After enjoying 19mm of Kilchoan sunshine yesterday, and this morning dawning clear if cloudy, we were up into the hills as soon as we could, climbing along the flanks of Druim na Gearr Leacainn, the ridge that runs along the back of Ormsaigbeg. It's a walk that offers wonderful views across Kilchoan and Kilchoan Bay to the heights of Ben Hiant, and away into the distance into the mouth of Loch Sunart.
There's very little company up there except a few Blackface sheep who roam the area throughout the year. This is what we call their Flock Rock pose, after the film The Lion King in which the lions pose on Pride Rock.
As we sat eating our lunch and watching the view, the mist rolled in across the western flank of the hill, bringing a few spits of rain, but not enough to deter....
....this Red Admiral, who was feeding off the Ling flowers that carpet the hillside. We've seen very few Red Admirals this year, and this one was in beautiful condition, though he took some chasing before he stopped long enough to have his picture taken.
From the Kilchoan end of the ridge we looked straight across the valley which the Sanna road runs through to the site of the new water treatment works. The existing tanks (to the right), which take water from the burn that runs past them, are inadequate now for the village's needs, so the Water Board is taking water from the Millburn, which runs through the main valley, and pumping up to the treatment site.
This is an impressive hole they've dug beside the Millburn, just opposite the Fire Station. One presumes this is the point at which water will be abstracted from the Millburn to be pumped up the hill.
We walked home along the road through the village. As we passed Kilchoan Bay, the
Yeoman Bridge, fully loaded from Glensanda quarry, was coming up the Sound of Mull - she's pictured passing Bloody Bay. In the foreground is the
Iolair, a traditional salmon fishing boat called a coble. There's a site,
here, which tells about coble fishing at Armadale, near Thurso.
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