Lovely Lundy!

 

Old Light

Lundy is owned by the National Trust and run by the Landmark Trust, with self catering accommodation sleeping from 1 to 12 people across 23 properties, plus a campsite. MrEH and I first stayed here in 2015 and have been back a number of times since, with various members of the same group of friends. The island is 3 miles long by half a mile wide, so in real terms tiny, but manages to offer plentiful walking opportunities, and there is of course an excellent pub, the Marisco Tavern.

Marisco Tavern

The island has some permanent residents in the shape of the staff, many of whom have been here for a long while. Others come and go, there are always those who are purely engaged on a seasonal basis, and others who do a year but then move on deciding that island life is not for them. The main population of Lundy is transient though - holidaymakers who arrive for a few days, a week, or a little longer; those coming to carry out various jobs of work - this week for example there is a shooting party who are here to shoot some of the Soay sheep (these are then being butchered ready to be cooked and served in the Tavern); bird ringing groups - there was one here at the end of last week I believe and I’m hoping another group might appear later in the week, and people coming to ring the bells at the church - it is a location that many bell ringers want to tick off! 

The accommodation is varied - from the tiny Radio Room and Old Light Cottage each sleeping 1, up to Millcombe House which takes 12. Over the years MrEH and I have camped, which was pleasant but with the uncertain weather here we wouldn’t be in a huge hurry to do it again - we were fortunate on that occasion! We have also stayed in Square Cottage, Old Light Upper (the top section of the building next to the lighthouse in the photo above), and Millcombe. MrEH had a cheeky extra night in Government House when the helicopters had to stop running when we returned after the Christmas at Millcombe - I got across, he didn’t ! This week my little group are in the Quarters which is the first time I’ve been in a purpose built rather than original building - it’s lovely and comfortable and has lovely views down over the village and a church and out to sea. Next time we come we will be in cute little Stoneycroft just along from the Old Light, a property none of us have stayed in before. 

As well as the Tavern for drinks and meals, the island also has a small but decently stocked shop. Fresh goods arrive three times a week as long as the boat runs, so there is generally fresh bread, fruit and veg available. Bread not sold in its first day on sale gets transferred to the freezer to ensure freshness too which is a great idea. Meat is mostly frozen, but some of it is from animals raised on the island - and the menu in the Tavern makes good use of that too - Lundy Venison and the Soay sheep are shot and butchered on the island as I mentioned, with sheep being transported to the mainland for slaughter and processing before making their way back. Prices are generally rather higher than on the mainland - but items are all good quality brands and the higher price tag is to be expected when you consider what is required to get them here at all. Meals in the Tavern are fairly standard prices for a decent pub - the daily special is priced at £15 with other options from under £10 up to £30 for things like steaks. The specials generally use Lundy meat so we often opt for those, and vegetarian options are plentiful and tasty too. 

So there you go - a little guide to what to expect from this quirky little outcrop in the middle of the Bristol Channel. It is fairly rare that people come here and don’t want to return - some will come back a handful of times then move on to somewhere new while others keep coming back year after year. Mobile signal varies from non existent to patchy, so it’s a great place to switch off and really relax. A very good reason to come back!

Robyn

Another week, another island…

The MS Oldenburg - ensign fluttering in a stiff  breeze!

 I mentioned a while ago that I had been invited to join some pals on a trip to Lundy, an island we’ve been to several times before. No MrEH on this trip, he didn’t have the holiday time while I was using the week I gained when the Royal International Air tattoo was cancelled.

Ilfracombe looking pretty!

I reckoned when planning that I could work things through to use public transport to get down to Ilfracombe where the Lundy boat leaves from, and so it proved, with my original plan being a train from London to Exeter, the connection on to Barnstaple, and the bus to Ilfracombe from there. Netting the train ticket for under £21 was a steal, until just a handful of weeks ago South West Trains decided to cancel my train and refuse to move me to another. Thankfully pals L & M saved the day with an offer to pick me up from Bristol on their way through, a new ticket was acquired albeit at a higher cost, and plan B was formed. 

Skylark Stout at The Bear

Mr EH kindly dropped me off at Epping for the tube, and a lovely smooth journey through thanks to the fabulous Elizabeth Line saw me at Paddington less than an hour later. Obviously having allowed plenty of time that left me with an hour to kill ahead of my train, so equally obviously I used that time wisely and popped to the excellent nearby pub The Bear (Paddington Bear- get it?!) for a swift half. I’d been considering doing similar in Bristol for my rather longer wait there for my lift, but in fact the train journey was quite loud, and the weather was less than pleasant, and instead I elected to sit in the very nice waiting room and write up the blog post about my exciting RAF Waddington visit, and before I knew it I was heading outside ready to hop into the car. By the time we reached Ilfracombe it was distinctly windy and we were all starting to feel some trepidation around the boat journey the following day - but still, the pub beckoned (as it does) and a lovely evening of chatting and beer followed, with more chatting and more beer once the remaining members of the party, S & B arrived. 

Vintage poster in Ilfracombe

The following morning dawned drizzly and alarmingly even windier - there was much conversation in the breakfast room at the B&B about Lundy - people who should have been going but weren’t, (the weather conditions meant all day trippers had been cancelled),  others who were going across for a few days and me as a week-long stayer. Significant doubt about the boat going at all - I suggested that I reckoned it would, but that they would delay things a bit, and so it proved when S went down to the quay to check us all in and was told we would be leaving an hour later than planned. 

Nearly arrived…

From the moment we boarded it was apparent that this was going to be an “interesting” trip. We all started sitting in the bar area - inside, but with good visibility to the horizon. Even tied up at the Quay there was a lot of movement from the boat! M lasted about 10 minutes after we headed out of the relative shelter of the harbour before deciding that outside space was his friend. L - usually fine if lying down reading - managed another few minutes before bolting for the same area, and I was about a further ten minutes behind her! S managed to stick it out in the original location only by virtue of staying stock still and not moving! It was without question the worst boat trip I’ve ever been on - the last time I was  seasick was on a school trip to France in the mid 1980’s I reckon, since then I’ve been on some fairly grim Hebrides crossings but this was something else! We were SO glad when we finally turned into the shelter of the island and things levelled out, and even more glad when, tied alongside, we were back on dry land! The only one of us completely unaffected was B who was annoyingly cheerful about the fact! Heading up the island as normal, L & I would usually be among the first to the pub but not this time - we took one look at how busy it was and bolted for the quiet of the museum! Thankfully a few hours was sufficient to settle things down again, and once we got access to the property we are staying in and were able to grab a cuppa and a sit down normality was restored quite quickly. We’re none of us in a hurry for another “adventure” like that though! Those that know me will understand the severity when I say that the photo above is the only one I took during the crossing! 

Robyn

An(other) unexpected treat…

 

Isn’t it cheerful when lovely things happen - and all the more so when they pop up completely out of the blue? At the tail end of our holiday I was more than a bit surprised to get a message inviting me to pop up to RAF Waddington for a Red Arrows in-season practise. You might recall that I do travel up there to shoot those whenever I can but this was an invitation from the team to head on to base to watch the practise from there!  It is the current Red 1’s final season, and he had decided that he wanted to extend a thank you to some of the amateur photographers who have photographed him over the 8 seasons he has been on the team, which was a lovely gesture, and very unexpected indeed.

The boss in his first season in the iconic red suit

My first issue was whether I would be able to secure the holiday time - I wasn’t even due back into the office for another few days, and was then only meant to be working three days before having another week off for a trip to Lundy - so I was well aware that I was probably on rather thin ice - regardless I sent a hopeful message explaining the situation and thank goodness got an “oh, go on then!” one in return shortly after. Phew! 

Even the crew room mugs are in formation! 

Thursday morning saw me in the car heading up - very excited and completely unsure what to expect. On arriving at the specified location at the base I met the other invitees, all similarly in the dark. Much nervous giggling ensued as we waited for our escort round to the RAFAT section. I don’t think there was anyone among us who was anything other than slightly astonished to find ourselves there! 

Claire, Caz, Tom & me failing to hide our excitement!

Our escort turned out to be the very lovely Doug - Chief of Staff and someone I have known for years, so that was excellent! With parking at the squadron apparently at a premium that day, once equipped with our visitor passes we hopped into two cars and proceeded through past lots of interesting looking buildings - Waddington is very different from the slightly run-down familiarity of Scampton with its World War 2 infrastructure and is also far bigger! Into the squadron building - but not before I had noticed just outside my lovely XX311 - the jet my pal Ross flew in in 2014 - now retired and installed as Squadron guardian!

XX311 enjoying her retirement 

The all important brew was a priority of course - always - an introduction to Joe from the PR team who was helping to host us, and lots of hellos from various people milling about too, and then Doug explained that we would be sitting in on the pre practice briefing which was very exciting - I have done this before but not for a lot of years. Briefings are fascinating - hearing all information relevant to the next activity being imparted and then the whole intended display plus any likely variations talked through step by step in incredible detail. Once complete, the pilots headed off to get kitted up and we went back to the crew room where someone else I have known for years- P R Manager Andy Morton - joined us. He wasted no time in jokingly pointing out how little I had been about this season - a very valid point indeed! We split into two groups at that stage to head out to datum, Claire and I hopped into the car with Andy driving along with another of our group, David, and a chap called Steve who was there filming, and Doug drove the rest of the group. 

OC RAFAT supervising, Iwan filming - “Rollbacks” in the background

The practice itself was essentially like watching our own private Red Arrows display - and watching everyone get their”game faces” on once the camera kit came out was entertaining. I do wonder what the value of the assembled kit out there was though - I suspect well north of £50k total between us, and that is not counting Steve’s kit and that of the team’s own photographer! New Officer Commanding Wing Commander Sasha Nash was supervising, I’d not met her before so it was nice to have quick chat in between her duties.

Back to the squadron then, and after a bit of a break for the pilots time for the debrief - another treat! Just as fascinating - the level of scrutiny they subject themselves to is astonishing - after all these years we are pretty good at noticing stuff that isn’t quite to the incredibly high standard the team set for themselves and indeed the Boss (Red 1 is always known as The Boss) commented that we were all very good at not posting photos of those moments, but they pick up on the tiniest things that are invisible to us! Seeing the way they call themselves out on errors really underlines why the team motto is “Eclat” - Excellence. 

There was still more in store for us - photos outside with the team, both individually and as a group…thanks to Claire for the shot above - and then a hangar tour where the very lovely Matt, one of the team’s armourers - gave us all sorts of interesting info about the jets in the hangar and the engineering side in general. It is always great to see the jets up close, but being able to look inside the engine bay was a new one for me - with the engine (below) having been dropped out of XX219 to go to Rolls Royce for repair.

Rolls Royce Adour engine as used in the Hawk.

We got the chance to sit in the training jet too - active team jets are off limits to visitors but the training jet has its ejection seat system disabled and so is “safe” for random people! Naturally after all my work with the Blues and circus team in the past I chose the backseat!   Time then for farewells, and heartfelt thank you’s from us - I think we were all a bit shell-shocked to be honest, it was an incredible day and although we didn’t really know what to expect, it wasn’t a fraction of that! - before Joe who had been looking after us through the day drove us back across to our cars.  

Simply a superb day, and an incredible opportunity, one I am so glad to have been able to accept and something I certainly won’t forget in a hurry! 

Robyn

The journey home…

 

Sunday morning saw an early departure from the lovely glamping pod and a quick drive down to Lochboisdale for our ferry back across to Mallaig - aboard our old favourite vessel M V Lord of the Isles. We are both fond of “LoTI” as she is known - a good friend of ours used to Captain her and we had a memorable crossing to Uist on the bridge on one occasion. She is also the only ferry we have ever got on and off again in the same place without ever travelling anywhere- when visiting Byron on storm-bound days at Lochboisdale over Christmas! 

A quick wander into the terminal building - Lochboisdale is one of the ports which hasn’t yet had its infrastructure upgraded and the little old terminal is really quite charming - although I bet the staff might call it something else! It also has a decent little book exchange- the terminals all have these again now, they were discontinued over Covid and it took a while for them to get up and running again. 

The rain had made an appearance by the time we got on board, and more to the point, so had the midges, so unusually for us we settled ourselves inside in the observation lounge to watch the remaining traffic loading up ready for departure. This was far from a full crossing - we think there were a few vehicles nominally on the standby list but they didn’t even wait until all the booked traffic was on board to load them. We meanwhile were at the head of the second line of cars to drive on - not as good as it sounds as that means we line up along the sides and then all the bigger traffic - campervans, small commercials and the dreaded caravans - slots in to the middle, and thus gets to drive off first…and then delay the rest of us all the way to Fort William! 

Anyway - breakfast time!  CalMac breakfasts are legendary, and it’s a must-do on an early sailing. After that time to head outside and see what wildlife was about… 

There, the view back towards Uist. Nothing outstanding on the bird front this time, but we did see some lovely close-in Dolphins and some further away Porpoises, plus an unexpected Seal which popped up and looked at us. MrEH spent almost all the remaining time out on deck, I popped out a few times but mostly settled down to read my book.

The ferry is of course the fun bit of the journey back - once back on the mainland there is over 500 miles to be driven, although this time round we opted to break the journey a couple of hours north of home. It makes for a more relaxed journey back, giving us time to stop for a late lunch in the southern Highlands.

Yes, of course we bring back some of the delicious Dunes Larder home baking to be enjoyed on the way back and our first day back at home! 

Some nice views on the way back through - the Glen Ogle viaduct above is always a favourite, and this time round some handy roadworks/traffic lights saw us stopped right opposite it, so obviously I grabbed the chance to hop out and take a quick photo! 

Onwards then, and before we know it the border back into England flashes past and suddenly it truly feels like the holiday is over. The next time we see the Scottish border it will be next spring, but that will likely be the rather fancier one across on the eastern side of the countries. For this time though one more change of drivers and then the final few hours driving down to Grantham and our bed for the night, followed by an early alarm, a quick breakfast and the last couple of hours home. Another adventure over and done. 

Robyn

A rubbish walk…

 

Big rocks on bins - needed out here!

A quirky tradition for our final morning here is that unless it is actually blowing a gale, or sideways-raining, one of my final tasks before we head away is that I gather up the accumulated rubbish from around the cottage and take it up the track to the bins. This time round I thought I was going to be scuppered on this one, as when we woke up yesterday morning it was indeed blowing a gale and sideways-raining, but handily it calmed down an hour or so before departure so I popped my wellies on, grabbed the bag and went for a wander.

The track is a third of a mile up to the road, not a long walk by any stretch, but one I really enjoy, particularly once the bag is dropped off and I can enjoy the walk back without it. That last approach to the cottage on foot for this trip, always plenty of birds to be seen - this time I surprised a Snipe as well as the usual Meadow Pipits, Gulls  and Starlings. The new house being built part way up the field changes the view a little, but then you see the first glimpse of the cottage chimneys as you go uphill towards the highest point…

See - just to the left of the track?

Over the crest of the hill and there is Kettle Cottage - Hoglan Bay down to the left, and the headland stretching off behind. Blue skies just starting to peek through too, promising better weather to come!

The cows never quite get used to seeing us coming and going on foot - and always give us a good curious stare! In the spring the Croft surrounding the cottage itself usually has sheep on it - they take a few days to get used to us but then also get remarkably curious, particularly the lambs which are clearly intrigued by these humans who talk to them! 

The final turn, and nearly back. Just a little under 15 minutes door to door, allowing for time to take these pictures and stop and look at things. Time to finish packing the car then set off back along that track in the car this time, with Kettle disappearing in the rear view mirror. 

Robyn

An unexpected treat...

 

I had promised the Lady Anne Boat trips crew that I'd have a go at getting some shots of them going out, and coming back from trips - not a particularly taxing task, and all the easier when I realised that on Wednesday they were running two trips back to back in the afternoon. Simple - I could shoot them coming back from the 3pm one, and going out on the 5.30pm. 

Naturally things were complicated a little by the arrival of two fish farm vessels at the pier I was working from immediately before "Amarisa" was due back in - but my usual method of just proceeding with purpose while also being sure to avoid getting under people's feet worked well enough and I was able to get some shots I was pleased with. 

We spotted that Nick, founder of "Lady Anne Boat Trips" as it was then, and skipper of the "Lady Anne" herself was about, and having not seen him for a good while we headed down for a quick chat with him, Nye & Rosie before they headed out again - and that was when things got interesting!  Rosie had mentioned that there were a couple of spaces on the trip - they weren't certain they weren't waiting for people, but as far as Nye could see everyone booked had arrived, and suddenly the offer was made that we were welcome to jump aboard for the trip if we wanted? Well, yes please! 

A quick flurry of activity - Mr EH headed back to the car quickly to grab jackets and binoculars, and once he was back we climbed aboard - all the while keeping a watchful eye ready for anyone else to turn up, but sure enough the briefing was done, we waved farewell to Nick, and off we went for a completely unexpected boat trip!

The weather was certainly not a patch on what we had last week - after several days of higher winds there was a decent swell out on the open water - Nye headed that way first which is the first time we'd been on a trip in that direction, but it was perfect timing as once back in the sheltered area around Ronay the tide was perfect to enable us to get right into the channels around the little grassy islands - a different and very pleasant view of things. We did encounter one heavy rain shower which sent most of those on board scampering for the cabin, quite sensibly, but as so often happened after that it turned to a beautiful evening with positively golden light - lighting the Red Deer in particular beautifully.

The Sea Eagles played obligingly as well - along with Golden Eagles giving good views although at more of a distance out. We couldn't be more grateful to Nick, Nye & Rosie for giving us the opportunity to get out again - it was hugely appreciated and very much enjoyed!

Robyn

Rueval…

 

Very much a favourite this one - long time readers will I’m sure remember me mentioning our favourite little hill on Benbecula previously, it’s a walk we make sure to do at least once each trip over here and I have almost certainly blogged about it before. Just 124m in height, but still presenting a moderately challenging walk up due to the steepness in places, it is also surrounded by low lying land meaning great 360° views across to Skye in one direction and St Kilda in the other - and yes, yesterday was a “clear enough to see St Kilda” day! 

Not the most promising of starts to a walk as the parking is right outside the not-very-glamorous Recycling Centre, but once past the cattle grid and striking out along the track things rapidly become a lot more scenic. There are usually good bird sightings here too - indeed we used to help with sightings on the RSPB “Bird of Prey” walks here years ago - although as ever there was never any certainty of what would be seen, and on one particularly barren evening I do recall us deciding that Stonechats eat insects and so counted as “birds of prey”! 

Before long you come to the first of the Hebridean Way markers on the hillside, with another in view just beyond - these appear to lead you up through the heather but a few steps further on you spot the rough track next to a small quarry which makes the first short section up hill substantially easier.

Even from part way up the views are already impressive - above you see the route we have just walked with the Waste Transfer station on the right, across to the west coast of the island beyond. 

The waymarkers provide a reliable indicator of the route - when we originally did this walk it was using vague directions like “follow the sheep-path to the fence junction then head directly up towards the summit” - the Hebridean Way route now passes right over Rueval though so the way marking is good. 

In the steeper spots rough “staircases” have formed in the peat which although hard going are definitely easier than wet heather! There are plenty of boggy spots so it is as well to keep a good eye on where your feet are going - generally speaking you can spot grassy tussocks which can be hopped from one to the next, and if you see heather, it is almost certainly dry enough to step onto! 

Finally we hit a crest which gives a view up to the summit - you can see the trig point and the cairn above.

From there the final stretch to the top is actually fairly straightforward - and there is that view of St Kilda I mentioned. Faint but just visible on the horizon. The cluster of buildings on the left hand side are Balivanich- the largest settlement in this part of the Hebrides with the airport, hospital and a quite large school plus shops and other facilities.

 

The path you can see heading across the moor is the road to Rossinish - no longer inhabited but famous for being the spot where “Bonnie Prince Charlie” headed “over the sea to Skye” when making his escape after the failed Jacobite rebellion. We’ve walked out there - I think I blogged about it - and it’s really a very special feeling place. 

Another view, across to the hills of North Uist this time, and really showing Uist’s “drowned landscape”!

Time to head down again then - keeping an eye as we go for the various different plant species which can be found up here…

This is Bog Asphodel - “Am Bliochan” in Gaelic I believe - providing a bright splash of colour on the hillside.

Another view across to Balivanich as we carefully pick our way down- with numerous slippery spots going down is almost trickier than going up a! 

Back to the track then - and time to retrace our steps. If following the Hebridean Way you would have continued at the summit and descended on the other side of the hill - we keep saying we will have a go at that route one day, but will probably choose a time of year when it it less wet underfoot! 

There we are nearly back to the car - just under 2 miles walked so by no means a long walk but a thoroughly enjoyable one nonetheless. It was surprisingly warm - even at the top although I was carrying my jacket I didn’t need to put it on, and after a few days of wild weather the wind had dropped off to almost nothing as well which was good timing - doing this one with a headwind on the upwards stretch is always entertaining! 

Robyn.