South Uist - day 5 - Loch Druidibeag & Howmore

the active firing range, South Uist

South Uist - day 4 - Kildonan museum & Loch Aineort

near Daliburgh junction, South Uist

South Uist - day 3 - Eriskay

the causeway linking Eriskay to South Uist

South Uist - day 2 - West coast beaches

South Uist - day 1 - North Boisdale

North Boisdale, South Uist

Barra - day 7 - Eoligarry

the jetty at Eoligarry, Barra

Softening wind, sunny day - walk to the ferry terminal and then the Cockle Strand airport - cars congregate for the plane landing - resting on a low dune, a buzzing sound approaches - the plane seems slow, then incredibly quick as it swoops over our heads like North by Northwest to land - five people spill out - lapwings try to keep the cows off their nests - beautiful Eoligarry, if only the water was warmer - the little caravan is here - successive curves of white sand - a half submerged scrap heap in the dunes - not wanting this perfection to end we walk to where the road stops and look at Fiaraigh - a green Jesus at St Barr's Church reminds us of Guatemala - long walk back with aching feet, knees and shoulders

Barra - day 6 - East Barra

looking down from Sheabhal to Mingulay

On the 9:40 bus to Castlebay an elderly couple sit in front us, both with hearing aids, holding hands - visit the public library, which resides in the local school - internet access! - we depart the one room Heritage Centre museum without shelling out the £3 entry fee - the owner of Kisimul Cafe sits outside sipping a coffee and eating a lorne sausage bap while waving to passers-by - ascend Sheabhal - superlative views to Mingulay - descend, and follow the east road northwards - pass inlets like a rocky Maldives - horn spoons and painted stones from the craft shop

Barra - day 5 - Castlebay

lunch at Hebridean Toffee, Barra

Lowering cloud - a working morning for T - puzzled by the buses - haphazardly document the islands of Bagh Thiarabhagh - a sombre afternoon bus into Castlebay - a visit to Hebridean Toffee - a boat over to Kisimul Castle - Spurs v Man City on the radio - attempt to send the island journal from outside but get no signal, only a passing police officer

Barra - day 4 - Vatersay

Vatersay caravan

Alarm start - grey with limited visibility - 9:40 bus to Castlebay - at the bus stop T talks to a local who sounds like he hasn't spoken for a week - "It's always like this in May" he manages - on the bus four local women share two seats, cheerfully gossiping - three local men sit separately in silence - stop at the Kisimul for coffee, served by one of the ladies on the bus - our second bus picks up a dishevelled chap with a bag of drink, his day sorted - across the causeway to hilly, empty Vatersay - the perfect, sheltered beach at Vatersay Bay - the misty, heavy lumps of the southerly islands - pass the crashed plane of '44 on the road to Uidh and another double-backed beach - the drizzle slowly soaks us through - return home and it's mild and wet - darkness falls just before 10

Barra - day 3 - West Barra

whale bone

Bank holiday buses run as normal - sunny but cold on the ears - discovery of a whale vertebrae - white, wind-blown sandy beach at Allathasdal - eider duck synchronised swimming - bare foot over coarse sand and machair - red river - a scene from Brokeback Beach - houses jostle in the flat plains beneath Sheabhal - bus confusion and a double-paced march to Castlebay - rescued by our taxi driver from yesterday (free of charge!) - a rickety red bus - smoke fills the valley from the burning of the heather - "Jeez Ian you're keen today" as the bus hurtles past a stop - bath and radio - stoke fire, write journal, sit

Barra - day 2 - North Barra

dunes of Traigh Eais, Barra

A cuckoo calls as we walk the back road - families scatter from the church - mounds of cockle shells among rusting vehicles at the fish factory - couples sun themselves in garden chairs backed against their houses - the huge, wet, crunchy cockle beach that doubles as an airport - lunch in the dunes of Traigh Eais - sand is delicately lifted on to me by the wind as I snooze - dark clouds build in the distance - shelter from the rain in the baggage handling depot (similar to a bus stop) - aborted walk to Orasaigh over the endless beach -

Barra - day 1 - Oban to Castlebay

Ferry from Oban to Castlebay, Barra

Anaemic B&B sausage - a morning taster of the Double Distilled malt at the Oban Distillery - creme brulee chocolates in the choc shop before the ferry crossing - a Co-Op dash - an unbeatable smoked salmon sandwich from the seafood hut - the ultimate Hebridean route passing Kerrera, Mull, Coll, The Small Isles and Skye - freezing wind, lonely waters - at Castlebay our fellow passengers disappear and we're left alone - our taxi driver has a sing-song voice - the road rolls us up and down, skimming the many inlets - houses crash land anywhere - islands hover on the horizon - dropped at Breurnish to our own private paradise - the tallest bed we've ever seen - the wind whistles around the cottage

Oban

looking across to Kerrera from Dunollie Castle

Bute - day 6 - Scalpsie Bay

photographing Scalpsie Bay, facing Arran

Bute - day 5 - Great Cumbrae

road back to Millport from the top of the island

The Eileans, Great Cumbrae

 

The Eileans - two islands, one name 

Bute - day 4 - Kilchattan Bay

Rubh'an Eun lighthouse, Bute

Bute - day 3 - Ettrick Bay

the legendary meringue from Ettrick Bay cafe

a piper pipes next to a grey man in a bus shelter - the blank, wide bay of Ettrick is visited - roadside banks are filled with primroses - more Scottish ruins are assessed - a nap is taken on a beachside rock - a mountainous meringue pie is put into the cafe's oven - the tallest Victoria Sponge is consumed 

Bute - day 2 - Ascog

Ascog Fernery

Rothesay Castle is visited with no more than a sense of duty - T glimpses heaven: a swan on her nest beneath a weeping blossom tree - giant Victorian houses are promenaded past - Ascog Fernery offers sanctuary from the rain - a farmer's field is filled with gulls - Loch Ascog stares blankly - Bogany Wood shows the way home

Bute - day 1 - Rothesay

Rothesay's famous Victorian toilets

"it's raining in Scotland... of course" - the 8:50 train is taken to Wemyss Bay, flanked by a continuous trail of litter - the expansive, lace like iron work of Wemyss Bay station is admired - Bute welcomes us with an endless, protective wall of grand Victorian houses - a dilapidated doorway announces our 'luxury apartment' - memories of the sitcom Rising Damp are stirred - the false office ceiling is pondered - the horror-movie shower threatens - beautiful Victorian toilets are perused but left unblemished - at Port Bannatyne a small motorbike is suspended from the old pier - the young artist, on his own bike, talks through his latest creation - orange cheese toasties are consumed on a bench - the West Island way zigzags us home - the Co-op is located - at 10pm the music begins from the pub below - at 00:30 the music and shouting ends - a new reverence is found for double glazing

Totnes

A flying visit to Joe and Becky's new home in Totnes almost provided an unexpected island, but certainly unearthed some fine dining establishments.

It says it's an island...

it even looks like an island. But, no, it isn't an island.