Raasay

[Nearly Sane]

Interesting article on the island of Raasay from an Australian perspective


http://insidestory.org.au/an-island-at-the-centre-of-the-world

[john]

As a younger (much) man I used to have about a weeks holiday in Glencoe every year to go climbing with friends. That and a couple of weekend visits to Murrayfield was all I knew of Scotland.

As I grew older and had more time and disposable income I took to touring the West Coast of Scotland and the Isles, staying in tents, B & B 's and hotels, as finances dictated. The incredible beauty kept me coming back year after year. Whilst there I met visitors from all over the world who had come to see the spectacular scenery and only very rarely an Englishman.

Yet surprisingly amongst my circle of friends only one or two have ever been further north than Blackpool or maybe the Lake District. They prefer instead to sit on crowded beaches in the Mediterranean, fools.

If you haven't been yet to The Isles and the West Coast of Scotland do yourself a favour and go to one of the most beautiful places anywhere in the world.

PS. the West Coast of Ireland is pretty good too.

[Anchorman]

I'd echo that! Apart from the many stays at Iona, my first -and happiest - Western Isles experience was a two month walking tour when a friend who was recovering from cancer and I hiked and camped from Skye to Mull in a fantastic, midgie filled time in 1980. Even the Sabbath on Lewis was an experience! Some of the scenery defies adequate description, the wildlife is simply stunning, and the whole West Coast is a revelation to any who have never yet experienced it.

[Nearly Sane]

But be prepared for rain and midges!!!

More seriously i remember a walk in the perpetual dusk on Islay in June, the walk of the wedding party on Lismore to accompany the bride and groom to the rowing boat to shore, the welcoming on the New Year at the stones at Calanais amongst my most treasured memories.

[Anchorman]

But be prepared for rain and midges!!!

More seriously i remember a walk in the perpetual dusk on Islay in June, the walk of the wedding party on Lismore to accompany the bride and groom to the rowing boat to shore, the welcoming on the New Year at the stones at Calanais amongst my most treasured memories.

-
Calanais is a very special place - without the touristy stuff of Stonehenge.
Sunrise in a world of silence broken only by the sound of a gull and a peewit in the background.

[Nearly Sane]

-
Calanais is a very special place - without the touristy stuff of Stonehenge.
Sunrise in a world of silence broken only by the sound of a gull and a peewit in the background.

i spent a lot of time there my ex's mother was from Lewis and retired there to the village at Calanais

[Anchorman]

As posted above, the Western Islse have a special magic for me, NS. The last time I was on Lewis was when I visited a friend in Bernaray - and the hospitality was superb (especially as, at that time, I managed to avoid a Stornaway Sabbath)

[Nearly Sane]

My ex's mother had a lot of family on the island. I remember one Christmas visting one cousin one day and his brother the next. The main difference being that the second one had had the cuirm. So the first day we took a bottle of whisky and that had the cork thrown into the fire. That happened to the cousins spare bottle top.

The second we got given a decent nip of good whisky, but just the one. And the cousin announced to ex's mother 'Kathy, I love you but you are  going to burning in hell for eternity'

[Anchorman]

.....And then there's Mull. I've been there many times - usually as a stopover to Iona, but it's an amazing place as well, with the clachans and the crofts at the foot of Ben Mohr - and there's a hide not far from Bonessan where you can get really close to a sea eagle nest - so close, in fact, that even I could see a bit of it! And it's given me an excuse to post this from the Tannies.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT93jBTMhqM

[Anchorman]

My ex's mother had a lot of family on the island. I remember one Christmas visting one cousin one day and his brother the next. The main difference being that the second one had had the cuirm. So the first day we took a bottle of whisky and that had the cork thrown into the fire. That happened to the cousins spare bottle top. The second we got given a decent nip of good whisky, but just the one. And the cousin announced to ex's mother 'Kathy, I love you but you are  going to burning in hell for eternity'

- Ah, yes...... That walking tour we took back in the day? We were camping outside Stornaway on the Sabbath when we made a mistake - we went to Church! We were both CofS (Mark was actually my minister's son), and we quite naturally went to worship..... We chose the wrong church..... The service was Gaelic - a language then unknown to us....and it lasted over two hours, one hour of which was a sermon. Talk about numb bum syndrome! Anyway, as we left the building, discovering that our buttocks had not fallen off in the process, the farmer whose field we camped in approached us - he was a Free Kirk elder. He asked if we'd like to join him for a dram. This was the Sabbath. NS will know that everything shut down on a Lewis Sabbath in 1980. However, we accepted the gracious invitation. The farmer and his wife sat down with us to eat the meal - prepared and cooked the previous night - and then he passed a bottle containing an amber liquid. This was whisky - home made whisky - in effect, moonshine. It was, I grant you, smooth and very peaty. One medium sized glass - honest. That was Sunday afternoon. We were still feeling like the inside of a byre on the Tuesday morning. This partly explains the Lewis Sabbath.

[Nearly Sane]

Spent some time on Mull at Touristy, sorry Doris Day, sorry Torosay Castle

[Anchorman]

Some good malts on Mull - obviously.....

[Nearly Sane]

The mother lode for malts is Islay. I remember an analysis that showed that Islay's GDP was higher than any nation by some distance, and that from an industry that employed about 200 people directly.

[Anchorman]

Ah......but what a product!

[Nearly Sane]

The thing I love about Islay whiskys is the spread on a tiny island

[Anchorman]

One of my greatest achievements in life (for get degrees, eldership, etc) was winning a raffle....ticket price £1. Prize? A 35 year old Lagavulin. The taste lasted long in the memory. I nearly had a heart attack when I found out the actual price of the bottle - worth it, though.