Camasunary, Isle of Skye, Autumn
As well as revisiting old favourites of ours on Skye, we also wanted to check out unfamiliar territory across the island.
A new, to us, hike we bookmarked was located on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye, perhaps more widely accessed for getting to Elgol. We did revisit Elgol again, but on the way back we stopped at a parking layby near Kirkibost for a hike up and over the Strathaird peninsula towards an isolated little bay called Camasunary.
This hike ended up being the best thing we did on the Isle of Skye.
Camasunary is the Scots form of the Scottish Gaelic Camas Fhionnairigh, which means “Bay of the White Shieling”. This implies that this bay, in times past, was once used as summer grazing for livestock, when transhumance farming was more common.
As we had spent time around Elgol for sunrise, our hike to Camasunary was still early in the morning, which provided us with dazzling displays of light and shadow on some of the most epic scenery we’ve ever seen.
Photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 primarily using a Samyang 35mm f/1.2 with occasional backup provided by my Laowa 9mm f/2.8. I used a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions as we began our hike from the layby at Kirkibost. Here, a long lenticular cloud hovers above Nead an Fhìor-eòin (334 m/1,095 ft).
One of my favourite Skye mountains, Blà Bheinn, is more famously viewed from the shore of Loch Slapin. But from this hike the mountain’s fin-like southern ridge is more prominent, and I managed to snap this shot as the peak caught some morning light.
As we crested the summit of the trail, views of the Black Cuillins started to open up and our excitement levels shot through the roof.
The view of Camasunary Bay from the summit of the trail. Holy moly, what a view! The mountain to the right is Sgurr na Stri (494 m/1,620 ft), definitely one of the smaller peaks on Skye but its position above Loch Coruisk means the view from its summit is perhaps one of the finest in Britain (and one I hope to see myself one day). To the left, catching the morning light, is Gars-bheinn (808 m/2,650 ft).
As we began following the trail down to Camasunary Bay we were faced with the massive southern face of Blà Bheinn (928 m/3,044 ft) high above, glowing gold in the morning sun. We also weren’t the only ones enjoying this hike.
Bright slivers of golden light streak across the various faces of the Black Cuillins. In my head, the Lord Of The Rings theme music plays incessantly.
A particularly strong burst of light breaks through the low clouds as I shot this view across Loch na Creìtheach. The hill on the left is Sgùrr Hain (420 m/1,377 ft) and the crown-like summit in the distance is Sgùrr nan Gillean (966 m/3,170 ft), one of Skye’s most famous peaks. Its name translates from Scottish Gaelic as “peak of the young men”.
We finally arrived at the flat bay of Camasunary. There’s three buildings on the bay; two of them are bothys (one old and disused, another freshly constructed). The building pictured, though, is a private house. I’m not sure if it’s still in use or not; it looked in various states of disrepair. You have to admit, it’s a cracking spot for a house.
This is the old Bothy, located at the western end of Camasunary Bay, close to the beach, with Sgurr na Stri above. In 2014 it was reclaimed by the private owner of the Bay, and a newer bothy was constructed back at the eastern end of the Bay. If you don’t know, a bothy is a basic building or shelter and usually left unlocked, available for anyone to use free of charge. They’re quite common in the mountainous areas of Scotland, but you do find them in places like the Lake District too.
Heading back up the trail, I couldn’t resist one last look back at this stunning view of Camasunary Bay.
As we made our way back to the car at Kirkibost the clouds got angrier and occasional spits of rain signalled the end of our luck with the light and weather this day. However, another burst of light from behind us illuminated this solitary tree, which I lined up with the pyramid peak in the distance that was also catching the light.