A Blustery Day

Yesterday's weather very much followed the forecast on that excellent site magicseaweed, with the heaviest rain coming through during the morning followed by increasing wind speeds until, by six in the evening, we were experiencing gusts up to Force 7 from the southwest. As magicseaweed clearly predicted, the worst of the weather passed to the northwest of us, with severe gales in the Outer Hebrides which disrupted ferry sailings.

What we hadn't expected were the frequent but sudden breaks in the cloud which gave us a fine, blustery afternoon with spells of brilliant sunshine....

....which moved quickly across the hills. Here, the sun catches the houses in Pier Road. The Coastguard hut is to their right, and Ben Hiant behind.

Looking across the Sound to the Glengorm telecommunications masts, the water took on wonderful shades of blue and green.

This is the fish farm boat the Ronja Pioneer steaming up the Sound on her way to Mallaig shortly after seven pm, by which time the sun had left the water and the wind was at its fiercest.

She was followed by the Minerva, a cruise ship of some 12,000 gross tonnes built in Russia in 1989 as a research ship before being sold to Swan Hellenic. She had spent the day in Tobermory Bay, presumably to steady her passengers before they re-embarked for a bouncy ride to Kirkwall.

The Beach

The Diary thinks West Ardnamurchan is like a beach, a very old beach, washed by the tides. Sometimes high water brings new people, like flotsam, and deposits them along the shore; at others, the ebb washes them away. The tides run higher in the summer, bringing visitors who stay for a few days or weeks, then leave; and they run slower in the winter, so that a stranger can almost be a curiosity. And then there are those whom the tides never touch, who have lived here all their lives.

Julie Allcock, who took these photos, and her partner Chris Wilkinson, have just been deposited on our shore, having bought Far View Cottage. They must have come on a strong spring tide, because they first saw Kilchoan in April of this year, when they stayed in Trevor Potts' campsite and at the Kilchoan House Hotel, and made the brave decision to buy the house. As Julie says, "We fell in love with Kilchoan. People were so friendly and we loved the peace and ruggedness - quite different from the lovely area where we lived near Stroud, on the fringe of the English Cotswolds. We had only lived there for a couple of years. The people were warm and welcoming, and we made lots of wonderful friends, but we needed a permanent base and hadn't decided exactly where it would be."

Julie and Chris have two dogs - Maggie, a springer, and Jenny, a black lab (pictured at Sanna). They love walking, watching wildlife, and gardening; and they're both avid readers. Chris was born in Old Trafford while Julie originates from Malvern, Worcestershire.

Julie adds, "Everyone has made us so welcome and we remain confident we have made the right move. Sometimes you must just follow your destiny, and we truly feel we were meant to be here as everything fell into place so beautifully."

Welcome to the beach.

Gale Warning

The forecast for the next 24 hours doesn't make happy reading. Heavy rain is expected as the day progresses, with winds southeast veering southwest force 6 to gale 8, possibly severe gale 9 later this evening.

A number of local small boats have been brought ashore and others repositioned in Kilchoan Bay, which faces southwest and is therefore exposed to southwesterly gales.

Photo of Ben Hiant and the entrance to Kilchoan Bay taken at 8am this morning.

Hebridean Princess at Anchor

From Trevor Potts

I took this picture of the Hebridean Princess when she anchored off the campsite a few nights ago. I am sure the Queen will be very disappointed that her holiday is over and she was not on board to enjoy a fine sunset view of Ardnamurchan.

She (the ship, not the Queen) used to be a CalMac car ferry in an earlier life and was converted to a luxury cruise ship plying the west coast of Scotland. She often anchors in the vicinity, either in Bloody Bay off Mull or, if sheltering from a northerly wind, at the foot of Ben Hiant, about 5 km from Ormsaigbeg, where she anchored in beautiful calm weather on Sunday night.

It is difficult to think of anything that could improve the wonderful view across to Mull from Ormsaigbeg but I think the Hebridean Princess probably did. Maybe next time the Queen charters her the captain will bring her here to enjoy and enhance our view.

Trevor runs the acclaimed Ardnamurchan Study Centre & Campsite in Ormsaigbeg. He leads regular local walks, including 'Fossil Hunts', 'Bugs & Beasties', and 'Crabs, Shrimps & Shells'.

Seasonal Colours

The West Ardnamurchan countryside is gearing itself up for what is, in the Diary's view, one of the most spectacular seasons of the year.

The autumn, from mid-August to October, is a time of crystal air, sudden dark clouds bearing heavy showers which clear quickly to give breaks of brilliant sunshine, often accompanied by spectacular rainbows.

In a few weeks' time the heather will be in full flower. There's plenty of it out already, so it should be a vintage year - this shot was taken of the hillside behind Craigard, in Ormsaigbeg. Soon the braes will be clothed in purple. Probably the best place to see this breathtaking display is along Ardnamurchan's north shore, along the path to the east of Ockle.

It also looks like a good year for the rowan's bright berries. We had the same sort of heavy fruiting last year, and it was followed by a cold, dry and sunny winter, so we're hoping for the same again. This year's successful nesting season has produced hundreds of small birds which will benefit from the tree's generosity.

The dog rose, Rosa canina, is another plant that has done well this year, leaving heavy crops of hips along the hedgerows.

In contrast, it hasn't been a good summer for butterflies but, with the recent sunny weather, the peacocks are suddenly out in force, enjoying the nectar offered by a good flowering of buddleia and the smaller, more leggy thistle, or sunning themselves on the basalt outcrops.