On leaving the Crowlin anchorage we set full sail in a light breeze, but
it suddenly blew up to a near gale, forcing us to double reef for an
exhilarating sail down to the Skye Bridge. From there it was
motorsailing against a light southerly through Kylerhea and down to Loch
Nevis, where we anchored at Glas Choille. The same weather pattern was
repeated next day, giving us a superb broad reach right across to Loch
Scresort, Rum where we had the bay to ourselves. We visited Stroma and
David at their flat in Kinloch Castle with irrepressible two year old
son, new baby daughter and visiting grannie, Irene. The castle, now run
by Scottish Natural Heritage as a hostel, bistro and bar, is almost
entirely in its century old original condition with resplendent
Victorian contents – including fully working automatic ‘orchestrium’,
built-in with beautiful brass, chrome, carpentry and mechanical
linkages. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria but never installed
after her death, allowing Lord Bullough to acquire it.