We were in for a treat today, the weather forecast wasn't all that good but it turned out to be a lovely sunny day, at least where we were. We spent the best part of the day at Loch Gruinart near Crois Mhor, the tin roof cottage, where we had a picnic. Loch Gruinart is one of Islay's RSPB nature reserves. I'm always amazed by the beautiful colours of the water and the wildlife as you can see in the images below. I'm even more amazed by the fact that we saw only one other car during the whole time that we were there, not that we mind of course! We found the many people later in the afternoon while doing the weekend shopping at the co-op in Bowmore. Glad I'm home now, writing up this blog while enjoying a Colonsay Lager. This reminds me, I still have to post images of Colonsay, will do so later this weekend. If the weather is fine we will be visiting the gardens of Foreland House on Sunday! Have a nice weekend!
I have just returned from a walk to Caol Ila passing the Heatherhouse. The weather has become quite friendly and the sun is doing its best to burn away the remaining clouds from the rain front that passed us yesterday, and so far it looks like the sun is on the winning hand. Temps are quite high and it feels very humid. I didn't see much wildlife, the Roe Deer that are usually present were gone, perhaps due to the larger amount of traffic on the Port Askaig road due to the closure of Port Ellen. I did see some gold finches and I heard the always present Cuckoo and dozens of song birds which I can't identify but enjoyed very much. The pictures are perhaps not of the best quality because I took the wee camera with me! Later this morning we're probably off to Loch Gruinart or thereabouts. Have a nice day!
On the same day as we visited the Isle of Jura I went out in the evening to capture a good old Islay Sunset. I parked at a passing place on the Kilchoman Road next to Loch Gorm to get undisturbed views of the setting sun. At that same time I met Gordon Yates again, he was going for the same sunset albeit from a different angle. As you can see from the images below it was a "perfect" sunset and the ship that passed at sea was a nice added bonus.
Jura is Islay's closest neighbouring island and much like Islay, Jura is a wonderful island and a must to visit for at least a day when you're staying on Islay. This morning we headed with the early ferry to Jura and spent most of the day in Craighouse and at the Corran Sands near the airstrip. The weather was perfect, the sky was blue and these were the right ingredients for a magnificent day. Unfortunately the Jura House Gardens are still closed, ever since a new owner bought the estate, but there is enough to see and do to make your daytrip to Jura worth while. Have a look at the video below, taken from the north side of The Corran Sands overlooking the Small Isles Bay and the Paps of Jura. If the weather holds we will be heading for Colonsay tomorrow.