After some lovely walks ashore it was time to leave this delightful place. The muddy anchor needed a good wash off, having glued us into the glutinous ooze for four days, burying itself deeper with each tide; Zoonie’s bow dipped as she finally pulled it clear. Since leaving Stornoway we have used the anchor at …
Where do Guillemots Sleep? We know puffins go to land, as we’ve seen them ‘at home’ on the stack off Canna, but Guillemots, do they go ashore as well? I asked Rob this question as we motored toward Loch Scresort in the enveloping night. Then suddenly, we found out. A short distance ahead were hundreds …
Southbound into the Minch. Before I post my blogs about our 4-day car ramble around Lewis and Harris I want to bring you up to date on our fine voyage south from Stornoway, firstly to a night in Loch Scresort on Rhum and yesterday back to Loch Aline, one of our favourite safe anchorages on …
Stornoway Bound The last day of June today, how time flies. Not so long ago the blue veiled mountains of the Outer Hebrides beckoned us towards them every time we touched upon one of the western headlands of Skye; and thanks to the fine public bus service on that island, the beckoning happened numerous times. …
Such a tragedy, that we have moved on from a period of co-operation with Russia, in which our country sacrificed so much and served with single-mindedness and courage, into yet another time of high tension and human suffering; watching from where we are in the west, the actions of a man and his military that …
The building itself shows the innovative use of this concrete bunker, built during the Cold War to protect its occupants from the damage of a nuclear blast from Russia, our allies in World War II and, so soon afterwards, our potential enemies. Painted white today the museum is a fine and durable home for the …
On the same latitude as Moscow and Hudson’s Bay, but these gardens are bathed in Gulf Stream warmth.. I like close-ups but I’m not skilled at getting it all in focus; soft focus I call it! Blooms and a bee; there is no best time of year to visit, but June was a pretty good …
A natural haven, verdant in the warm springtime and home to deer and water birds, many with their new broods. We turned back at a bridge over the burn but walkers can continue up the glen and on across rugged Scottish country for miles, staying at bothies overnight. The monarch of the glen and his …
Pip hasn’t yet completed his walk around the UK with Jane and John because some of the paths were closed due to Covid; so in the meantime he loves exploring his new garden. One of John’s favourite pastimes is working with wood. This beautiful lighthouse is sitting on a well knotted burl that looks just …
Gairloch Village nestles at the inner end of the loch, and the word Gairloch comes from the Scottish Gaelic for Short Loch. Situated in Wester Ross the village is a thriving, welcoming community of around 600 permanent residents. Dotted around the village are hotels, a nine hole golf course, an excellent museum in a converted …