A Cycle round Barra

A soft grey day on Barra, the clouds low on the hills but no rain. David and I decided to cycle round the island, our first cycle since we have been here. We set off clockwise towards the north of the island and made good speed until disaster struck and my chain came off as I cycled up a small hill in a low gear. I footered around with it unsuccessfully and then asked two workmen from Scottish and Southern Electricity to help me, they happened to be working nearby. They were really kind and fixed my bike, although they said to avoid very high or low gears until I get it adjusted. I thanked them very much. By this time I had lost sight of Davie, who didn't realise what had happened. Luckily he waited for me further on and we arrived in Castlebay together where we had drinks sitting outside the Kisimul Cafe, today is the first day it has been open. There were gorgeous smells of curry, how excellent that Barra has an Indian Restaurant. We decided to come back for a takeaway later and in my excitement I booked a table for eight for next Friday evening! Castlebay was unusually bustling because the inhabitants were waiting for the papers to arrive and were milling about in anticipation, asking each other about the papers in a mixture of English and Gaelic. There was also a bit of excitement about the flag at Kisimul Castle flying at half mast, as the old gentleman sitting beside us said, "Someone on Barra must have conked out!" but nobody knew who. As David and I cycled out of Castlebay on our way back to the cottage a stream of cars went past us, which I presume meant that the papers had at last arrived - Davie said that he was surprised that they weren't waving the papers out of the windows of their cars! Back to the cottage for cakes and coffee. 

Scurrival Beach

A beautiful day on Barra so we decided to go to a beach. First though Hector came round to fix the washing machine, which has been broken since we arrived, and which we need to use urgently since our clothes are all salty from sea spray. Hector was very helpful and we had a good chat although, despite both being Scottish, we had trouble understanding each other's accents. He told me the correct way to pronounce Eoligarry (Elligarry) and that is where we then headed. It's up in the north, past the airport. We parked the car at Eoligarry jetty and then walked the length of Scurrival Beach and back. The views across the water of smaller islands were gorgeous, and the sea was blue-green striped with long dark blue bands which I presume were rocks under the water. Davie collected lots of shells of all different shapes and sizes on the sandy beach and we left our shoes on a rock and walked along barefoot, it was great. On the way back to Castlebay we called in at Barratlantic's headquarters, where you can get fish and shellfish straight off the boats. The staff told me that the boats have gone out today for the first time for a few days because the sea has been so stormy. If the weather stays good they will stay out for a couple of days. We stopped in Castlebay to visit the Hebridean Toffee Shop and sampled their toffee, which is like a caramelized tablet, very nice. We purchased some for later. Back to the cottage where we are about to head down to the rocks to watch the waves. 

Colours of the sea

My fascination with the different shades of blue and green in the sea continues. I just don't have the vocabulary to describe them. Today Davie and I went for a walk along the beach on the east side of the narrow part of Vatersay. It was still very windy but fairly dry when we set off, however on our way back along the beach the rain came on heavily and by the time we got back to the car our trousers were soaking. It was worth it for the beautiful sea though - the best I can describe it is a sort of pale translucent jade green, with the golden sand shining through in the shallows. It's no use, I can't properly describe it, I'll just have to try to remember it. Later on the sun came out in this amazing changeable island climate and we had a glorious evening. Davie and I went down to our beach to watch the sunset, and the dog from the hotel followed us and took us for a walk along the beach, bringing us sticks so we could throw them for him! We had a great time running in and out of the surf. Back to the cottage for coffee and hot chocolate. Feeling very relaxed.

Wild times on Barra

The weather was so wild last night that the bins blew over outside the cottage and the windows were rattling. In the morning it was still very windy and rainy and the hills were hidden by low cloud lying thickly over the island. We had a cosy morning in the cottage reading and chatting, it's really nice to spend time together in such a relaxed way. Davie introduced me to another of his current favourite programmes, a spy comedy called Chuck which is quite amusing. After a lunch of soup and bread we decided to venture out for a walk on the beach but it was so wet and windy that instead we went for a drive round the island. We set off westwards and spotted some stunning beaches which we hope to visit in better weather. Then we turned north to the airport, where we noticed that the windsock was flying which means a flight is imminent. So we stopped at the tiny airport and watched the plane from Benbecula land and take off again. The plane lands right on the beach so it can only land when the tide is out! It was a wee plane, it taxied off along the sand then turned and took off over our heads - quite a sight! We went round the east of the island through Castlebay and back to our cottage where we watched the sea boiling over the rocks and had tea. I finished my book (The Prophetess) and Davie and I watched another episode of Chuck. It's dark now but the weather still sounds wild out there! But it's warm in the cottage and we're making cocoa to my Dad's recipe, to be eaten with bread and butter in the traditional manner! What a nice way to end the day.

Cut off from the world!

Last night I got a phone call from Canada - it was Ally who is on his ski holiday with the school! I was worried that something was wrong but he was just phoning to ask if he could get permission to have an extra day skiing rather than wait until tomorrow. He is seven hours behind us in time. He said it is so snowy there that the runway at Calgary Airport had to be cleared of snow to let his plane land. Then Jamie phoned from Dundee to tell me that Ally was trying to get in touch, which of course by that time I already knew. Jamie is still working hard for his exams on 18th April. James texted this morning to say that the ferries are cancelled between Oban and Barra because of bad weather so we are cut off! I like this idea! It was very windy here but Davie and I were not deterred and went for a walk on Halaman Beach. It was amazing, huge waves rising up and curling over and crashing down starting at one end and running along to the other. We had coffee in the Isle of Barra hotel which was very nice with lovely views over the beach. We also visited Castlebay where the few shops were open today, and got David a waterproof in the Post Office. The ladies in the Tourist Office told us that it was their first day open this year - we are very early in the season! Back at the cottage we read and relaxed, and David introduced me to an American tv series which he likes called R. J. Berger. I enjoyed it. It is Ben's 10th birthday today so I phoned Jennifer to pass on birthday greetings and check that our present had arrived, which it had. Had a good chat, Jennifer was advising me to use Yakult to combat reflux. When I phoned James he was telling me that his mother's day meal withGrandma went well yesterday. This evening Davie and I are cosy in the cottage as the rain batters on the windows!

Beinn Heabhal

Today David decided that we were going to climb Beinn Heabhal which is the highest point on Barra at 383 metres. This is because Davie is an Anderson boy, and like his father and brothers he feels the need to climb everything he sees! So we set off on a sunny but windy morning and parked the car at the road called the Glen at the back of Castlebay. Davie planned a route that circled north-west round the slopes of Heabhal. We were climbing over a fence when an ancient man who I think was the farmer shouted at us to get off it, but when we went over to speak to him he was quite friendly and showed us where the gate was. The ground was marshy in places and quite tussocky. David is such an interesting and pleasant companion on a walk, today he told me that if the lichen is bushy, as it is here, it shows that the air is clean. I am quite unfit so I had frequent rests, David was very encouraging the whole way up, even when I stepped backwards onto him at one point when he was sitting down! When we got to the top it was well worth it - beautiful views all around us of Barra, Vatersay and other smaller islands. After taking photos of each other at the trig point we set off back down - I wanted to visit the Lady Star of the Sea statue which is about 100 metres lower down facing Castlebay, it's lovely, the baby Jesus has a star held in his hand. However this led to us descending by a steep and muddy part of the mountain - we both kept slipping! We soon got safely back to the car and made our way back to the cottage via Tesco. I have had a relaxing luxurious Mother's day bath with my Molton Brown Blissful Templetree bubble bath, one of two Molton Brown products which David surprised me with this morning as a gift from my three boys! Now I'm sitting in the living room of the cottage blogging but I can hardly concentrate because my eyes keep being drawn to the amazing view from the window, the sea is quite rough and big waves are lashing against the rocks below. I love watching the sea, today it is a dark steely blue but as the waves rise up there is a much lighter, almost turquoise behind the white of the crest of the wave. There are huge plumes of spray shooting up into the air when the waves hit the rocks. It's spectacular.

Over the sea and far away

Davie and I have arrived in Barra after rather a long journey. It took two hours and twenty minutes to drive from Cambuslang to Oban with a quick stop at the Real Food restaurant in Tyndrum to pick up some chips which were very nice. The scenery was lovely and of course very familiar as we went up Loch Lomond side, but after Tyndrum we turned off towards Oban. This was much less familiar territory, it must be years since we've been to Oban. It was a pleasant drive. David didn't remember it at all and was amazed at what a good sized town it is, considering that it is so remote. We didn't have long to wait before we boarded the ferry and soon we were pulling out of Oban for our five hour journey to Barra. It is an incredibly long way along the Sound of Mull before reaching more open water. When we did pass Coll there was quite a swell on the sea, which made walking about feel very strange. Davie said it felt as if gravity was increasing and decreasing! We amused ourselves by going out on deck a couple of times and visiting the shop and restaurant. I finished my current book (Tipping the Velvet) and had a nap. I was woken by the sound of a young child vomiting very loudly! We arrived in Castlebay and drove straight to the cottage, it was only a couple of miles. The cottage is very nice, however the layout inside was very different from the way I remembered it from our previous visit in 1999 - the mezzanine floor is at right angles to what I remembered, I think I'm mixing it up with an apartment we stayed in years ago in Belle Plagne which also had a mezzanine! Funny how the memory can play tricks. Anyway it's spacious and nice & clean. So here we are feeling a bit tired, about to watch The Tudors as the wind howls round our little cottage far far away.