Going Forth

The Scottish Seabird Centre, in North Berwick, indicates that in the Bass Rock area of the Firth of Forth a family of bottlenose dolphins (above) has discovered a warm-water spot. They have probably come from the Moray Firth area, to the north, where around 130 of them have been counted. Perhaps, a mother has brought her calves to 'holiday' in these waters closer to the capital, while the dolphin below encouraged her young to show a spirited response while remaining nearer Inverness and points east.

Scottish Islands Explorer - likes to see island waters teeming with activity

Hamnavay in 20 minutes

It's now ten days since the Islands Book Trust trip to Hamnavay and Ardveg, to the south of Uig, Isle of Lewis. Marc Calhoun, now back in Seattle, has put together an account and images of the outing to way out settlements. The Lodge (above) looks lost in the landscape, while the old house at Ardveg (below) was the destination for the visitors.

However, in the same village a new house was built in 1934 and it was a special destination for Ina Macdonald (below in the black coat) - for she was born there. Although it is an arduous walk from Hamnavay, she recalled the routes (there is no well-used track now) because after she left school as a pupil she became, for a brief time, the side-school teacher at the Lodge. When asked how long her walk to work took her, she replied - "Well, actually I ran all the way ... in 20 minutes."

Scottish Islands Explorer - relishes the thought of running

Whereabouts?

Here's an archetypal image of a Hebridean seashore residence. I was under the impression that it is a view of  Seaforth Cottage, Rhenigidale, Harris with The Pairc to the right and the fjord-like features of Loch Seaforth ahead, but have been informed that it is not. Can anyone supply me with its whereabouts, please?

Scottish Islands Explorer - always trying to find somewhere

Spotlight on Seaweed

There comes a time and place for all things and the spotlight is becoming focussed on seaweed for a variety of products. There are the Three Fs - food, fertiliser and fuel - and then the all-important medical and cosmetics components. Research has been conducted on aspects of harvesting and its findings are reported in an item from the BBC website. It is based on the Outer Hebrides while the two images shown are of Birsay - above by Five Senses Orkney - and below from the gallery of Living Art.

Scottish Islands Explorer - relishes seaweed as a dish

Hazard from Nowhere

An incident in Shetland yesterday draws attention to the power of words. George Mainland has been operating tours to Bressay and Noss from Lerwick for over 25 years. On Friday 5 July at 13.30 his 36' aluminium tour boat, Alluvion, ran aground on a submerged rock known as Score Head on the north coast of Bressay. The account in Shetland News supplies the full details of how the local lifeboat made one of its shorter rescue missions. Skippers of the Alluvion have negotiated this stretch of water scores of times and the rock itself appears on charts.

Here the meaning of the word 'Alluvion' has a certain irony. It is a legal term referring to the increase in an area of land, usually through the deposit of alluvium or river silt. This changes the size of land, known as 'accession', and usually its value, providing a case of 'nowhere' becoming 'now here'. For a full gallery of images from the same source as the one above, take a tour with an Album from University College London.

Scottish Islands Explorer - tries to negotiate the many hazards of publishing

Bright Clouds at Night

Rousay resident, John Vetterlein, has presented this image of the clouds at night over his island in Orkney. Nocticulent Clouds are visible only in the period straddling Midsummer and a full account of this phenomenon is given in the fascinating Northern Skies. Be transported to the north and then above it.

Scottish Islands Explorer - covers sea, land and cloud features

Unsure, Off-shore

When the Tobermory lifeboat was called out, a member of the crew understandably had her camera at hand. Sam Jones, the owner of Islandscape Photography, took this shot of a military target that was both loose and lost at sea. Other objects found at the same time, and quite recently, are the subject of an item on the BBC's website.

Scottish Islands Explorer - tries to avoid losing copy

Summer Residences

The school-holidays are starting and some pupils are wondering what to do. On the moors of Lewis and Harris there is evidence that young people in earlier times were actively engaged in summer employment, looking after cattle on high ground. Their shelter would have been beehive-shaped dwellings, some of which survive to this day. The North Harris Trust is responsible for many square miles of land with few occupants, but on their website  they record the lifestyles of past times when summer jobs were plentiful as well as unpaid.

Scottish Islands Explorer - pleased to have moved on

Worth a Visit

The Ravenspoint Centre is a hub for a series of concerns - a local shop, a cafe with fabulous views, a hostel with many nearby places to visit, an exhibition centre, a soon-to-be-opened petrol station, the Angus Macleod and Derek Cooper Archives, the offices for the Islands Book Trust and for Scottish Islands Explorer. Its website has been updated recently and so please refresh your acquaintance here.

Scottish Islands Explorer - proud to have its back office here

So Near, So Far

On Friday last I was travelling from Tarbert, Harris, out to see a friend at Hushinish. On the way I came across the former Cliasmol Primary School, permanently closed in 2008. It still looks in a good state of repair. On Saturday I journeyed out to Ardveg, Lewis, and visited the house featured in yesterday's blog. That are comparatively close by sea, but an almighty distance apart by road. This is an indication of how sea routes became replaced by the road system, affecting coastal settlements throughout the islands. Centres of population became outlying and deserted. For some insights and images into Cliasmol go to Neil Tasker's blog.

Scottish Islands Explorer - features worlds apart