You Take the High Road

The last time we were here, 2009, we decided not to go back, because they had started to build a new residence, and we felt it may intrude on our privacy. 

This is a little island off the west coast of Scotland.   

There are no roads.  No cars.   When we first visited there was no electricity. 

The second time we visited, they had installed car batteries under the stairs which removed the Gas Lighting and gave us LED bulbs.   That also ruined it a wee bit for me. 

There were five houses on the island for rent; the house closest to us was owned by a school teacher, who lived on the island in the summer - and used an electric generator to power her house.  That noise put me off too.

I've been looking at pictures of it, recently, and felt a pull to go back.   There were two new houses - one of which was the old school teachers.    We decided to go for it. 

We set off this morning, with some trepidation.   We had a long drive and then a decant the car, load the boat and disembark.  It's been 13 years. I wasn't sure how I would cope.  

We arrived, just as the other cars were arriving.  It's the funniest thing.  You park in a little car park; there is a little jetty - you unload your stuff onto the jetty - park the car a little further away, and wait for the boat.  Everyone heaps in and loads the boat and then you sail over. 

Everyone has to heap in and unload at the other end.

The Island Managers drop your luggage off at your house, while you walk from the pier to your house. 

I was excited to see it.  We had walked along before - and looked at the house, but never been in it.  Goodness, we landed on our feet. 

This is the view from the deck.  We had a double bedroom with ensuite.  Tooli had a twin.  Loo in the utility at the back.  Lovely sitting / kitchen area. 

I just stood and gazed, and listened.  To nothing.  

We could hear the noise of the lady strimming in the car park on the mainland, and that was it. (Edited to add - the mainland is a twenty minute boat ride away with a decent engine )

We baked the lasagne we brought with us, opened a bottle of rose and sat on the deck and listened to the nothing.  We watched the terns dive into the water and catch fish.  We watched the little shoals of fish rising to the surface and sometimes spilling over. 

We played the first game of scrabble in the Shuna Challenge.  Himself won, as expected. 

We drunk more wine.  Sat in the ever increasing darkness, and wondered why it had been so long.