Off Piste

Well, the bug I had has done the rounds of the group - today, our lovely guide, Craig came down with it, and although he wanted to soldier on, we sent him back to bed and said we'd look after ourselves. We (the 4 of us standing today) had a lovely walk from the hotel up through some woodland, following a river, at the top end of which was an old woollen mill where we got a tour from the owner, who told us that they made tweeds and tartans for the film industry - Braveheart, Warhorse and the like, and that the Queen had on occasion popped in unannounced. We were then given a cup of coffee before resuming our walk. We didn't heed the warning about the path we were talking being muddy, and got very bogged down before escaping onto a minor road to complete our walk. This took us past fields of geese - a spectacle at this time of year, in huge flocks all over the island. This small group had both Barnacle Geese and Greenland White-fronted Geese. One in the photo has a neck tag. After a late lunch, we had a stroll down to the Loch to see a few wildfowl and waders.
At supper, Craig greeted us with the news that as the forecast was looking bad for Friday, we'd be returning a day early to Speyside to make sure we could make the crossing. One day less on Islay, one extra day on Speyside. We'll have a few hours to check out a few more places on the Island, before we'll set off.
The Woollen Mill is in extras