23 July 2024

A trip to the post office to return an unwanted item – an excuse to pay a visit. And then a short walk west, north of the jetty. Uncharted territory. Delightful little beach. I go a bit further but want to take it easy today. A lovely last swim. Back to the house for a late lunch.


A slow walk to the beach, to hook up with Paul and Clare, who are doing some strimming along the coastal path. At the beach there are eight other people – outrage. The atmosphere is changed completely and I’m glad I have already had my swim. The male of a couple sets off a drone and there is an audible beeping as he flies it over us. I try to focus on the watercolour marks I am making on paper.(“Painting” is too grand a word.) The couple take lots of pictures of each other, play on their phones, draw a heart shape in the sand, and within half an hour are leaving.


I get a lift back with Paul and Clare and have supper with them. Clare shows me the photos she took of moths caught in their moth trap yesterday evening – awe inspiring. While we eat we have three sightings of a hen harrier. And then a warmhearted farewell. Thank you, Clare and Paul, for being trusty companions this fortnight.


As I leave the farm, I fall into conversation with the farm manager, Flora, back from sheep shearing on Tiree. I have now met 13 of the 18 islanders. I am surprised how young she is (20s?). She talks about how the dismal spring and summer weather resulted in reduced grass growth and the need to use silage for the livestock. She is seizing the opportunity of fair weather this week to harvest the grass, now growing well. I wish there had been time to ask about her family farm on Tiree, and more about livestock management on an RSPB reserve.


Never chase a sunset – it won’t happen. But I enjoy the end my day by walking more or less the length of the island, pausing at the viewpoint and discovering that I have been omitting Faray, in my mental geography of the area, confusing it as an outlier of Eday. Last lingering looks from this superlative high spot – I haven’t spent enough time there.





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