We arrived to see an island shrouded in cold fog. Someone asked where King Kong was...
It was a long slog to the village, along ricky paths...
and up stone steps...
following signs in the fog...
We sought refuge in the church, where we had lunch (we all had lunch packed, having planned on an outdoor picnic)...
A short orientation tour was called off as we couldn't orientate ourselves, but not before we visited the old light house...
The view from the top was spectacular.
As the week went on, the weather steadily improved and we all got to see more and were able to fall in love with this desolate rock.
On one cold and wet day were had lunch in this hut...
while the wild ponies sheltered from the wind behind some ruined cottages...
The main area of the island is rolling moorland, with steep slopes to the sea in all directions...
This is the Motorway...
The only vehicles seemed to be a couple of Landrovers and half a dozen quad bikes.
At the very northern end of the island is another lighthouse, reached by steps worthy of The Lord of the Rings...
This is one of the cottages that can be rented by holiday makers. A splendid view, fog permitting!
This is about as good as the beaches get...
At some point, someone stole my camera and forced me to pose...
This is the remains of one of the engines of a Heinkel 111 bomber that tried to land on the island, but hit the cliffs instead. It is not the easiest place to get to but does seem to be well visited, and respected.
The animal life kept me mesmerised all week.
Wild goats - this one is known locally as Wingnut, after the shape of his horms.
This one was having a great meal, clinging to the smallest of ledges...
And wild sheep too!
Plenty of very young lambs to go Ahhhh at....
Wild dear were a very nice surprise too...
Not to mention the seals!
There was domestic livestock too. Sheep with lots of lambs...
and Angus cattle...
The week was full of the over-use of the word Shag.
Some of the students were studying seabirds called Shags (like the black one below)...
but over here, shag is also slang for having sex. Students could be heard declaring "6 shags this morning - not bad, eh?" or "Not a single shag all day!" Bless them!
Once the fog cleared, the sunsets were fantastic. Funny to think that the next piece of dry land in this direction is Newfoundland...
I must confess to becoming a bit possessive about this island after a few days. On the Tuesday I found myself resenting the daytrippers who seemed to stagger to the top of the path, have dinner in the pub and then stagger back to the ferry again. Strange, but with its one pub, one shop, no internet and a phone signal that seems to emanate from Wingnut, this place really is something special.
And then it was time to leave. We were sad to go but we were all ready to get home really. First stop, Burger King...
8 comments:
What incredible pictures, and scenery, and landscape! I can see how you'd want to snap a pic at every turn. Those fleeting day-trippers don't know what they're missing.
I'm loving the word "shag". Although I doubt I'll use it as much as your students. (I can totally see how that would crack them up.) :)
Did you bring picnic lunches? Or how were you able to eat in the church and the hut?
p.s. The view from the light house IS incredible!
What a great getaway! I want to go there! Strangely, I liked the foggy days best. I kept expecting Beowulf to emerge. Always up for a good Viking saga! "viking" and "shag" go rather nicely together, I'm thinking!
And I'm wondering about church/shack lunch too. BYO?
ShadowRun300 - I took a ridiculous number of photos - I think the least I took in a day was about 80! Maybe you could propagate the use of "shag" at the hotel?
Abby - Yes, it would be a good setting for a Viking movie! Legend would have it that shagging was a major part of being a Viking...
Both - Yes, we took picnics with us every day, once you were away from the pub and shop the only food would have been goat, sheep or deer. Ort maybe a fish if someone wanted to dive in...
I definitely would not want to mess with that goat. Here, shag is carpet...or was in the 70s. I like your definition better.
Riot Kitty - The goat is pretty laid back, but as you say, don't mess with him. Oh, and we get shag carpet here too!
Wow, wow, WOW! What a beautiful island! It really looks like someplace from another time. You captured spectacular views and the animals are amazing too.
That looks like a really amazing trip. I would say "wow" but I think Terri used them all up. Some really great shots of the island in its raw beauty. Really looks like something out of Middle Earth. As chilly as it looked, I am trying to imagine life there in the wintertime.
Terri - once you got away from the buildings it was like being in a wilderness - with a few walls thrown in.
Agg79 - there were places where I expected to be ambushed by warg riders...
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