A Glimpse of Lewis

Goodbye Ullapool

Hello Stornoway

Lewis, a land of peat, moor, bog and large puddles. The distant mountains of Harris can just be seen

Callanish Standing Stones

Carloway Broch

Black Houses at Gearrannan
On a rather overcast and chilly morning  Mary and I went to the isle Lewis for the day. We went on a combined ferry and coach trip to see some places of historic interest on Lewis. It was blustery and grey as we sailed out of Ullapool across the North Minch. But the weather didn't deter our enjoyment. I've only ever been  to Lewis once before and never further than its capital, Stornoway. It was a really interesting and enjoyable day. The best bit was perhaps the visit to the black houses at Gearrannan,  facing towards the Atlantic, life here must have been tough - even if the views were good! Harris is noted for its tweed but Lewis also had its share of weaving looms. The one here is a Hattersley loom and the weaver is Roddy who patiently answered our questions and explained how the hands free flying shuttle mechanism worked. As we made our way back to the coach we could smell the smoke from the peat fire. Peat has  a wonderful pungent almost sweet smell as it burns.
This day trip whetted my appetite to return to the Western Isles.

Slowing down

It was the perfect light for slowing down the shutter speed. Overcast with rain in the air. I was undercover under the trees. I couldn't get to the main waterfall it was tucked away around the corner with deep water and a steep slippery gorge  preventing further progress. I balanced the camera on a rock down at the water's edge at the tail-end of the action.  A thin watery shaft of sunlight suddenly filtered through the trees. It was the icing on the cake. I clicked away happily - Niels went back to the car! I know this technique has been done to death and I'm just adding to it. I took loads of shots, deleted lots and narrowed my posting to just these five! 

Downsizing

The trouble with living here is that there are so many enormous views it's easy to only concentrate on the bigger picture. My blog needs to come down to earth at times and concentrate on smaller things. So, here is a  selection of  not big views. Taken yesterday round the house and garden. Subjects often repeated, especially the weeds wild flowers!

Sandwood Bay

We stop and admire the view at Kylescu, on our way to Sandwood Bay.

Ollie and Anna came up the weekend before last. The weather was good and they decided to go climbing on the sea cliffs at Sandwood Bay. This is a staggeringly beautiful remote windswept bit of coast, often empty. The nine mile walk needed to get there and back deters many, but the effort is so worth while. These photos are straight out of the camera. The light and colour (that I'm always banging on about!) was stunning. Clear and sharp.

The climb

and the faffing preparation 

and the tide coming in!

and finally

Anna, bringing up the rear, collecting up bits of gear and carrying the walking boots needed for the walk back down

I can see them both at the top

The triumphant return 

Climbing over, Anna concentrates on her camera. The wind has got up and it's getting late.

I try not to mess about too much with my pictures but the dramatic tone on the camera suits this landscape so well, I couldn't resist..!

I would have posted these earlier, but I've had a bad week with the computer. I've been de-fragmented and re-formatted. I'm not sure that  I'm any quicker and the printer in a show of solidarity with the computer has messed up its print head. Fortunately I registered the printer when we bought it, and a nice lady whom I spoke to today, somewhere in the world, is going to send me another one - I hope.