typical coastal scene but it was a pleasant temperature and a peaceful location sheltered from the wind and the rain showers as they passed through. It was here the wind speeds picked up and when Rob took the car down to the jetty (zoom in to the panorama and you’ll see it) that’s when the heavy rain arrived and the wind shook the car. So that was really it for the day to be honest. There was no sign of it letting up.

* Rob could hear the people talking and could therefore tell the countries they were from. The UK drivers weren’t all that brilliant either.Read more