Today the sea was rougher than previous days. Our Great Northern Diver as nowhere to be seen. Rain was forecast for late afternoon, so we set off for a morning and early afternoon walk into the interior, where we were surrounded by peaks, some of which were over 300 meters high. The Irish lad, staying at the campsite said he had seen Eagle flying there. This was supposed to be an area for Eagles. We walked into the hills but saw no Eagles. Instead, I photographed a bird at the other end of the size scale, a Eurasian Wren (Hebridean), building a nest in the bank.
Lapwings appeared to follow us around squawking.
After enough walking we turned around and headed back to home, to watch the waves crash into the rocks out to sea. Not much wind, but plenty of surf.
Well, we missed the Aurora Borealis last night. We woke up se to masses of tweets and facebook postings of pictures of the Aurora from around the world, including some from our kind neighbours at home. This evening, we stayed up late, and set the alarm for midnight, but saw no sign of the Aurora. Up North in the Summer, it never gets properly dark, and is not a good place for observing the stars and the Aurora Borealis. A different matter in the winter when it is dark for most of the day.
Today we headed to the island of Vatersay, across the Causeway on the Southern side of Barra. The causeway caused R great concern. She was sure it would be underwater, salty and rust the car. She was surprised to see such a well-built high crossing. There are many of these causeways connecting the smaller islands together to the larger islands.
The roads on Vatersay were even narrower than the single track with passing spaces ones in Barra!
We headed to Bagh A’Deas, and parked near some houses. As we left the van, we could hear a Corncrake calling. This one did not know the rules about remaining hidden, there it was in the long grass moving around. We then walked across the Machair to the beaches. The Machair was incredibly beautiful, short grass which was covered in flowers. The flowers varied depending on where you were. Here it was daisy. Lots of cows and their calves were grazing on the daisy covered grasslands. The beach was yet again devoid of shells, other than small limpets. Good views of Sandray, and various other smaller islands.
On the walk back to the car we were accompanied by a flock of Lapwings, they did not like our presence and herded us across the Machair. Maybe they were protecting their nesting area, but to be accompanied for near 800 meters seemed excessive.
Back to the center of the island we stopped at the community café for a coffee, and cheesy chips. Here we walked down to Traigh a Bhaigh Beach and the Traigh Shiar Beach. Didn’t actually walk down to the latter, but viewed it from the side. There was a man rebuilding the wooden steps down to the beach.
Next stop was the Catalina Memorial, where the wreckage of a Catalina plane still lies, from its crash in 1944, leaving 3 dead but, thankfully, several survivors.
Final stop was on a beach looking towards Castlebay. Here there were two groups of people on the beach. One group were swimming in the sea. It was an idyllic spot, no wind and very warm. Yes we could strip off to our t-shirts.
We did not stop at the next view, as suggested by a photographer’s book I had bought. It was the gable end of a ruined house. We deemed it not very exciting.
Back on Barra, headed to the Co-op and bought supper and a bottle of gin from the distillery. The gin had a very distinctive flavour. Not sure whether we can grow into the taste. This set a precedent, and we later bought a bottle of Gin at any likely distillery on the islands.
Back at the campsite, the Great Northern Diver was there again. Diving down. It is amazing how fast it travels underwater.
Another camper on site has seen a Golden Eagle flying near a hill where we will be walking tomorrow.
In the evening, after such a lovely day, there were clouds, so limited chance to see the Northern lights. It did clear up a bit, but no sign at 11. 30. Set alarm for another hour, and still nothing at 12.30
Our first outing in Morrison this year, the delayed start was caused by our trip to New Zealand. The weather looked good for a few days, so we booked a space in the campsite at Southwold in Suffolk for three days from the Tuesday. We have packing the van and getting away down to a fine art. No preparation until the day of departure and we are normally away by 10. Today was no exception.
We arrived and parked in the campsite, the same pitch 330 as last year. We soon headed out on foot along the harbour, stopping at the Harbour Inn for some liquid refreshments.
Watched a chap cutting the verges using a remotely operated large machine. Looked very exciting, even better than a ride-on.
Refreshed we headed across the fields, then the golf course to Southwold town where we looked for Fat Face to buy me a new top. It had gone, the shop had been demolished, though there was a sign pointing us to the temporary location. Phew. Fat Face purchased, it was time for more liquid refreshments at the Sole Bay Inn, and then back to the campsite along the sand dunes.
Wednesday was another bright and Sunny day, so we though about catching the foot ferry to Walberswick. We had not thought this one through, but we did land on our feet. The notice at the ferry said it was operative only at weekends, though a chalked notice showed that the previous day (Tuesday) it had run. We lurked and sure enough a man arrived on the far bank and rowed across for us, updating the notice board to say it was open today.
At Walberswick we happened to bump into some Kingswood villagers in the car park, Ian and Judith who were having a week in the area birdwatching. Exchange of birding notes. Went down to the beach which both of us remember, from 35 years ago, as being sandy. It isn’t now, with patches of sand & shingle. Lunch at the Bell Inn, very nice, and then we continued our walk along bridleways, (where Rosemary found an “exciting” plant) and across the River Blyth, returning back to the campsite.
Thursday was Adnams Brewery Tour Day. I was booked in, on my own, for a tour and beer tasting. A small group of around 12 people were shown around. The highlight at the end was a beer tasting where we sampled 6-8 beers. Well worth the trip. Adnams brewery is now pretty high tech, with the most energy-efficient brewery in the UK, all German technology. We then stocked up on some beers at the shop, two suitable mugs to use with our new (to us) chrome-plated New Zealand teapot, and headed for lunch at the Sail Loft.
Friday was our last day, packed up, again this is so easy in Morrison, and so we were soon away after breakfast. We headed to the RSPB at Minsmere, where we walked around the main hides overlooking the scrapes, and were impressed by the badger fencing. The Sandmartins put on a great display as they gathered insects and returned to the cliff to feed their young. On the way back from the scrapes we encountered a Tawny owl perched in a tree, and an adder wandering across the woodland floor.
