Join us on an adventure to the the rugged island of Raasay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland where we shelter from storms Ciara and Dennis in the remote bothy, Taigh Thormoid Dhuibh or Black Normans House.
Great atmosphere, my music teacher step son with school party were delayed by storms ferry cancellations, I guess you made it home as well. A nice film again, cheery and uplifting. Thanks. Harry
Hello Harry, yes, we made it home. Our entire trip was dominated by storms Ciara and Dennis. When we were on Skye, the sailings to Raasay were cancelled due to storm Ciara and on Raasay, our difficulty was getting back to Skye because of storm Dennis. The walk out from the bothy was done in extremely wild weather. We saw the school party at the southern end of the island, near the outdoor centre by the hotel. Glad you enjoyed the film. ATB Dave
Thanks Graham. I can thoroughly recommend bothy life. The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) website is great for a browse and will give you some food for thought. Raasay is our particular favourite. It requires a fair effort to hike in but the landscape is stunning and the km's roll by easily. ATB, Dave
The kindling was bad enough but when you brought the bag of coal out 😆 What a place this is and to see it in such wild weather - thank you so much for sharing it, travelling home from Wales during Storm Ciara was bad enough!
Thanks for viewing and commenting, very much appreciated. The north end of Raasay is indeed a wild and rugged place, and the wee bothy is the perfect location to hunker down in a storm. Mo and I have weathered a few stormy nights in various bothies across Scotland, but Black Normans House is a firm favourite. It's an effort to get there, especially with carrying coal, wood and water, but absolutely worth it. ATB, Dave
good morning Owen, aye, we spend a small fortune on lightweight camping gear, then throw a bag of coal into the rucksack :) crazy days. Hope all is well with you. ATB, Dave
Nice video, beautiful music as well. I'm hoping to get up there as soon as possible for some fishing and relaxation :) You must have done double the walk-in to get all those shots...good on ya!
Looks like you both had fun on this one! Having read Calum's Road and seen Taigh Thormoid Dhuibh feature recently in SAS Who Dares Wins I feel I need to get there!
SASWDW really did a good job of making the place look miserable when in reality it's actually quite beautiful. (People do get married here after all) Awesome video Dave. Some beautiful scenery you've caught once again. 👍
Thanks Ewan. I often feel that the north end of Raasay has a similar feel to Harris. Some might regard the landscape as austere but I love the elemental beauty of rock, bog, heather and sea.
Great Video Dave and Mo, as usual. I have to admit I prefer the shorter productions (30-45 mins). Still working my way through your "Back Catalogue". Where the hell did the guitar come from @ 17:08? Did I miss something?
Sorry for the late reply, I’m van camping in Galloway and only have intermittent internet access. I agree about the videos. I often find it difficult to gauge how well (or poorly) a video will be received by the viewers and subscribers. There are a few productions, which involved significant effort to shoot and edit, yet the barely made the grade. And, when I look back at them, I can often, but not always, see the faults. Sometimes, when viewing my own videos, I get caught in the memories of the trip, and that can cloud my judgement. One thing that I have discovered is, that frequent scene changes can really make a difference, even if it just putting in links. However, every scene change requires setting up (and retrieving) the camera. So, I think the secret to making the best videos (that I can make with my limited skill and equipment), is to keep them short, have scene changes every 4 to 6 seconds (unless I’m chatting or doing something interesting, such as landing a fish) and, most important of all, setting out with the specific task of making a video, as opposed to simply taking the camera along. I really do appreciate feedback of the sort you give because it helps tremendously in developing my filming. So, thanks as always for viewing and commenting and huge thanks for supporting the channel. ATB, Dave ps, the old guitar ‘lives’ in the bothy :)
Handsomely photographed, as ever; thanks. It takes me back to a sunlit summertime walk, years ago. The only negative thing I recall about the bothy was a shortage of running water in the vicinity.
Thanks for the positive comments, much appreciated. Yes, there is a dearth of flowing water in the north end of the island. The peaty lochan (featured in the film) has a good number of resident leeches. It is possible to collect water from the roof in wet weather. There are a couple of places beyond the bothy where water flows after wet weather. We carried in 4.5 litres of drinking water. ATB, Dave
