Big rocks, an invisible waterfall and an unmanned lighthouse on the edge of Skye

Legend has it that the Old Man of Storr, a rock that juts out from one of the Isle of Skye’s many steep hillsides, was the marker for a great Viking to hide his treasure in the mid-10^th century. The rock is 48 meters high, and is clearly visible from the straight between Skye and it’s neighbor, the Isle of Rasaay.

And, in fact, a hoard of Viking gold was found buried near the beach in 1890.

The Old Man of Storr is the dark rock that looks like an arrowhead to the right of the frame. It looks small and low on the hill from this angle. But I took this shot from about two miles down the coast. 

Walking around and up to the Old Man of Storr was among the many hiking highlights Skye had to offer. The early part of the trail was pretty crowded, but the higher I hiked, the fewer people were around.

Some folks are taking photos of the view. I took this on my climb up. (The Old Man of Storr is the rock to the left.

One of many times I asked a fellow traveler/tourist to take my picture with my camera in exchange for me taking their picture with theirs. I ultimately hiked over to those rocks to climb up to the base of the Old Man of Storr. 

My second hike on this day was to an inland waterfall about three miles off the coast with views like these on the way: 

With this stream flowing at a good pace, I was optimistic there would be a majestic waterfall from the source. 

Alas, it was not to be. The waterfall was a mere trickle on the mountain behind me because of the (relatively) dry weather lately. Lionel from Manchester, a fellow hiker and Isle of Skye veteran, was the only other person I saw on this trek. He took my photo before we walked back together. 

While I took several other walks while on Skye, the third major one was my hike to the Neist lighthouse on Skye's west coast. This one attracts heavy traffic from tourists, which explains why the roads to this part of the island look like they've been hit by a meteor shower. 

They say this is a prime spot for whale and dolphin watching, but not on this morning with rather rough waters. This was the best I could do on an overcast, misty conditions: 

The lighthouse is unmanned. Apparently Neist was the setting for the 1996 film "Breaking the Waves" and the 2012 movie "47 Ronin," according to this bit of tourism info. 

Also along the rocks near the lighthouse were more cairns, including this architecturally inventive one.  

My last "hike" was an impromptu sprint up three hills as I was driving south off the island. I came around a bend and saw a beautiful view of the Loch Bracadale on the western coast, so when I came to a pull-off spot on the next hill, I parked. I ran across the road, over a fence and up a hill past the sheep, then over two more hills onto a plateau overlooking the Loch and across to Idrigill Point.

Even a cloudy day can't completely mask the incredible views of Skye.