A wonderful day out

My friend Tim is down to stay from Skye as we're going to a fern meeting on Sunday. Today we decided to go over the sea to the island of Lismore, but rather than take the small car ferry from Oban, we drove to Port Appin to go over on the passenger ferry, my Blip today. 
 
A dry day which got better as time went on. I'd always wanted to visit the 'Secret Garden' on the island, but a poster on the ferry waiting room window said that it was only open Wednesday and Saturday. I hailed a passing van driving up the ferry road and asked how far it was to the Secret Garden. He said it was half a mile, and offered us a lift - 'climb in the back of the van!' Just as well we did - it must have been three times that distance. 
 
We stopped at the end of a drive, next to a house with a lovely garden. As we walked in the owner came out to see what we wanted. When we explained, she told us that the 'Secret Garden' was up the lane, but that she'd be delighted if we wanted to see her garden!  She also took the trouble to phone ahead, as we did, to make sure it was OK.
 
We walked up the steep lane and found the lady's husband out on the track waiting for us. He invited us in and his wife came out and offered to show us round. It was rather a surprise - rather than a pretty flower garden it was an organic fruit and vegetable garden, but she explained everything and offered us a cup of tea, which we had at a garden table along with the picnic we had brought with us. All very friendly!
 
We walked back down to the road and turned back towards the ferry to as far as the single-track road to Port Ramsay, a tiny village on the north coast of the island. I'd been here before - a row of simple cottages which once housed the lime quarry workers. Lismore is an intrusion of limestone in an otherwise non-limestone area.
 
At the end of the village - my extra today - we were perusing the map to see if there was a footpath which would take us to the ferry without returning by the way we'd come. At this point a lady came along the road with a poodle - I asked her if she was local and she said yes. In answer to our question she said that she lived up the track and would show the way to a very indistinct track across the hillside, something which we would never have found on our own. 
 
We followed the track and eventually came out on to the road, where we turned left for the ferry. While waiting for the boat to come over we had a a very pleasant chat with a couple from Shrewsbury - he was a tuba player with the Birmingham Philharmonic and she worked for an environment group of some sort.
 
All told a very pleasant day meeting some extremely lovely people!
 
Quote of the Day: 'No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.’ - Aesop.