Jean Says: The Kyle of Lochalsh was quite touristy, but great for an overnight stop and a welcome chance to stock up again. We both decided that we went to the wrong schools when an 80 foot Oyster arrived owned by Gordonstoun school. There seemed to be at least twenty young people on board, but they still seemed grateful when Bob offered to take a line for them. I hid behind the spray hood and spied on them while they moored up, and couldn't quite fathom why many of the lads looked, well, how can I put this....... tough, not at all like public school boys! I felt sure that this was a totally unfair assessment, but it all fell into place when we were told that they were squaddies, members of the regiment that used to called the Black Watch. Apparently the school loans out the boat sometimes. If the boat had full use by the pupils of Gordonstoun, there would never be anyone in class.
We needed to leave no later than 6.00 the next morning to surf the tide through The Kyle Rhea. Timing is all important through this very narrow gap between Skye and the mainland, as tides can run very fast, and throw up some unpredictable currents and more little whirlpools. Very pretty, but I can't help but be a little suspicious of them. I'm glad we went when we did, because even at the right time, the water was creating all sorts of strange patterns and we were swished along at nearly eleven knots at one stage, but not always in a straight line. It was quite good fun.
We had planned on going to Mallaig, but changed our minds and went into Loch Nevis to a settlement called Knoydart in Inverie Bay. Knoydart is only accessible by sea or on foot over land. They do have roads and there are a few cars present, but they are only used to get around their tiny settlement. It was bought out by its residents ten years ago, and community is the big thing there.
The community is 120 strong, but seems to have attracted people from everywhere else but Knoydart. There was a strong Australian presence (weirdly), and many other people we spoke to had come from elsewhere even if they were Scottish. We sensed a sort of smug self-righteousness amongst the community, but this seemed to dissolve later in The Old Forge where we had dinner. The Old Forge is run by an Aussie and was full to the brim of locals and many tourists and quite a few backpackers. I don't like to count backpackers as normal tourists because it's such hard work. If you eat at The Old Forge, the mooring buoy is free, which was a plus point. The Old Forge has been designated by the Guinness Book of Records the most remote pub on mainland Britain, which made it quite a fun place to visit. There was also a very quirky cafe run by a couple of local girls which has been designated by someone or other in the top 15 cafes in the world. Great coffee, cakes (definitely worthy of one of my cake alerts) and a view over the bay that is stunning. In the photo below it's the shed like building right on the front with the big window.

Going through Kyle Rhea at nearly eleven knots




Look at the size of the life raft - and they had two!!





The Old Forge just behind the yacht