After yesterday’s exploits, I am sitting writing these pages now in front of a warm coal fire that Emma has succeeded in keeping alight since yesterday evening just by stoking and loading and tending it in the right way.
Today was our second off-island adventure; this time we returned to Ackarackle (where we learnt how to pronouce the name perly – Ak – har -ackle) to stock up on mid-week provisions from the local store. Then we drove down to Salen, and beyond where we failed to visit an art gallery randomly located in the middle of nowhere, before heading off down the *main* (single lane with passing places for overtaking) road along the Ardnamurchan Peninsular.
We had an excellent stop at the Glenborrodale National History and Wildlife Centre. I crawled through a very dark place to see where the wild cats lived and was almost scared witless. And then we had a very good talk through the Golden and Sea Eagles that they have nesting there (and near there). We decided to take out joint membership of the RSPB as a result.
Following the talk we had a very nice lunch of hot smoked salmon salad at the little cafe there and then moved on further down the peninsular to the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse at the the end – 140 steps to the top, adn then two step ladders and one cracked head to the lantern room. Seeing round the exhibition we see both old and new lanterns, and decide that, even with a range of 24 miles the new lantern just doesn’t have a patch on the old lantern with its cut glass lens.
Back at Loch Moidart the tide is at the highest we’ve seen it with the causeway to Castle Tioram all but underwater, and the river hight above the seaweed at the jetty. Allistari collects us in the (slightly delayed) 5 o’clock crossing and speeds us back at top speed with the wind rushing past our faces it is exhilerating.
Down near the jetty there is an old schoolhouse which is in the process of being turned into an artist’s colony. There is a stack of oldjunk and machine parts next door, and whilst I am taken by some old scales, Emma has an eye on an old enamual bath with feet. We return to our cottage where the fire is still burning and relax into the evening. I guess I should think about making dinner of sausage and mash…
