woke up to grey skies and rain but some of us decided to head back out in the RIB and round to Glen Mhor to walk back to Village Bay.

a choppy ride around Dun persuaded Angus the skipper that we'd take the more sheltered eastern route.

round past the cliffs of Conachair and a difficult scramble up the slippery rocks of Glen Bay watched by 12 seals.

we discovered a fulmar sitting in a cleit. it obviously felt provoked and provided us with a demonstration of how tricky it was for st kildans to catch oil regurgitated out of a bird's mouth - but not how tricky it was to get covered in it.

we split into three pairs and A and I headed up to the ridge, then west to the Lover's stone, and back up to the top of Conachair, down to the shoulder and back down to the village. nearly died of fright finding two of our companions sitting in the lee of a cleit drinking exotic tea. strange how a group can gel so quickly in a small place and feel able to operate independently yet feel a connection.

we ate large hunks of beef. i tried to record sounds but discovered that the peacefulness of the island left little to hear on a still day.

A and I headed up the hill in the pitch black to look at a star-filled sky.