Heartbeat.

The island is not like other places. It has a different heartbeat. I felt it the first time I stepped onto the black rocks of the shore, and something deep inside me knew I was home. Even if I had never been here before, couldn't even pronounce the names of the villages, it didn't matter one jot. This was journey's end and its beginning.

-- Judy Fairbairns, Island Wife: Living on the edge of the wild


Today I took a drive to Inver Cottage, a little restaurant hidden away on Loch Fyne in Strathlachlan, Argyll. This is the view from the front. I blipped the same view earlier in the week, but in the evening - see here.

The Old Castle Lachlan has some scaffolding around it just now as work begins in earnest on some essential conservation work to save the ruin from further collapse. At the moment, it is very difficult to even reach it as the December storms swept the rickety old bridge away.

The Cowal peninsula often feels like an island, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that it is an island, but it isn't. It is true that you can get here by ferry, but you can also drive the {other} scenic route by Loch Lomond and the 'Rest and Be Thankful.' However, like in the quotation, this place definitely has a heartbeat of its own. The pace is slower, perfect strangers wave at you and say hello, and the air is fresh and light.

I stopped by at Inver with the intention of reading a book and having a bite to eat, but instead I ended up having a good catchup with my friend who owns it.

Then I came home and cleaned the car with my Dad's snazzy new jet-powered cleaning gizmo ... Now I love a good trip to the car wash, but even I didn't know washing the car could be so much fun!

Have a gander at the photo when it is BIG ...