Skipness is a tiny hamlet just behind the beach, with a mix of dwelling types ranging from the older detached stone houses, one or two simple rendered bungalows to some lovely terraced cottages. A nice modern build looked very nice too.
The surprise of the day came after we continued the walk out of the hamlet and turned into the drive along to the castle.
It turns out that Skipness castle is an amazing 13th C wonder, that is well maintained in a ruinous sort of way. We were happy to wander freely around, looking at features such as ‘water pipe into kitchen’ and ‘latrine chute’, which were fortunately on opposite sides of the fortification.
We then walked on another mile to the chapel and cemetery, again positioned beautifully next to the beach.
In a special place in the cemetery, I was rather moved by the words on a significant memorial stone written by a grieving widow, which includes:
“... where four surviving children passed the happy days of infancy under his paternal care. A once cheerful home now connected with so many painful recollections.”
A little further is yet another beautiful beach. No one is here and there’s no scorch marks on the grass.
Near the castle is a smokery that didn’t look like it welcomed visitors at the moment and a ‘café’ that did. Skipness Seafood Cabin is a little bit posher than its name suggests.
We really should have had a seafood platter or oysters maybe but it was only 11:00 so we opted for a shared crab sandwich. Well we didn’t want to spoil our lunch did we?
On the walk back we spotted a pod of dolphins. They were swimming alongside the rocks but in the same direction as us. We couldn’t walk quickly enough to fully appreciate them but it was a fine spectacle, as there were so many of them. They kept popping up in different places like cars on the motorway, all hugging their own lane...
Later we built a fire and enjoyed the view again. Ours was on the beach pebbles and not on the grass verge. 😡
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