Of course, we could have gone to the Three Chimneys (that old Skye favourite) or Loch Bay, the new Michelin Star in the north of the island. Or even Scorrybreac, a bijou (small) first floor restaurant in Portree – smart, simple tasting menu for £95 featured in The Good Food Guide and rated as ‘exceptional, exceptional, very good and very good’. We’ve been before to Kinloch Lodge – really good food in a setting worryingly reminiscent of an old peoples’ home. 

However, sheer good luck lead us to Edinbane Lodge, coincidentally just awarded “Exceptional” by the Good Food Guide, alongside Le Manoir. That’s some billing. 

Skye – land of black hills, black houses so beloved of architectural magazines but, hopefully, not black skies. We’re here for only three days, staying in Mint Croft, a typical smart self-catering ‘bothy’ – and very smart it is too. Armed with every OS map of Skye (OS Explorer 408 and 410) and several walking guide books we’re clearly intent on walking, whatever the weather throws at us. And it did. Sunshine one minute, gale force winds and horizontal rain the next. No wonder there are no trees – they’d get blown right over. Lots of new houses – each one a candidate for ‘Grand Designs’ with varying degrees of success. 

Calum Montgomery is the chef owner of Edinbane Lodge and, like our dentist, looks about twelve. Really good (local) food on the tasting menu – tonight’s monkfish (landed that morning) and the Wagyu beef probably the highlights – oh, and the scallop – huge. It’s not often the ‘mains’ are so good – the surrounding courses sometimes more stand-out. 50% of the party is addicted to chocolate but, on this occasion, the final pud – 70% Dark Chocolate with Edinbane Blackcurrant – was just a bit of a step too far. Still ate it though…

We declined the wine flight, going for a couple of glasses of Verdicchio and a Pyrenees pudding wine. 

Local taxi there and back took the bill to just over £400. We’ll be doing less and less of that in these strange financial times – and we don’t have a mortgage or childcare to pay for. Our esteemed Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, told Laura Kuensberg this morning that people should ‘hold their nerve’ as mortgage rates begin the soar. What on earth does that mean?

Restaurant with rooms Edinbane Lodge

 …and we stayed at Mint Croft, in the Blackhouse. Very lovely spacious and quite well-equipped cottage for 2 in Geary, in the far north of Skye – about 90 minutes from the bridge. Nicely judged style, but we could give them a tip or two about how to get it just a little bit better. Stunning views from the first floor sitting room of the passing sun/rain/hail/wind.