23rd May 2024

Not a nice night, the wind blew, there were bangs and cracks throughout the night. The weather guess for today is also rain. So we decided to keep the sightseeing to a built-up area, hence we headed over to Stornoway, a thirty minute drive to a free carpark down on the docks near the ferry terminal. The drive across the island was on a straight road, but the land was very barren and inhospitable on either side of the road.

We found the carpark, and as luck would have it, it was in the area of Stornoway with shops and restaurants. Not many though.

The car park was pretty full, there seemed to be a number of vehicles driving around. Eventually they settled on the charging bays and ICEd them.  We had no such problem.

A meander around the town, eyeing up the restaurants, while we homed in on the bookshops and charity shops. Rosemary came away with a jacket in the hope she will be warmer tomorrow. Yes, she will, it will be 4 degrees warmer tomorrow.

We also visited a newsagent, where I took a photograph of the newsstand. The Tories had announced a general election, some not very sympathetic headlines, such as ‘Drown & Out‘ and ‘Gone on the Fourth of July‘

Took some snaps of the art pieces on the quay celebrating the herring girls. We have Herring Girls too in Great Yarmouth on the East coast of England.

After the meandering, we homed in on a restaurant for lunch.  The first, a 4.6 rated one, we rejected, as it looked too pretentious and austere, choosing the 4.7 called Stornoway Distillers @ The Fank. We had spied it already. Yes, this restaurant also does gin.  Unpretentious because you could just eat a sandwich. Both of us started with soup of the day, very good, filling and thick.  R for her main had the Ember Roasted Beetroot with Whipped Goats Cheese, Scottish Raspberry, Hot Honey. I was a little more extravagant and ate North Uist Half Shell Scallops with Seaweed Butter, Dill Oil, Kelp Vinegar, Samphire. Both of us were v happy with our yummy food. Of course, it would be rude not to end with a pud, so I had a chocolate brownie, while R had a rhubarb and custard blondie which she voted the best ever.

R had a glass of white, while I had a Scottish craft ale stout from the Black Isle. Yes, its origins were a long way from Stornoway. Oh and R had a G&T with the cafe’s new gin enterprise, started just this month. Called Landfall gin, first bottles went on sale on the 14^th May.  She wasn’t that keen, so we did not come away with a bottle. I quite liked the taste, it lingered for a while, and when you breathed out through your nose there was a definite spicy scent.

Weather still rubbish, so we headed to go to Tesco in the van to buy food. Then we went to see the Iolaire Memorial, a monument to men who died in a shipwreck repatriating those who had fought in the The Great War.  More than 250 died, 78 survived due to the determination of one man who swam to shore with a rope, see https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/first-world-war/the-iolaire-disaster-1919. The memorial had been opened by the then Prince Charles. R had very recently read about it in a book by Peter May, part of the Blackhouse trilogy.

Walking back it was wet, cold and icy, so we decided to drive straight back to the campsite.  We are sitting in the van now, snug with the electric fan heater on, and glasses in our hands. Rain has now stopped, and the wind may be getting less. Tomorrow will be warmer.

Track