Having put off writing this post for a while -not through any particular reason, just a mulling over period- we are going to finally share where we are and what we’ve been doing. We moved to Skye!

That’s right, in midsummer, between trips to Languedoc in France and the Faroe Islands we moved our small raft of things up to the far northwest of Scotland, onto Skye. First, we were in a tiny bothy (it’s a Scottish word for stone shed. Or in this case a euphemism for shoebox). Then later into a 100-year-old cottage with sweeping views of the sea. Even as we sit here now in our country kitchen, we can see out the window a storm rolling over the water towards us.

It’s times like these we sit back and realise: it’s a place to dream of living in.

Nell walking the cliffs near Point Neist Lighthouse on Skye

Why did we move to Skye?

We began to think we needed a base at the beginning of this year. A home and a bit more of a plan. Although we have lived in London we weren’t sure we could go back there, and spells in rural Italy left us wanting to live somewhere a bit more adventurous and outdoorsy.

Then Luke found a job on the Isle of Skye. Not office-based but on the road, requiring him to roam around the island and beyond. And there a small window of opportunity opened up.

We thought about it. We’d been to the island a few times, most recently in 2018 on a trip to find the best short hikes on Skye. It as been one of our favourite places to visit, it has actually been named as the most desirable place to live in the UK, so why not live there for a while? Somewhere with adventure and beauty on our doorstep, walks and boat rides and road trips. Why not take the leap?

O readers of the internet, this is what we did.

Us walking to Elgol on the Isle of Skye

Our first few months on Skye

It has been both more awe-inspiring and more difficult that we’d imagined. On the one hand, we still cannot believe that the Isle of Skye, with its black and red mountains, waterfalls and burns, lighthouses and crofts, is our backyard. That we found and live in a historic cottage of whitewashed walls on crofting plot where deer roam at night.

Over the months we’ve got to know Skye’s windy roads and trails, where to go for sunrise, for a good cup of coffee, or for the crackliest fire. We’re even working on liking whisky (er, it’s an acquired taste, particularly as Skye whiskey like Talisker is some of the smokiest around).

But, yes challenging too. Juggling the demands of full-time work with keeping up regular hiking and blogging has, obviously, proved a struggle. We’ve spent a fair amount of time off the island on work trips away to different parts of Scotland, and carving out the time to slowly travel and report back like we always want to has been hard.

But as we reflect on our first few months after moving to Skye, we’ve realised that we’ve been able to see and explore more than we ever could just visiting. And our curiosity and love of not just Skye but the Outer Hebrides, the highlands and the Northern Isles is as strong as ever.

So it’s time to pull our socks up. We’ll be sharing what we have found from all the places we’ve been since we moved to the Isle of Skye, starting with these three of our favourite and easy hikes on Skye: the Quiraing loop, the coastal Brothers’ Point and the most spectacular of day trips, the Loch Coruisk boats and hike

We’re hoping you’ll stay for the adventure. You can subscribe at the bottom of the page, and let us know in the comments what you’d like to know about the Isle of Skye!

Cottage on the Isle of Skye with snow covered Cuillin mountains in background