Murderous Mutton...

Now you’re probably looking at that photo in the header and thinking that’s not a good photo, and what’s it got do with sheep? Well let me tell you a story about sneaky sheep.?

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It was 2019 and I was on my third successive trip to the Isle of Skye for a holiday. Two years previously I'd been lucky enough to spot a golden eagle sitting on a fence post it was an incredible experience. I didn't see any eagles on my next trip, but I knew that sea eagles were living on Skye, I desperately wanted to get a photo of one. Based at Geary in Waternish, which is sort of the middle finger at the top of the Isle of Skye. This was where I hoped that I would be able to capture a photo or even catch a glimpse of the sea eagle.

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On my second day, I decided that I’d take a hike to the northern point of Waternish where the ruins of Unish are. Further on there is the Lighthouse. The cliffs there were my best chance of spotting some of these majestic sea eagles. I parked my car at Trumpan and began the hike. I set with my fully packed camera bag and my two cameras ready for action.

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It’s a fairly easy hike for the most part because there’s a muddy vehicle track you can follow. The views were quite amazing, it’s just spectacular scenery wherever you go on Skye. I passed some cows and sheep happily grazing. Maybe I didn’t notice the looks the devious looks on the faces of those sheep I passed, or maybe I just didn’t realise that’s what those looks were.?

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As I approached Unish, I could see the ruins of the village starting to appear the low brick walls that showed the shapes of the dwellings that used to be there. Then there's a long wall that just flows into the distance, and further on the "mansion house" ruins, just walls no roof no floors no windows. This is where I needed to change direction to start heading over towards the water and cliffs.

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So making sure that everything was tight I began to cross the grassy peat. This is where, those woolly warriors started their devious plan. They could see the direction I was heading, so they started to lead the way. Showing me where to go, and I followed (like a sheep) because they knew the ground better than me, so they were my best bet to get to where I was going,

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How wrong could I be? I was literally 10 minutes into my wonder towards the cliffs and suddenly the world disappeared from beneath my feet, I plunged straight down. It was at that moment that I accidentally clicked the shutter button on one of the cameras, and that’s what that picture shows. The fast downward travel of me and my cameras was thankfully stopped when my camera backpack hooked onto the side of the solid peat and prevented me from completely sinking under.?

After a few choice curse words I looked around and I’m pretty sure I could see disappointment on the faces of the sheep, their plan had been ruined by my backpack. Me I was basically suspended, it was just peaty water between me, and becoming the next archaeological find. Knowing the precarious hook that my backpack had wouldn't last, I went full Bear Grylls and managed to get drag myself out of what was my impending doom. By this time the sheep had scattered, nowhere to be seen. Their plan had failed so they made for the hills and disappeared. After checking I had everything, water resistant iPhones are great, it was time to take a soggy hike back to the car.?

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The one question that does remain however, how many more innocent hikers have those murderous mutton lured to their death...

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