August Reading…

 

Right - where we were - ahh yes, Mark Billingham and Good as Dead. Needless to say it didn’t take me long to rattle through this one. I LOVE Billingham’s writing - in spite of the fact that the first book of his I read was “Sleepyhead” which should be the the stuff of nightmares for a claustrophobic- I was hooked. Thorne, Hendricks et al are great characters - not permanently likeable, and I think that is key - they become more real because there are times you find yourself thinking they’re behaving badly and wanting to call them out for it!  Overall though the characters are so well written you truly crave a good outcome for them. Good as Dead doesn’t let the side down, and has already slotted into it’s appropriate place on the shelf. 

Next up then - and another one I tore through - L J Ross - The Cove. Holy Island from the same author was one of my very occasional kindle fiction reads and I thoroughly enjoyed that, so I was expecting good things, and I wasn’t disappointed. Murder mystery cross standard chick-lit girl meets boy tale, but set down on the Lizard in Cornwall - a part of the country I’m very fond of as you know. Nice characters, a great storyline that takes us from London all the way down to Cornwall, and it rattles along picking up pace towards a pretty unexpected ending. This one will be heading on to my Mum - it’s right up her street I reckon - and I will be keeping an eye for more from the same author. 

An Ian Rankin Rebus series novel followed - The Falls. I love that Rankin tends to write an introduction to his books giving an outline of his inspiration for the story - it adds context before you even turn to the first chapter. This book involves Siobhan Clarke as a main rather than supporting character which adds another dimension, and we know I like a strong leading female character in a book. Classic Rankin, and a great read as ever. 

JD Kirk’s City of Scars  was up next - the second of Kirk’s Jack Logan series I’ve read in the last few months. Once again I enjoyed the humorous way the characters are written, and it being set in and around Inverness added some interest. The storyline itself was basic murder mystery stuff, but well enough written that it made an enjoyable read. Probably not one to keep long term, but I will certainly keep an eye out for more from the series. 

At this stage the question of "books to take on holiday" came up - we've adopted a principle of taking just a few with us - usually one for MrEH and two for me - with at least one of those being interchangeable between us. This then keeps us both in reading material for the first few days even if a wet ferry crossing keeps us inside and reading, and we can then make use of the handful of book exchanges we know of on the islands to top up the levels from that. We never take anything with us that we want to bring home either - same with jigsaws, they go across, get completed, then get left behind, a policy which has worked really well for us for a good few years now. A bit like camping trips, holidays are a time when I tend to make my way through a lot of books, so you'll be seeing what I chose this time pretty soon! 

An author I enjoy but hadn't read much from for a good while now - Marion Keyes, very much a favourite of the Chick-lit genre. The Other Side of the Story features her usual slightly far fetched but down to earth enough to make them believable characters - and a clever storyline that intertwines their lives via the world of publishing. The usual mix of love, hate, high drama and sufficient happy-ever-after to let you end the book with a satisfied sigh! 

The first of the holiday books was Elly Griffiths with A Room Full of Bones -  from her Dr Ruth Galloway series, and so of course set in Norfolk once again ticking the box for a book being all the more enjoyable when it is set somewhere you know. This one carries across into September.

Robyn.

A walk round an island.

 

The Island of Grimsay is a useful one hereabouts - it makes the inter island causeway from Benbecula to North Uist rather more practical because it’s positioning means that a chunk of the road can run as a normal road rather than needing to be a bridge of some description. It is a nice island in its own right too though - and for a good many years now we’ve enjoyed a walk right round it when we’ve been over - it’s a walk that works for either summer or winter trips too as with the circular road all the way round, it’s not constrained by being wet underfoot. 

Parking at the harbour at Kallin works well - it means we are roughly at the half way point, so it doesn’t matter hugely which way we decide to go from there, this time we turned left though, which meant that one of the first views we got was the one above across towards another island - Ronay. If I blog about our planned boat trip then you might hear more about Ronay. 

Nice views really aren’t in short supply on this walk - or indeed anywhere up here to be honest. At this time of year the purple of the heather makes everything even more scenic as well - Doesn’t it look wonderful? 

Grimsay has a “boat trail” - the Grimsay boats are rather famous here, a quite specific style of boat perfect for fishing in the waters around the islands. The Stewart family were boatbuilders here and their boatshed is now part of the trail - a fascinating place although sadly seeming to now fall into a state of disrepair - you can see from the picture above I think that once the visitors have stopped arriving it’s evidently used as a roost almost certainly for some of the local Rock Dove population - a shame as this is such a key part of the island’s history and heritage.

Another view - across to Eaval on the neighbouring island of North Uist this time.

To the junction with the main road then and an old red telephone box has been rather brilliantly repurposed, needless to say my eyes lit up when I saw “books” - and yes, we found a Lee Child that as far as we can think we’ve not read before - a pound into the honesty box (no idea whether the books are there on a “take them” basis or whether the donation was required, there was nothing to tell us so we played safe!) and that got stashed into MrEH’s backpack. Then a right turn along the short stretch of the walk on the main island spinal road - the A865 - the only place we expected to encounter more than the occasional car. A quick stop for a photograph of this sign…

Lady Anne Wildlife Cruises run the boat trips we have often been on from Kallin harbour as mentioned above, and a few years ago when they revamped their website they asked if they could use some of my photos - of course, I said, and imagine my delight when they told me that one they wanted to use was an Eagle photograph which they used as a silhouette to turn into their new logo. Very exciting - and yes, I always smile when I pass  their signs! 

The direction we had chosen to do the walk in meant that most of the main habitations and indeed the only real township on the island - Baymore - were in the second half. The shot above is looking back down the road in the direction we had come from just before we reached…

You can see the houses further on. Baymore pretty much merges into Kallin so we’re close to finished by this stage. There is still more to see though, and for us yesterday one thing in particular was spotting the original Lady Anne boat - she who gave her name to the boat trips - moored in the little inlet just below the township…

…there she is, presumably enjoying her retirement! New boat “Amarisa” can be seen in the picture at the top, and we will hopefully be experiencing what she has to offer very soon! 

A last view across heather and hillside then- the umbelliferous plants in the foreground there are Angelica we believe - and as you can see by this stage the weather had decided to be properly bright and cheerful - indeed that sun was HOT and we both ended up carrying our jackets.

Round the final corner…

Back at the harbour and my little car waiting for us. A fraction under 6 miles on my watch and a really nice walk. This one could be broken up with lunch or just tea and cake at the community centre cafe at Ceannaraigh - there is also a post office and toilets there, plus some locally made/local interest items available to purchase. There is also a cafe at the harbour at Kallin too which features a lot of locally caught seafood.

That is the track of the walk from the Strava app, you can see it does quite satisfyingly  form a loop right round the island, and you could lengthen it a little by exploring along the road up to Gearadu with views across the eastern tip of the north ford. There are more bits of the boat trail to explore too - a small museum next to the community centre, and the Fisherman’s hut not far from Baymore.

Robyn.

August in the garden…

First up - newsflash - these Tromboncino Squashes are looking every bit as rude as we hoped. The plants are now clambering over the top of the arches and there are fruit literally dangling down as you can see - we are basically running a sweepstake on how long before the neighbours start enquiring precisely what it is we’re growing… 😆 

As usual I’m finding significant joy in a lush and flourishing crop of Basil - with batches of home made pesto being made, frozen and transferred to the ice cream box in the freezer on a regular basis. There is something truly excellent about thinking “I might throw some pesto in there” and just being able to take a couple of dollops of it straight  from the freezer - the jar in the cupboard will remain unopened until at least midwinter at this rate! Even better, the basil seeds I’m currently sowing  were free with our garden magazine - it is something they all seem to give away on a regular basis which is most useful! I just sow a new batch every few weeks - with the first sowing being left to go to flower after a single harvest as the bees adore it. 

Talking of bees, the sunflowers remained deeply cheerful through the first part of the month - and trying to capture a photo of them without at least one of the little furry striped pollinators in view was impossible! The giant one outside the front door has been a highlight for half the street I think, we have had SO many comments about it - and a similar number all over again when we had to cut it down mid-month to allow for some work to be done to the front of the house.

First aubergine and cucumber to be harvested this year!

We are finally getting cucumbers (indeed, several turned out to be hiding, stealth fashion, in amongst the leaves) from one plant, the other sadly still seems to be reluctant to produce anything much apart from flowers. Courgettes are appearing at a steady pace which makes a nice change for courgettes - we all know that they are so often prime candidates for gluts don't we! Taking their place though are those squashes at the top of the page - we've had two which have grown to well over 3' in length, and that is a LOT of squash, trust me! 

I think we would both agree that the Aubergines have been a bit of a highlight this year - We tried growing them last year but didn't manage to get a single plant to grow on, this year we have four plants which turns out to be several more than required. Peppers are a little slower off the mark but we still have several fruit forming on our one reasonably substantial plant as you saw in my recent early morning plod around the garden. We know from experience that they take a decent time to ripen to red. Chillies are best not even discussed - we really have had very little luck with them this year, and even the lovely Bishop's Crown variety we grew last year have only netted a single plant from a number of seedlings.  

We - or rather MrEH - have made one notable garden purchase this month in the shape of an irrigation system. We have been having so many problems with the long spells of very hot weather simply keeping things even vaguely damp, and that has lead to a lot of lost fruit particularly on the tomatoes. An online pal recommended the one they use to us, and having taken a good look at the details the decision was taken to go ahead and order. It runs via solar power and using the water from a water butt, which is helpful, and with the addition of an extension kit we're able to keep quite an area moist, indeed, it's been almost too efficient for the tomatoes although they aren't complaining about sitting with their "feet" in water! It is definitely a game changer when it comes to the time spent watering too, although at this stage that is rather offset by the time taken setting it up of course. Not cheap, but so far it seems it will prove its worth. 

We're thoroughly enjoying the fact that the garden is now feeding us rather well as mentioned - as usual we've been mildly rubbish about eating the salad we've grown, but tomatoes are being consumed with almost every meal, and squash several times a week. The cucumbers we are trying to eat as close to when they are picked as possible, as they are at their best that way. The first of the Aubergines was turned into a delicious dip with some roasted tomatoes, and a later harvest has made a batch of pasta sauce based on the same idea - with the addition of plenty of black pepper, sage and some sour cream we had going spare. It was delicious! The freezer is loaded up with tubs of roasted tomatoes, roasted squash, and more of that tomato & aubergine sauce as well. 

We’ve also continued noting the various more unusual insects we come across in the garden too- the little chap above is a Southern Green Stink Bug - although I can assure you that I didn’t notice any lack of hygiene from him! Eye catching through, isn’t he! 

Robyn

The headland…

 

Inevitably we’re never at our regular holiday cottage for long before the lure of a walk round the headland draws us out. It’s one of the best things about the location - plenty of walking options straight from the door meaning we can opt to leave the car behind and just head out on foot. The short walk round the headland is just a mile starting off dropping down to this tiny secluded beach, then heading back uphill round the cliffs until we reach the natural rock arch which took us so long to find when we first stayed here. Once you know where it is it’s so obvious! 

On a clear day there is a view all the way out to St Kilda - stunning! From there we usually head back up the hill and complete the loop back to the cottage for a short stroll - there is a peninsula to be explored at low tide, and a longer return option dropping down to Hoglan Bay and then back via the road, then up the track to the cottage too it all depends how far we want to go - and sometimes how fierce the midges are!

Robyn.

Hunting for treasure…

Spot the Cowrie! 

Cowrie shells, being the particular treasure in question here! They can be found on a few of the beaches up here, with the notable one that most folk know about being the big bay by the Balranald Campsite - the information on that one used to get shared by the warden who took the RSPB guided walk of the Balranald reserve, hence the widespread knowledge among even visitors to the islands! 

Also known as Groatie Buckies, the little shells are said to bring good fortune and safe travels to the finder - maybe being at the mercy of CalMac is why hunting for them is such a popular pastime here? That said, it is fair to say that both MrEH and I have barely a coat without a small collection of them in the pocket, and we’ve had our fair share of ferry issues, so perhaps even they don’t have that much power! 

Spotted Cowrie (right) 

Invariably at the beginning of the holiday I find them easier to find than MrEH - by the end his eyes have  caught up but for the first few days I get to enjoy a bit of one-upmanship on these very specific little treasure hunts. Sweeping my eye over a stretch of beach just filled with shells of all shapes and colours and pouncing on the tiny ridged spotty beauties. Small victories! 

Robyn. 

The journey…

 

Views from the A66

When you holiday in places that take a bit of travelling to get there - not long-haul flight type travel - the sort of thing with a lot of driving, an overnight stop, then a second day of more driving or whatever, you get used to considering the journey itself as part of the Holiday. We’ve been doing this for years with the Hebrides trips, and although the proper “ahhhh” moment of shoulder-dropping relaxation only really hits when we are on board the ferry to Uist, we both certainly feel we’re on holiday from leaving home. 

Callander hostel - highly recommended!

The Hebrides trip takes around 27 hours door to door with somewhere about 12 hours of that being actual driving. We factor in a stop overnight as far up into Scotland as we are confident will work - over the years we’ve stayed at Stirling, Falkirk, and the glorious hostel at Callander pictured above which has everything you could need for a very sensible price indeed. Then the following day it is an early start and a drive up either over the Skye Bridge or to Mallaig for a ferry from there. The route at that stage depends entirely on what timings work in relation to our ferry to Uist - if heading to South Uist with a drive up through Uist from there then that means straight to Mallaig and far more slack time during the day as the boat is later. If doing the shorter hop across to North Uist then that leaves from Uig on Skye and sometimes we can do that via the short crossing from Mallaig to Skye, a drive up through the island and then onto the bigger vessel to reach our final destination port of Lochmaddy.The alternative round the road and past that well known landmark of Eileen’s Doughnut….sorry, Eilean Donan Castle feels a bit more stressful somehow, plus, who wouldn’t want to shoehorn an extra ferry in there where they can? 

M V Coruisk - the Skye ferry

Our first couple of nights on the Island have almost exclusively for years been at the wonderful Moorcroft Holidays campsite at Carinish - just a 20 minute or so drive from Lochmaddy. We’ve been coming here for years, almost from when they opened I think, initially camping, then taking a room in their well appointed bunkhouse, and finally opting for the wonderful little “Hobbit House” glamping pods which are cosy and comfortable. We’ve visited enough times now that Catriona and Iain book us in to our favourite of the three pods, high up and looking out over the loch and across to Benbecula - it is enclosed by a beautiful stone wall and is just a glorious place to sit outside with a book, so long as there’s enough breeze to deter the midges! 

M.V.Hebrides departing Uig

The ferry crossings themselves are very much a highlight of the trip - indeed we have been known to book on a ferry crossing purely to enjoy being on the water and spotting the birds, marine wildlife etc. Even the short crossing to Skye might net sightings of gannets and Kittiwakes, and once on the bigger boat across to Uist the sea is alive with Guillemots, masses more Gannets, and depending on the time of year sometimes puffins. Skuas are a strong possibility, with the Great Skua seeming to make a bit of a recovery from the devastation Bird Flu wreaked on their population. A glimpse of a fin breaching the water sends up a cry of “Dolphins” from the first spotters- although it may just as well be porpoise or even one of the whale family.

Arrival at Lochmaddy on a calm day

The mindset of enjoying the journey is a bit hackneyed, but once you switch into it travel definitely becomes more enjoyable! 

Robyn

Small pleasures.

If you read my monthly reading post then you will be aware that I do like a book exchange - the small pleasure of rifling through a selection of books to find something new to read is very real - and that it is free is the icing on the cake. We remember to return books to them as well where we can - sometimes a book I have finished during lunchtime might find its way to one near work, and the telephone box housing a veritable mini library in a village not far from home also benefits. 

Sometimes rather than being an organised exchange it is just a little collection of discarded books on a wall of course - and it was one of those which prior to our Hebrides trip last year gave us a nostalgic little delight in the shape of an I-Spy book - I bet we all remember those don’t we! There we several there - I took one (the Cars one) which I felt would be suitable for our trip and left the others for someone else - and we thoroughly enjoyed it to the extent that we have now purchased a couple more - the On A Car Journey one above, and Wildflowers. Not expensive, and just the thing to add a bit of fun to a long trip! 

Robyn