Day 5: Clashnessie - Stornoway

A bit of a grey and drizzly day today, but a delicious breakfast and chat about local crafts and wool spinning with our bnb hosts set us up nicely. We stopped at the Highland pottery factory so I could feel envy at their studios. We treated ourselves to a plate, sat in the giant ceramic chairs outside then hit the road to catch our next ferry from Ullapool. It was our longest trip at 2.5 hours, but what a journey! I spent most of it on deck watching all the fins of various whales and dolphins that appeared throughout the trip. Most where fleeting glimpses, apart from one huge whale that surfaced for a deep dive and was so close we could hear it's breath- amazing! As we neared Lewis, we were accompanied by two Coastal Rescue helicopters doing training exercises above the ferry. I had to shrink back every time they came directly overhead as it was a bit scarily low, but fascinating to watch. When each flew off, all the crew waved goodbye! After all that excitement, I needed a hot chocolate to warm me up and finished it just as we arrived in Stornoway. It didn't take us long to find our bnb, and we had a lovely meal in the arts centre and walk around the harbour; watching the fishing boats return and the huge seals that were looking for scraps.