Beaches Galore

A little change of plan this morning as the Jura ferry wasn't running when we arrived. Both feeling a little on the edge of colds, we headed to Bowmore for supplies and happened to park outside a cafe that did takeaway coffees. 

With a much needed caffeine hit, we set off on the kind of tour we usually save for wet weather. Today has been glorious! We've pootled along the narrow roads exploring beaches and villages when it took our fancy. Somehow we seemed to hit the right weather for all of them. Delightfully still and peaceful with beautiful lines of seaweed on the stunning sunlit beach near Bridgend. A little more bracing on the western Saligo Bay where the sun reappeared just as we arrived, lighting up the Atlantic rollers and rock formations perfectly.  

We drove out to the picturesque whitewashed Portnahaven, and found a delightful craft shop on a farm. Rich found a little artstone keepsake and had a fascinating chat with them about life on the island.  We'd wondered about the impact of peat farming but had concluded that the island would not function without it. Seems that is the case. It's really impressive to see the employment on the island that isn't reliant on tourism but at the same time it does make you wonder about the peat that is never going to renew itself.

We've happened across peacocks, another hen harrier, seals and numerous other birds too. We've enjoyed all of the sunlight hours and finished off with an incredibly intense rainbow looming close offshore just before sunset.

Time for series 2 of Line of Duty.