August Meteors
Go some place dark. August is a really good month for meteors with the return of Perseid Shower. See earthsky.org/tonight/the-radiant-of-the-delta-aquarid-meteors And of course after weeks of light skies and short nights,…
Aurora Borealis
Waternish Peninsula – home to three Dark Skies viewing sites has been the perfect location throughout our stormy winter from which to view the Aurora Borealis. When the skies have…
Aurora Borealis – Northern Lights
These copyright pictures were taken by Ray Reeder in 2003 from Waternish on Skye. We are currently (2010) moving towards the sloar maximum (2011-2013) which is when you are most…
Award for completing ‘Our Night Sky’ Course
A significant core group of Waternish residents have completed a basic course via DVD called ‘Our Night Sky’. The youngest member of this group, Murdo MacGilvaray, received a very personal…
Award for Isle of Skye Sea Salt
Quote from Chris watts of isle of Skye Sea Salt: ” We were really delighted to receive a Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Award for our sea salt in May…
BBC Stargazing Photograph
This is the photo of the sun, taken on Waternish by Robert Arnold, which was shown on the BBC Stargazing Live TV program on January 8th 2013. It is taken…
Comparing winters in Waternish to Oregan
Thoughts from Diane Hoff-Rome (Picture 1 is of the view from of Isay, Mingay and Clett) (Picture 2 is of Diane’s garden in Oregan in the…
Corncrakes
The corncrake is a divisive bird; exotic rarity, or noisy pest! Whichever camp you’re in, here are a few things you always wanted to know about corncrakes but were too…
Dark Skies (Not Dark Clouds) Report
We’ve had a report from a local couple: “We sat in the garden from 1850hrs till 1930hrs 27th Jan 2012 and this is what we have observed: Clear skies, waning/…
Dark Skies in December
What a fabulous week we have had for Dark Skies. For once everything seemed to come together this week. We had a new moon which made the night sky really…
Dark Skies Lectures
About 20 local residents attended the first in a series of DVD lectures in the Waternish Hall last night on ‘Our Night Sky’. It would be fair to say that…
Dark Skies on Waternish
Prepared in a personal capacity for us by Dr Simon Hodgkin of the Astronomical Survey Unit, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. Truly dark skies are only found far away from the urban…
Dark Sky events on Skye in March
Dark Sky events on Skye in March Friday March 9th 2012: Dark Skye Launch Event: Destination Skye and Lochalsh presents Dark Skye Discovery starting at 7:30 pm at the Broadford…
Dark Skye Star Party
Please phone 01599 577 219 for further details including tickets.
Dolphins in the bay!
WOW!!!!! We’ve had somewhere between one and two dozen dolphins playing off the West coast of Waternish today. I spotted tham around lunch time around the Carnach area and they…
Examples of birds seen in a local garden
Personally I did not do very well when I took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Watch this year, only had 5 birds in the garden in the hour that…
Experiencing Hubble
Starting on Tuesday 15th October, the first of a six week programme being shown by Gill Williams. It will feature another ‘Great Courses’ Course called ‘Experiencing Hubble – Understanding the…
Fabulous Aurora
On the 27th February the country experience a very widespread aurora. Waternish was part of that, for at least half an hour. There was some colour in the sky to…
Finding Transients with Gaia
Thank you to Dr Simon Hodgkin of the Astronomical Survey Unit, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge for this very interesting article.Artist’s impression of Gaia14aae. Credit: Marisa Grove/Institute of Astronomy Gaia is…
Greshornish Point
Length: 6 km (3.75 miles) Time: 2 – 3 hours Terrain: Grassy paths, which can be very boggy in paces, and heather slopes. The path is rugged with a fair…
Heather on the Hill
At this time of year the hills and glens of Scotland are covered in a purple hue – heather is in bloom and the Highlands and the Isle of Skye…
HRH The Princess Royal visits Waternish
A wonderful hot and sunny day here on Waternish today for the visit of HRH The Princess Royal to Skyeskyns. Princess Anne was given a tour of the tannery and…
Hubble spots a galaxy smiling at us
The Hubble Space Telescope is producing pictures on a daily basis which are just wonderful and awe-inspiring. They recently shared this picture on Facebook. Hubble spots a galaxy smiling at…
Isle of Coll – Awarded Dark Sky Community Status
Visit Waternish would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the Isle of Coll who this last weekend were awarded the status of Dark Sky Community. This will have entailed…
Local flowers
Beautiful flowers! I am told that these are: A rare Butterfuly Orchid – taken on Waternish, Common Spotted Orchid & Common Orchid (with bug!).
Local natural dyes – by Eva of Shilasdair Yarn
Locally (Waternish) the plants you use will give yellows; there are berries that give reddish or blue-ish tones, but they fade. I use meadowsweet for the softer yellows, tansy for…
Lochbay Restaurant
Congratulations to our new member Michael Smith and his wife Laurence, who in just a few months of business at Lochbay Restaurant were featured in The Times Weekend in an article about…
NASA Photo of Aurora over Scotland
A Nasa Astronaut (Terry Virtis) photographs the aurora borealis over Scotland from the International Space Station. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-31440059 Absolutely fabulous – if only it could be as clear as this from Waterish…
Noctilucent Cloud – from Stein
A wonderful photograpgh taken by Angus McGhie of the Stein Inn here on Waternish, very early one morning on his way back home after closing the Inn.
Noctilucent Clouds
Noctilucent clouds (NLC’s) are the highest clouds in Earth’s atmosphere and are visible in a deep twilight, mostly observed in the summer months at latitudes between 50º and 70º north…
Recent Sightings
As well as the sparrow hawk, I’ve also just had a report of a corncrake in another garden locally. Here is photographic evidence, but the bird was rather coy and…
Red Deer
Red deer have been present in Scottish highlands since the Ice Age and therefore are a truly native species. Adult males (Stags) and females (Hinds) lead separate lives for most of…
Sgorr Horan or Beinn an Sguirr cliffs
(NB There is presently forestry harvesting happening in the area, which does not close the walk but please see info in Facebook post) Summary:This circular walk takes you along the…
Siskins
Siskins are small members of the Finch family. A few stay on Skye all year round, but most migrate to the south of the UK for the winter before returning…
Skye – The hottest part of the UK!!!
Wow, the BBC have just announced that The Isle of Skye was the hottest part of the UK today! 10 degrees C!!! The last two days have been calm and…
Spectacular night skies over Waternish
If the hype delivers, this coming November could produce one of the most spectacular natural sights ever witnessed in the night sky. Discovered in September last year by two Russian…
Springtime and the Sea 1
For those of us who earn a living from the sea, the seasonal changes can be every bit as marked and varied as the seasons ashore, and can be one…
Springtime and the sea 2
The slow moving Basking shark, being the second largest fish in the sea can reach an incredible size of 10 metres,(although the average adult length is from 6.5 to 9metres)…
Sun, sun and more sun!!!!!!!!!
What lovely weather we are having up here in the North West of the UK and particularly on Waternish on the Isle of Skye whilst there is snow and damp and…
Synchronicity – further thoughts from Diane Hoff-Rome
What is synchronicity? Synchronicity’ is a concept developed by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung to describe ‘a perceived meaningful coincidence.’ Do you believe in synchronicity? I do. Especially after receiving an…
The GAIA Project Lecture
A very interesting lecture was held at Waternish Hall earlier this month, given by Dr Simon Hodgkin of the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge. The lecture was very well…
The Transit of Venus
This is so exciting. For the only time in our lifetime there is a transit of the sun by Venus early on the morning of June 6th. If the clear…
Trumpan, Waternish Point and Geary circuit
Distance: 21.5 km (13.5 miles) Time: 6 – 8 hours Terrain: Straightforward walking to Waternish Point; much tougher and very challenging return walk across pathless ground with bogs, knee deep…
Visit of HRH The Pricess Royal to Skyeskyns
HRH The Princess Royal was offered a guided tour of the tannery and showroom by Jess Hartwell, whose family own and run the business, before being given the chance to…
Waternish – Place of the Healing Waters
…I will wait for the birch wood until it comes up by the cairn….”(1) Sorley MacLean. From the Druids, to the Vikings, to Johnson and Boswell – travellers continue to…
Waternish and Skye promote Dark Skies
Dark Sky Discovery, a pioneering new national and regional partnership of astronomy and environmental organizations, has just unveiled a series of Dark Sky Discovery Sites throughout the UK. Led by…
Waternish Point
Summary: Waternish Point is a wild but beautiful spot with wonderful sea views. In the summer months, it is an excellent place to see whales and dolphins as they feed…
Waternish Sheep Dog Trials – July 8th 2017
These popular trials form part of the Hebridean Sheepdog Circuit and take place on Waternish Farm with spectacular views across the Minch towards Harris and North Uist. All visitors are…
Waternish Sheepdog trials
These popular trials form part of the Hebridean Sheepdog Circuit and take place on Waternish Farm (near to the War Memorial) with spectacular views across the Minch towards Harris and…
Waternish Tea Towels
We have produced a high quality Waternish tea towel which is for sale at a RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of £7.00. It is available in purple (for the heather on…
Waternish world-best sunsets!
Travel magazine named Broad Reach in Waternish, Skye, as the tops for a “sunset-view stay”. Second in the six places named by Travel was Sri Panua in Phuket followed by…
We’re REALLY dark here!
Look at this picture from NASA, how dark are we here on Waternish on the Isle of Skye? Can you even see Skye??? We are currently having clear skies and…
Wild Waternish in Bloom – March to April
After the very poor early months of 2020 we are looking forward to the early spring when the wild blooms are begin to show themselves on the banks around Waternish.…