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A water adventure this time as Alan has a small boat so we motored up the west coast of Scotland a few weeks ago.
Fresh snow on the mountains but in general it's been a very mild winter thus far in the UK which is a bonus for people struggling with excessive heating bills.
We picked a calm day for crossing this sea loch as it's only a small inflatable boat and we did not fancy big waves. It did save us many miles of walking or cycling however as I've been into this remote abode several times before after a long trudge or cycle with a heavy pack. A beautiful day.
It was a quiet loch people wise but not so for aquatic creatures. We spotted several guillemots, harbour porpoises, and a seal but all were actively hunting for fish and by the time I got the camera out they were under the water again. A lot of wasted shots later, (one advantage of a digital camera is that you can take loads), this is my best efforts to capture them so I gave up.
Harbour porpoise being mysterious.
Unfortunately we managed to get a puncture in the boat just carrying it down the rocky shoreline and placing it in the water then filling it with all our gear as it was very uneven ground with loads of sharp bits...in the water and out of it... or it could have happened elsewhere. The boat bottom being only the thickness of an average tangerine skin.... or fabric elastoplast wrapped around a cut finger. Anyway... this is Alan testing it out for leaks, above, after the DIY repair. A short time later we set off for our destination. As large commercial ships over 300 metres, (1000 foot long) sometimes use this dock facility here I was very aware the loch must be hundreds of feet deep in the middle in places. Not a comforting thought sitting in a bubble with only air keeping you afloat. Also some eagle eyed locals told Alan killer whales sometimes visited the loch and whereas normally on land I'd be really keen to see that.... a small boat encounter with creatures twice the boat's length did not fill me with joy very much, especially as in some European waters they like to play with small craft, treating them as floating toys to knock around.
Luckily, it was a beautiful calm day. Years ago I used to go swimming for free every week in my local swimming baths but after two decades of austerity cuts to council services UK wide it closed down so it's either sea swimming or expensive gym membership... the result being I've not been swimming for 20 years. If the repair came off halfway I'd soon find out if I still remembered how to stay afloat. ( we did have life- jackets on but that water was cold!) So not without risks to get there.
Our destination. If you know where this is keep it to yourself.
Surrounding mountains. Only a private forestry track leads to this habitation on the end of an uninhabited peninsula.
Our loch for the trip. It's always been in my mind that Loch Ness is a very good PR stunt. Out of all the scenic Scottish lochs I've visited over many decades Loch Ness would struggle to get into the top 50 being just a deep drinking trough for cattle with not much going for it scenically except the monster. I've always thought that. Which is good as it keeps the tourists away from all the better lochs in Scotland.
We passed the first day exploring the shoreline and pine woods around the habitation.
Deep in the pine forest.
And discovered an old track that used to presumably connect the scattered dwellings along the shoreline before the pine trees covered this peninsula. 1n the 1800s up to the 1920s dozens of water craft, paddle steamers, puffers and the like crisscrossed all the Highland lochs and villages when existing roads were terrible. Indeed many of the communities thrived better and were far better served back then than today as documented in the pages of Neil Munro's Para Handy about the captain and crew of a wood, coal, brick and gravel puffer as they reached isolated outposts often easier than today from their shifting base around Glasgow's busy docks and Bowling Harbour. Puffers were designed to fit into Scotland's canal system or they could land directly on beaches at low tide to deliver coal and other supplies to remote cottages without a pier, floating off again at high tide, making them a valuable lifeline for West Coast communities.
We could also go back to that time in our temporary abode 'but n ben' with a traditional coal fire and candles. Similar to the Broons comic strip weekend getaway retreats which also highlighted the benefits of a short break from city life.
Even cooking dinner over it. A good night was spent watching the fire, singing songs and drinking.
One thing that was different was the lights from a busy Highland port across the water as normally bothy surroundings are a pitch black void whereas here we had Blackpool illuminations outside.
Extremely remote where we were yet not remote at all as it were. I remember the same feeling on isolated Kerrera Island looking across the bay at a thriving busy Oban with folk walking the high street and shops there while being utterly alone and disconnected if anything happened and I needed rescuing quickly.
The next day we did more exploring along the shoreline, the cliffs and forests inland being too steep to ascend except by the one rough track winding out to civilization again. The nearest civilization via that forest track being a small hamlet of a few houses.
You could call this rain forest as it was certainly wet enough with foot deep green moss in places under our boots once under the tree cover. We also gathered dead wood as there was plenty around due to the increasing frequency and strength of storms bringing down trees everywhere. That and the winter rainfall which has loosened entire slopes elsewhere in Scotland with repeated road closures in certain troublesome steep sided glens.
Another night in front of the fire and good company. It must be something primeval about a natural fire... coal or wood. I can still be bored watching TV or enjoying all the other gadgets of modern life if it's not riveting enough to hold my attention yet sitting in the dark in front of coal and candles I'm never bored at all.... and you make your own entertainment.
It's like a living thing, a central friend in the room and one that's ever-changing. It needs feeding every so often... and tended. Nurtured throughout the night or it goes in the huff...and dies... but it does reward effort. A person in the fire here holding a burning sword.
Or a large spider hanging above it with another already in the flames. How many ancient civilizations have started wars, created myths, or seen their gods deliver prophesies in the flames of fires like this one?
All too soon it was time to go home again... but typical of Western Scotland by this time the weather had changed dramatically. Rain and a strong breeze which turned the calm loch into an angry one with small white horses and a two foot swell. No photos on the return as I was too busy hanging on to the ropes to stay inside our plastic bubble to think about getting the camera out.
This is the weather on our return. Typical west coast rain and mist, often lasting for days at a time. Scotland is either magical... or grey, wet and grim... year round. Reminded me of the west Highland postcard years ago of the lone sheep in a field munching grass in all four seasons. Winter... lone sheep in field in the rain but with snow on its back appearing immune/stoic to various conditions in all four photo quarters...Spring... munching sheep in rain with a single daffodil appearing. Summer... rain with longer grass... Autumn. Rain with single brown leaf on its back. I always liked that postcard. Inspired.
Thanks to Alan for the company...
And his suggestion to come here in the first place.
