Skye and our favourite place to stay!

Fi - Hat trick in Skye

Going to Skye? Like the peace and quiet where your neighbours are sheep and the locals have to weave in and out of the Highland cows to get to their houses? Where the views are stunning (when you can actually see the view) and the seafood is about as fresh as you can get?

The single track road to get to this place is not for the feint hearted that’s for sure. You can spot the locals by the quality of the ‘bull bars’ on the front of their 4×4 vehicles. Beware, they are all mad and WILL NOT MOVE for you!!! No, really, they all drive like nutters. The bull bars are there for a reason! More to the point, it is much easier to spot the Tourists, they are the ones driving at 2.5 mph, gawping so much at the scenery that they have no remote idea that there is a queue of traffic behind them…..

My hubbie was told about this hidden gem by his cousin Pamela. How on earth she found it is beyond me. I will have to check up on that one and find out how ‘it’ all started. ‘It’ is the love affair of going to Skye to totally indulge in the scenery, fine wine and the most splendid seafood. One thing that Scotland does well, when we are allowed to keep it in Scotland and not transport it to Europe, is seafood.

After the recommendation from Pamela, Ed headed out to Skye for the day, to attempt to find Elgol. He does that you know, heads off to goodness knows where on his motorbike and comes back at dusk , sometimes even when it is dark! So on this particular occasion, he ended up in Elgol indulging on magnificently wonderful seafood (his other hobby) and meeting the completely mad owners of Coruisk House. It is without a doubt our favourite destination in Skye. We don’t bother going anywhere else.

Every year at the same time Ed and I go up to stay for a couple of nights. Any excuse, but the other half’s birthday is as good a reason as any! We don’t actually need an excuse, we are going twice this year. Ed, the rat-bag is going with his Canadian ‘rellies’ for an extra sneaky visit. Honestly, the owners Robin and Lesley think that Ed and I are a handful on our own….. (I think I should phone and warn them!!!)

Now, that brings me to the owners. What can I say about Robin and Lesley? Even the thought of them brings a grin to my face. They are two of the most laid-back fun people I have ever met. On Ed’s first visit to Coruisk, he stayed for hours, way beyond lunch, yabbering to them both. That was one of those days out when he got back in the dark! We have been visiting as regularly as work allows us ever since!

Let me give you a word of warning. Avoid Lesley on the roads. In actual fact, if you have a pride and joy whether it be a car or motorbike, park it as far away from Lesley’s vehicle as possible. Even better if you can park it in a different part of Skye altogether, at least that way you will be safe! If you want to know more about this story, you will have to go up to Elgol and ask Lesley yourself, it’s only fair!

Lesley cooks up a storm in the kitchen with her team, however, she is let loose from the kitchen & does come out to say a ‘riotous’ hello during service. In the tradition of superb seafood cooks, her recipes don’t spoil any natural flavours, just enhance them with the lightest touches to her cooking that leaves you just wanting more. Normally though, we eat until we are FTBTTT (Fit to burst, tummy touching table). At least once in our stay we have pudding. You have to go there to find out about it!

Robin, oh mad person who calls me “Fi with the Big…. erm…. Personality”…. is hard to miss… His uniform consists of Skye Batik trousers with funky t-shirts. He knows his stuff, particularly when it comes to knowing which is the best wine to go with your meal, or the best whisky to finish it off…. It’s hard to get Robin flustered, he just floats around making sure everyone is having an ace time, eating and drinking as much as you can.

Robin also has a boat – his pride and joy. The photo above was taken out on a dead calm day, where I was given the chance to do some ‘idiot fishing’ – you know the kind, any idiot can do it. I did. We threw the catch back in, it was big enough to cover a slice of toast, but we thought the better of it! That’s Robin’s therapy, getting out there on the water and zooming about in the afternoons. Don’t blame him really, it was great craic.

Believe me, go to Coruisk and you will have exactly that, an ace time. You will want to go back, that’s for sure!

Not so many sleeps until I am up visiting. Excellent.

Talking of sleeps… I forgot to say that they have lovely rooms in the main house, but book up fast! You can stay in the house next door and also the traditional black cottage just across the road! We have stayed in the black cottage before now, much cuteness! But still prefer the luxury of the 4 poster in the main house!! It’s also closer if you need to stagger to your bed!