Wild west coast

Our planned anniversary excursion has had to be postponed. The weather is the wildest I've experienced anywhere, ever. Went down to Ellenabeich [otherwise known as Easdale, not to be confused with the island off shore of the same name] which is one of the best places we know for rough-sea watching. I blipped it a few weeks ago, southern end of the island of Seil, connected to the mainland by the famous Bridge over the Atlantic.

We could hardly stand up, literally. People were bent double or doing little trots as the wind took them, or walking hand over hand clinging to walls and lamp posts. More than one elderly lady was stranded, waiting for help while attached to the nearest solid object. Spray was sheeting across the bay but the wee ferry was still running. We didn't take it, and had lunch in the Oyster Bar instead, and very nice it was too.

Ellenabeich, I found out today, is Gaelic for Island of Birches, strange as it isn't an island and there are few birches around. Back in the day, most of Ellenabeich was on an island, just offshore from Seil, but the spoil from the slate quarries gradually filled up the channel and eventually that was built on too.

Ellenabeich has long rows of white-harled workers cottages built in the 1700's, quite picturesque even on a day like today. Harl is a technique for waterproofing stone built houses, involving lime not cement, and then painted. The row pictured has its gardens opposite, across the road, a tiny plot just big enough to grow a few tatties. Nowadays the gardens are mostly 'done up' with maybe a seaside or sanctuary feel, and I suppose a lot of the cottages are holiday only.

Each cottage will today have one living room, one bedroom, a kitchen and bathroom all on one level, but presumably the facilities would have been very basic when in use by miners, with most likely the loo out in the garden in a building like the one still existing half way down the row.