Looking back through my photos, I've come across some of a holiday I took with my friend, Elizabeth, the summer before I met Colin.
We went to stay on Davaar Island off Campletown on the Kintyre Peninsula, in Scotland.
We had a week in Otter Cottage, one of two lighthouse keeper's cottages on the island. At the time the island was uninhabited except for the couple who lived in the keeper's house and were responsible for maintaining the light and the two cottages.
It was a wonderful place to get away from it all. The only access was by foot across the Dhorlin, a narrow shingle causeway exposed at low tide. This meant that the whole week was governed by the tides and we had to allow about 30 minutes for the walk each way across to the mainland.
I had been a little concerned that this restriction might be a hindrance on holiday but if the tides were not favourable then we explored the island and when we could take advantage of a more favourable tide, we enjoyed the walk.
A scramble round the island's shoreline brought us to a cave which has a cave painting, done in secret by an artist from the mainland, of Christ on the cross.
The lighthouse came in useful when the electricity went off: we had a much appreciated flash of light every six seconds...
This is a view of the cottage from the top of the light..
I walked across the Dhorlin late one night to get something I needed from my car on the mainland. It was dusk and I spent some time watching otters playing by the shore, almost forgetting the tide times.
It was going dark when I reached the island and the tide was already coming in at a fast rate. The following winter we heard on the news that Len, the lighthouse 'keeper' had not been so fortunate. He must have been taken ill on the journey and didn't make it to the mainland. His body was washed ashore on Arran later in the winter.
A very sad reminder of the power of the sea.
I wnet back to the island the following year, but not to stay. By then I had met Colin... and the rest is history!! We have been to the West coast of Scotland together once, because it's an area we both love. Pity it doesn't have quite the same weather as Braye-sous-Faye...
2 comments:
Sad about the lighthouse keeper, and a reminder that wild places still exist - which we must be grateful for, even though those who live there or pass through sometimes pay the price.
It's the extremes of daylight that put us off Scotland. It was the only place in Britain we could afford, and we couldn't work out how we would make a living there...so here we are in France.
Places like this are so beautiful. The peace and tranquility are so far removed from how we all normally live, even in rural France. As you say, it's a shame about the weather.
Or maybe not - if the climate was warmer there may well be more building and tourism, spoiling the place.
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