Black Day

This morning the plan was for the girls to do a 12 mile walk up through one of the glens and I would collect them at the other end.

It didn’t happen.

We were slightly late in leaving the house, the light through the rain on the mountains was too good to miss so there were a couple of stops made to take pictures and then one of them found that her battery was nearly dead and she had forgotten to pick up the spare.

So we got dropped off in Tarbert while she ‘nipped back’ to get the battery (round trip of 25 miles with a couple of more stops ).

When she joined us in the tea shop it was decided that it may be a bit late to complete the walk in decent light – so we headed off to Scalpy instead to have a look at the lighthouse. Before crossing over the bridge to the island we stopped to take some pictures of a rather picturesque derelict cottage overlooking it.
As we were about finished an elderly lady opened her front door overlooking and called out that the cottage was hers. She wasn’t bothered about us taking pictures – she just wanted to tell us that she moved in there as a newly wed and raised her four children there. They left it when their new house was delivered. It was meant to go onto the island but the lorry delivering it was too big for the ferry (the bridge is a new edition – 1997 - and looks like a small version of the Skye Bridge)….. so it was erected above the ferry dock (the closest they could get).
That was 35 years ago and the old homestead has just been left to decay gracefully.

In the harbour there was something I have never seen before ……….. a concrete ship (or at least the remains of).

When we got to the nearest point to the lighthouse I was told it was just a couple of kilometres along a track.

It was a lie!

It was bloody miles through peat bog and up and down near what seemed like vertical cliffs.

By the time we had done the full circuit it was late afternoon and I was a broken man.
So it was off to the coffee shop which was meant to be the best coffee around.
It was shut due to a private function.
So we stopped at a gallery instead which was advertising teas and cakes. The photographs in the place were wonderful – all shots of places on Harris displayed in two rooms which were decked out with big comfy chairs and lovely chunky, hand made wooden tables.. As soon as I stepped in I was asked if we were partaking in tea or coffee ………….. of course thank you!
It turned out the lad was the photographer and furniture maker – and his mother the baker of the fabulous cakes that were places in front of us without asking. We invited him to join us while we partook of the refreshments and had a very enjoyable time chatting with him. When we tried to get the bill we were informed that the drinks and cake were free – but if we cared to leave something in the charity box then that would be most welcome.

Marvelous! – and of course there was a pile of cash left in the box.

The hospitality we have been afforded has been incredible.

On the way back to the cottage we made a detour to try and get a sunset picture or two over one of the huge beaches. We failed as the dramatic clouds made their appearance over the mountains and headed our way. So we took some dramatic cloud pictures and legged it back to the car as the rain started.

Tonight I am a broken man …… again.

I am sure the girls are trying to kill me.