Benches

On Wednesday morning we had breakfast sitting outside the cottage in Ullapool on our new wee love seat with its built in table. It’s so cute! It was very warm and sunny, the loch was sparkling in the sunshine and there was not a cloud in the sky. The cats love it when we’re outdoors so they were strolling around us, chasing bees and running up and down the steps. Tom is much more adventurous and we suspect that he drinks out of the wee stream down the path to the river, a new experience for him. Flora stays closer to home but was clearly enjoying herself, rolling onto her back on the patio. Her fur is so lush compared to Tom’s sleek pelt, when she rolls over she looks as fluffy underneath as an angora rabbit. 

James and Hugh went to a greenwood wood-working day on Thursday near Forres; they each hand-carved a bench using traditional tools. Meanwhile Alison and I went for a fantastic spa day at the Golf View Hotel in Nairn. We went there years ago, and it is even better now, with new spa rooms. I had a facial and Alison thought that my skin looked glowing afterwards. When we got back to the house James and Hugh had already arrived home; their benches look great! They are a really good size and sturdy too; the legs are made of oak and the top is made of Douglas Fir. James’ bench is now in pride of place on the patio in Ullapool. 

Warming Up

Today was beautifully sunny. And more than that, it was very warm. Not just a bit warm, the way it has been recently, when there has been a bit of a chilly breeze even when it has been sunny. Last weekend in Glen Shiel (the Easter hill-walking weekend with the club) the weather was brilliant, but when it rained on Easter Monday it fell as snow high up on the mountains which shows that it was still cold up there. This warmth today feels as if the season has finally moved on to proper Springtime. 

Speaking of last weekend, we had a really good time on the hill-walking club expedition to Glen Shiel. Ally and Cat were there, staying in the Ratagan Hostel, and joined us for dinner each evening in the Cluanie Inn where the rest of us were staying. The Cluanie Inn has had a mixed reputation over the years, however it has recently been taken over by new owners and was very clean and comfortable. The other attendees were Willie, Cornel, Justin, Tom and Jean, and we had a very pleasant time comparing adventures each evening. Many mountains were climbed but not by me. I headed to Arnisdale where I dropped James off to climb some Corbetts, and then enjoyed a beach walk before heading to Glenelg. I took the ferry across the Kylerhea Narrows to Skye and back, just as a foot passenger, and it was a lovely experience on such a beautiful day. There was a gorgeous collie called Spot, belonging to one of the ferrymen, who took his job as a ferry dog very seriously, even helping the ferrymen pull on the rope to tie up the ferry when it docked.

On the Sunday I decided to drive the forty minutes to the village of Plockton, where I went for a stroll and had a cup of coffee sitting outside the Plockton Hotel. It’s a very pretty seaside village. As I walked along the street, who did I meet but Maud and David, who I haven’t seen since they moved from Cambuslang to Kinlochewe. What a coincidence! We had a nice chat over a coffee. The sunny weather broke down on the Monday (in fact it had started raining during the night) and we said our farewells to the others and headed back to Ullapool. But what a lovely weekend in great company, in beautiful Glen Shiel with its herds of red deer, its wild goats, and its stunning mountains and rivers. 

Springtime in Ullapool

The past month has been a time of sadness and reflection for me, and also the advent of spring with its inevitable feeling of renewal. It’s hard not to feel a spark of hope when the sun is shining and trees are budding and the primroses are blooming beside the path. We fled Glasgow the day after Jackie’s funeral on 25th March, and we are spending a whole month in Ullapool. We have had some beautiful weather as well as some wild weather. We have had visitors (David and Chanel, James and Flo) and had a great time with them. The cats seem content in their alternate universe. We have been for walks and visited cafés in the village now that they are open for the summer season. We have watched the building work progressing at the harbour, and said hello to several Sammy Seals at the pier. We have watched films and television in the cottage. We have been to the pub and listened to Ceilidh music. I’m lucky that I have so many good memories of Jackie. The old cliché is “life goes on” and it should and does. But I wish it could go on with Jackie in it. 

Robin

I have not had the heart to blog since Jackie died.

Saturday morning. I’m sitting on a rock on a beautiful sunny day on a pebble beach along from the tiny hamlet of Corran, in Arnisdale. James is climbing a couple of Corbetts and I have walked a couple of kilometres past the end of the public road, past the last of the cottages. I am completely alone. The only sounds are birdsong in the trees behind me, and the rippling of water over the stones at the edge of Loch Hourne. I am surrounded on three sides by the grassy, heathery Barrisdale hills, and across the loch is the distant jaggy outline of the Cuillins of Skye. Today they are grey blue against the pale blue sky, which is has a few wispy white clouds trailing across it. The rock that I’m sitting on has many layers, grey and brown, shot through with pink and white quartz. 

Saturday Afternoon. Now I’m outside the café at Glenelg, looking down and across the narrow strait towards Kylerhea on Skye. The tiny turntable ferry, brightly painted red, white and green, is on its way across the dark blue water. There is a pleasant hum of conversation from the other picnic tables around me, but I still feel very peaceful and solitary as I sip my coffee. Suddenly a robin lands on the grass at my feet. It hops around and I give it some cake crumbs, then it flies up to sit on the branch of a tree. We look at each other for a good few minutes before it flies away. Goodbye my friend.