Whiskey and Fresh Air

Our blessed weather luck has finally run out and the morning proves to be rather inclement. It lifts for a while, blue sky shows, and the Old Man of Storr becomes visible ten miles away on the other side of Loch Portree. Then suddenly the clouds descend again and it's raining hard and the wind blows so violently it shakes our little double-wide like an earthquake. We have a tour of the Talisker Distillery booked at 11:00 a.m. and were thinking we might set out early to do some nature walking before that, but we have changed our minds.

The Storr across Loch Portree

Just after ten we head for the distillery, which is only about 15 miles away but it takes half an hour to get there because the roads are less than ideal. As we've seen all over the more rural areas of Scotland, the roads are often single track and you must pull over frequently to let oncoming traffic pass. Here it is clear that the weather takes its toll on the roads as well, and there are potholes and washouts at the edges of the narrow roads. It's nerve-racking when you've already had a blowout and your tires are absolute shit.

We arrive without incident and head into one of the most beautiful retail spaces I've seen. Talisker has recently undergone a massive renovation and it shows. Everything looks new, the displays are designed and organized neatly and stylishly, the temperature and lighting are perfect, and there is soothing guitar music playing. You feel as though you are stepping in to your own personal retreat space.

Talisker Distillery

Talisker's retail space

For the more discerning (or filthy rich) whiskey drinker

The tour takes about an hour and we learn about the ingredients and unique process of making Talisker whiskeys, and get to see all the equipment used to do so. I have come into this knowing very little and as a nondrinker but, even so, it is an illuminating experience. At the end of the tour, our small group is ushered into a cozy tasting room for a flight of three whiskeys. To my surprise, our host asks who the designated drivers are and suggests we abstain from the tasting, but passes out vials so that we can take our flights with us.

A tour display designed for smelling the individual ingredients of Talisker's whiskies

Talisker production area

Wash still

Talisker tasting room

After the tasting experience, we exit to the retail space again and start poking around for things we might want to take home. Taylor and I both buy a few things, and then Taylor goes to the bar and orders a couple different whiskeys he has never tried before. We have a long, relaxing sit and watch several other people do the same, and then decide to head out. We are hungry now and have smartly packed a picnic lunch for ourselves, but I have dumbly left it sitting on the dining room table back at the trailer. Luckily, there's a cafe across the street and we pop in for a couple of sandwiches. We've both got headaches, probably from the whiskey fumes, and hope some food and water will help.

Next we decide to go out to Talisker Bay Beach, which is less than five miles away but takes another half hour to get to because the road is even sketchier than what we've already seen. Google maps seems to think we can essentially drive right up to the beach, but that turns out to be false, as the road ends at gated private property well before that. We go as far as we can and then have to turn around and go back up the road to park in a muddy turnout along the single track road. From here it's about a mile to the beach.

The weather holds for the most part during this walk, with light sprinkling here and there. The scenery is gorgeous as we pass by a couple of large farms with herds of cattle, sheep, and lots of birds like turkeys, ducks, geese, chickens, guinea hens, and even peacocks. As we near the beach, we share the road with sheep and they eye us cautiously as we walk by. The muddy track is well decorated with their dung, along with the dung of much larger animals, probably cows and horses, so we have to watch our step. We're in a low valley surrounded on all sides by sharply rising green cliffs. Twice we cross over streams making their way to the ocean.

The walk to Talisker Bay

Idyllic in every direction

We crest one last little hill and the beach and Talisker Bay come into view. It is well worth the walk. Blue waves splash onto smooth dark gray sand. Then a layer of large rounded stones forms a sort of steep amphitheater, eventually joining the grassy fields where the sheep graze. We survey the scene and carefully climb down over the steep rocky terrain until we're on the flat, smooth beach. Up close the sand seems sparkly and black on top and grey to white underneath, so that if you disturb it (or draw in it, as I did), the disturbance shows up in good contrast. To our left, a large mossy sea stack rises out of the waves. To our right, tall, slender Talisker Waterfall tumbles down the steep cliffside and into the bay.

The rocky border of Talisker Bay beach

A sea stack and black sand

I really do

Taylor finds a cozy rock to sit on and I follow suit. It's beginning to rain a bit and the wind has blown the sea mist all over my glasses, so I can hardly see. I close my eyes and breathe in the fresh air for a few moments. My head has been steadily aching and I hope this will help, but it does little to alleviate it. Taylor is complaining his head hurts too, so we make the muddy trek back to the car. From here, it's an hour home and I can't wait to get there and take some Ibuprofen.

By the time we arrive, I'm in full migraine mode and, having waited too long to treat it, I'm in for a couple hours of misery, which includes photophobia, phonophobia, and a good bout of vomiting. Fortunately, Taylor's headache does not reach those heights, so he's good enough to play nurse and fetch me some medicine, and later to go out and get us some dinner while I nap it off. After a couple of agonizing hours, I'm functional again.

We dine on take-out pizzas in the trailer and then take a short walk down to the lakeshore to see where the local residents leave fish for the otters. The otters apparently only come out at night, so we don't see any, but we finally get a good look at the shore itself and scenery across the lake. After a day of dramatic weather, the evening has gone peaceful.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Taylor's boyfriend gets in touch this evening and reports that the health of their dog, Abby, has taken a sudden turn and that he's taking her to the vet. Within a few hours, we are watching over video call, weeping as sweet Abby is put to sleep. It's a painful close to the day and not the sort of event one can ever prepare for, much less while thousands of miles away in another country. Rest well, sweet pup.

Abby, the goodest girl