Dark Sky Discovery, a pioneering new national and regional partnership of astronomy and environmental organizations, has just unveiled a series of  Dark Sky Discovery Sites throughout the UK.  Led by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) the partnership aims to pinpoint the great range of local spots that people can use for stargazing.

Two local Skye groups, Visit Waternish and Destination Skye and Lochalsh,  working with STFC project leader Dan Hillier and Forestry Commission Scotland, submitted nine applications for official Dark Sky status on Skye.  These include Trumpan, Knockbreck and the Stein Jetty in Waternish;  Kinloch Forest, Kylerhea and Camas na Sgianadin in the Broadford area,  and three sites at Clan Donald Land Trust.  All nine sites were granted Dark Sky Discovery Site status on 18^th October.

Dr Simon Hodgkin of the Astronomical Survey Unit, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, and a regular visitor to Waternish said,  “Skye is one of the darkest places in the whole of Europe, and Waternish one of the darkest places on Skye, without a single street lamp on the whole peninsula. Standing outside the Stein Inn, the nearest street lamp is in Dunvegan, some six miles distant and masked by cliffs. In fact the nearest street lights that can be seen from Waternish on a clear night are in Lochmaddy, over 22 miles away across the Minch on the Outer Hebrides.”

With Skye having the darkest possible night skies for the UK,  by promoting these safe and accessible areas local residents will be able to enjoy stimulating stargazing sessions and add another dimension to their visitors’ experience.

From his base at STFC’s Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, Dan Hillier says “In every community there is somewhere that is the best place to see the stars.  This project will find ways of helping people from a whole range of different backgrounds to discover the universe that is just beyond their doorstep” 

Clive Hartwell, of Skyeskyns, Visit Waternish and DSL, commented that,  “This is an exciting new initiative, for both residents and visitors alike, which will raise awareness and understanding of another dimension to the unique beauty of this area.  It will bring a twinkle to the eyes of all those working to enhance the visitors’ experience and highlights another impelling reason to come here during the darker months.  Above all, it creates opportunities for people from all backgrounds to have greater access to and improved links with the wonders of a natural world which so many of us can take for granted.”

The project is being mounted in partnership with the hugely popular BBC ‘Stargazing Live’  which will be broadcasting its second series on 16 – 18th January, 2012.

For more information about the Dark Sky Discovery project visit www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk.  

Anyone seeking further information about Dark Skies on Skye should visit www.visit-waternish.co.uk/wild-waternish

Night skies over Waternish

Winter clothes have been pulled out of storage, and we have all bade farewell to the summer for another year. The autumnal gales have already started making their presence known, and it won’t be long now before we start experiencing the first winter frosts creeping across the fields and coastline. October is a changeable month, but one of the reasons it is most looked forward to up in the wilds of Scotland is because it heralds the beginning of the deer rutting season.

The annual deer rut, a chance to see the ‘Monarchs of the Glen’ staking claim to their territory, is one of the most exciting spectacles in the British wildlife calendar. It will begin with the largest and oldest stags trying to round up groups of females to mate with but, with never enough to go round, competition breaks out. The ruts usually open with the stags roaring, bellowing, posturing, and generally trying to intimidate the opposing male. Locking antlers is often only used as a last resort, as the stags are intelligent enough to realise the potentially fatal danger that comes with such physical engagement.

The nearby Isle of Rum is one of the best places in the UK to see a red deer rut, and has been featured numerous times on the BBC’s Countryfile. You are equally likely to witness it though on Skye, if you know the right places to go. For those further down towards the south of England, Richmond Park has been home to herds of red and fallow deer for hundreds of years, and the drama of their rut is in no way diminished by their suburban setting.

Although here at Skyeskyns we specialise in the craft of tanning and producing sheepskin rugs, we do also wholeheartedly support the Campaign for Wool. As today marks the beginning of UK Wool Week 2011, here is an excerpt from The Campaign for Wool’s website, highlighting the key factors of what they hope to achieve…
“The Campaign for Wool was initiated in October 2008 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who had observed that the wool industry was facing enormous and unprecedented challenges. The price of wool had plummeted to the point where farmers were being paid less for their sheep’s fleeces than the cost of having them shorn. At the same time, sheep numbers were declining across the world, from Britain to Australia and New Zealand, and some farmers were losing confidence in the future of the wool industry.
A parallel threat came from new man-made synthetic fibres, often oil-based, which were providing stiff competition in the areas where wool had traditionally triumphed – fashion, carpets and insulation.
The Prince of Wales formed an apocalyptic view of what the future for wool might hold, unless something could be done. Without a thriving wool industry, and with further declines in the sheep population, the physical appearance of our landscape could change forever. Imagine the Cumbrian uplands deprived of sheep, or the Scottish and Welsh mountains, or the sheep stations of Australia and New Zealand. Were we really to enter an era when the wool trade, which has thrived and prospered since the Middle Ages, would be sidelined by man-made fibres? And what would the environmental implications be? Wool is one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable of fibres. At a time when concerns about landfills occupy us all, why on earth were we turning our backs on wool?
These were the issues which provoked the HRH the Prince of Wales into convening a meeting over dinner at Clarence House with a diverse group of stakeholders with a connection to wool – from sheep experts to wool marketeers, wool traders to fashion designers and carpet manufacturers. From this initial meeting grew the Campaign for Wool, with all sectors working together in unprecedented harmony to promote and champion wool and help reinvigorate the global wool industry.
What has the Campaign achieved so far?
Within weeks of launch, plans for the Campaign’s first Wool Week were well advanced. Consumer-facing and retail-driven, the October 2010 Wool Week signed up 70 fashion brands, half a dozen national department stores and almost 1,000 carpet independents to participate in the Campaign.
For a week, special window displays were devoted to wool merchandise across the country, including in Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, Liberty, House of Fraser, Debenhams and Jigsaw.
The John Lewis Partnership was another key supporter of Wool Week, as were Alice Temperley, Aquascutum, Austin Reed, Daks, Hackett, Hobbs, Jasper Conran, Jaeger, Johnstons of Elgin, LK Bennett, Lyle & Scott, Paul Smith, Pringle and The Shop at Bluebird.
The dozen top tailors of Savile Row backed the Campaign with a high profile sheep fair in the middle of their specially-turfed street. Selfridges paraded yellow sheep along Oxford Street in support of the Campaign. The London Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour built installations in support of the Campaign, and dozens of designer showrooms displayed the Campaign’s logos and swing tags. The Society of British Interior Designers worked with the Campaign to present a prize for the sustainable use of wool to Starbucks and its design team. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of posters and swing tags were distributed across the country, amplifying the key messages of the Campaign. An extensive PR campaign across fashion, style and interior magazines secured mentions in over two hundred publications, as well as national newspapers.
The Campaign for Wool has been involved in events across the country, from Bradford to Wales, and been consistently supported in its endeavours by its Patron, the Prince of Wales.
What are the future plans?
The Campaign has a full and diverse programme of events for 2011. We will continue to work closely with retail partners, promoting the wonders of wool, and will also be working much more closely with the artisan community across the whole country – the spinners, weavers and designers, both large and small, who have always been great local champions for the fibre.
The Campaign will have a presence at several important events, including Grand Designs and Premiere Vision, and many regional events which connect wool to the artisan community.
Wool Week in the UK this year runs from Monday September 5th to Sunday September 11th, with windows and events throughout the nation, including a Love Wool initiative to encourage knitters across Britain to get involved.”

That was my initial response to hearing I was going coasteering. Considering the surprisingly chilly August we’ve all suffered through recently, what could possibly induce me to spend a Monday morning jumping from jagged cliffs into the Atlantic Ocean? Well, in my defence, I had made the journey across the water between Skye and the Isle of Raasay with the intention of visiting a friend and catching up over a pub dinner and perhaps a wee dram. Little did I know she had ulterior motives for inviting me over.

'Leap of faith'

Jumping into the sea from rocky outcrops, or ‘coasteering’ to give it its proper name, has been growing in popularity since the 1990s. It was first set up commercially along the cliff coastline in Pembrokeshire, Wales, but has since spread to all parts of the UK with rocky coastlines, such as Cornwall, Dorset, Pembrokeshire, Anglesey and the Highla

nds and Isles of Scotland. The actual jumping into the sea though takes up a minimal proportion of the whole activity. The rest of the time is spent scrambling, climbing and swimming along the coastline. Wetsuits, helmets and sturdy footwear are a must. As is a love of adrenalin-filled activities. It’s certainly not one for the faint-hearted!

Raasay House on the Isle of Raasay have been running coasteering as part of their outdoor activities programme ever since they opened 28 years ago. They get all sorts of people signing up for the experience, from individuals, to families, to hen parties. When we went we were joined by a lovely family from Germany, a couple on their honeymoon, and a father and daughter duo, who had left the rest of their family doing the slightly more tame

'Making the jump'

 archery option. Once we were all kitted out in the safety gear, we walked out to the coastline we were to start from. There was no gradual easing into the activity it seemed. The only way to begin was just to plunge straight in! I must admit, that despite my apprehension, it was actually great fun! Definitely something that every thrill-seeker should experience, and what better place to do it that with the beautiful backdrop of the Isle of Skye.

There is not long to go now until the Blair Horse Trials (18^th – 21^st August) get underway and, back on Skye, Clive, Lydia, Harriet and Tina, who make up the exhibition team, are busily preparing for the event. It is widely considered to be one of the highlights of the UK’s sporting and equine calendar, with dressage, cross-country and show-jumping just some of the spectacles to look out for as visitors enjoy a mix of shopping, eventing and dining in the Perthshire countryside.

 As always, the Skyeskyns stand will be situated right next to the main ring, ensuring that, when coming to visit, you will not miss out on all the excitement! We shall be bringing with us a selection of our sheepskin rugs, including the larger multiples, our striking mosaic range and the ever-popular pet mats. Amongst our accessories, we have some new and exciting products to showcase, including beautifully soft ladies’ suede gloves and cushions and bags from our latest designer, Anne Leitch.

 We very much hope to see you there, at what promises to be a weekend packed full of excitement, entertainment and fun; or if you cannot make it, be sure to catch up on the weekend’s events via twitter or our facebook page!

Black Houses

For many visitors that come and visit us on Skye, their trip is not complete without a wee jaunt over to the Outer Isles to explore the magic and mystery that those islands are famous for. Not to miss out on all the fun, I thought this current bout of beautiful weather provided the perfect conditions for myself to also make that trip. Since the ferry from Uig to Tarbert was chock a  block with holiday makers, we were forced to travel as foot passengers and leave the car behind. Upon arrival at Harris, we jumped onto a bus that promised to take us on a tour of the islands.

 First stop on the magical mystery tour was the Callanish standing stones. These stones, some as tall as 5m, are thought to have been placed here around 3000 B.C., and even with all the tourists milling around, there was still a sense of awe and reverence about the place. It is frustrating, in this day and age, where information and answers are always at the tips of your fingertips, that no one really know why this structure was created. There are many different theories, such as it being created in line with the setting of a summer solstice moon, but we will never be certain.    

 Then it was back on the bus and off to Dun Carloway broch, an extremely well preserved example of how people used to live thousands of years ago. This particular broch stands around 3m tall, and shows how the residents would have lived on many different levels, with the livestock occupying the ground floor. Brochs are thought to be the precursor to the black houses, and much of their stone was recycled as housing was upgraded. Again, the Outer Hebrides boasts the best examples of surviving black houses, with their characteristic thick stone walls and thatched roofs, weighed down by rocks. Inside we saw how the space was divided up into living quarters and space for the animals, with a central peat fire in the floor that was never allowed to go out. This is what some historians think gave these dwellings their name ‘black houses’, but, like the standing stones, no one can be certain.

Callanish Standing Stones

The main thing I noticed, when travelling around Harris and Lewis, was just how extraordinarily different they both are to Skye. The land is more barren, less cultivated and less populated, with vast swathes of mountains and fields in between each tiny cluster of houses. Returning back to Uig ferry port at the end of the day felt like being plunged back into a heaving metropolis!

Saturday saw this year’s running of the annual David Shepherd Memorial Galamaig Hill Race from the Sligachan Hotel. This is basically an out and back race to the top of Galamaig hill, across the road from the hotel. The race usually draws a good crowd of runners from the North of Scotland and sometimes further afield. It is a classic race in every sense of the word, purity of line, unremitting climb, one of the best descents in the hill running world, an impossible record winning time and the same winner for the last 8 years.

Dave Till our newly appointed General Manager and his son Niall took part this year on a showery and blustery day, perfect conditions for a hill race.

“105 runners lined up on the start line and at 3 o’clock the race began: a quick sprint over the bridge, out along the road and then onto the hill. First the bog which the heavy showers over the past few days had turned into a nice energy sapping mire. Just what I needed before the 2500 ft climb to the summit. An unrelenting, evenly steep climb, just like climbing up the outside of a cone. The top arrives oh so slowly. Niall passes me on his decent and 5 minutes or so later I pass the same place, jump onto the top of the scree and begin the best decent in the running world. All too soon it is at an end and it’s back across the hillside and the bog to the road. There is someone ahead of me and I try to haul them in but they keep just ahead of me along the road and I give up the fight.”

Both Dave and Niall had an enjoyable run and results can be seen at http://www.carnethy.com/ri_results/glamaig/glam_2011.htm and of course Brian Marshal clocked up his 9th win!

You can tell that the sheep shearing season has begun when you end up behind the shearing platform being towed to its next job. These are amazing contraptions, all folded up to travel, and then popping with doors and levers and goodness knows what when they arrive at their destination. Many crofters will still shear their own sheep on Skye, but often with hand clippers, and when flocks number up to 100, that can take several days. For larger flocks, and the township’s sheep, they generally call in the cavalry instead. This Wednesday, the township of Feorlig was having its sheep shorn, and Pete and I went along to ‘help’.

 The first thing that greeted us when we got out the car was a chorus of baa-ing and bleating coming from the enormous shed. The sound seemed to reverberate around the walls of the shed, making the din sound much louder than it actually was. Others had been here since 7am rounding up the sheep and dividing this year’s lambs from those needing a trim. Pete’s job was to herd the sheep up the ramp to the shearing platform, basically crowd control, whilst I was put on fleece-rolling duty with Ruth and Heather. You had to feel a bit sorry for the poor old sheep, hauled onto the shearing platform and stripped of not just their fleeces, but their dignity too. Those done with scrambled off the platform in their new-found nakedness, looking very disgruntled and confused. But once the realisation set in that they had escaped the ordeal unscathed, they all, without fail, gave several joyful jumps and skips to the freedom of the pen. I never knew a sheep could leap so high! Rolling and packing the wool is a mucky job, but at least your hands come away beautifully soft at the end of the day from all that lanolin!

Harriet bundling up the fleece

 Fifty years or so ago, the price the wool fetched, a local crofter told me, ‘used to pay the rent’, but over the past few years we are more familiar with a different story. Recently farmers have had to pay the shearer more than the price they would get for the wool, leaving them severely out of pocket, and at its lowest point the wool would be burnt as worthless. Luckily now we have seen the price of wool rise again, thanks to such initiatives as The Campaign for Wool, and the support of leading figures such as HRH the Prince of Wales. The British Wool Marketing Board explains on its website how ‘British wool is a superior, natural fibre, thanks to a special combination of bulk, resilience, softness and warmth.’ It was thought that some of our wool from Feorlig might end up eventually in China, being used for making carpets, for which it would be ideal. Certainly better than ending up on the bonfire!

Picture the scene: you have been walking for hours, the sky has been steadily darkening, and then suddenly the heavens open, like a celestial bathtub being mischievously upturned over you. In situations like this there is no sight more welcoming and comforting than a tiny hut rising humbly from the horizon. Bothies have saved the spirits, and also the lives of many a walker/climber/intrepid explorer over the years. Set up as simple shelters, mainly converted from dilapidated farm buildings or such like structures, they provide basic protection from the elements in some of the most remote corners of the landscape.

Image courtesy of the Ideal Home Show Scotland

The Isle of Skye has three bothies scattered across its coastline which are maintained by the Mountain Bothy Association. Some are more accessible than others, and thus can be more popular. The Lookout, up at Rubha Hunish, for example, is only a mere 45 minute walk from the road, and provides spectacular views across to the Outer Hebrides. Looking at the visitors’ book reveals that dolphins are often sighted, along with the occasional minke whale, or even a basking shark! There is also Ollisdal, over Glendale way, past Macleod’s Maidens, and Camusunary down at Camusunary beach.

Our Skyeskyns sheepskins have recently featured in brand new concept bothy designed by the young architectural designer, Euan Gray. He premiered this innovative idea at the Ideal Home Show in Glasgow last month to rave reviews. The Bothy Project creates kit-built, semi-permanent structures which can be set up in a variety of locations, ranging from back gardens to remote and isolated peninsulas. Such a structure aims to reconnect with nature, using natural materials to blend with the environment, and our sheepskins fitted perfectly into this idea.

'We used to picnic where the thrift, grew deep and tufted to the edge...' J. Betjeman

Saturday the 21^st of May marked the beginning of Scottish Biodiversity Week, with events planned across the country to encourage people to get out and enjoy their countryside. For most of us fortunate few who live on Skye, we only have to look out our window to be reminded of the truly special environment we live in. Skye is celebrated for its sweeping landscapes, imposing mountains and vast swathes of, often, stormy seas. Yet there is interest and pleasure to be found in the minutiae of island surroundings also, and this juxtaposition of the different natural perspectives is what makes going for a tramp across a patch of Skye terrain so exciting.

 The cuckoo was in fine voice this weekend, out in the forests on the way to Macleod’s Maidens. The adult birds arrive in the UK in April and then depart again in July or August, with their young leaving a couple of months later. Although the cuckoo’s nefarious parenting methods have gained it rather an unpopular reputation, its population numbers have recently experienced a steep decline, and it is now on the RSPB’s red list. We also spotted deer, a golden eagle and some distinctly hairy caterpillars!

 Corncrakes, which feature prominently in Scotland’s biodiversity plan, are often heard and sometimes even sighted on Waternish, and volunteer groups frequently monitor their progress. There are also otters, porpoises and seals to be found on the shore, along with a whole variety of sea birds.

 One of my favourite flowers, the tufty thrift, is dusting the cliff tops with its bobbing pink pompoms and even the ditches along sides of roads are decked out with flashes of yellow from the sturdy marsh marigolds. Wherever you go on Skye, there is always something to look at, something to notice; but don’t forget that sometimes the most rewarding of Scotland’s natural treasures often take that little bit extra effort to spot.