The ferry arrives from Luing

Setting off on our jaunt today was the easy part. Long queues of traffic were winding down the hilly approach to the port of Oban through which we had to drive to get to the other side and head south down the coast. In town despite easily finding a parking space, there seemed to be large numbers of other tourists milling about, and the usually tranquil streets seemed bustling, noisy and smelling of car fumes, all of which we had been contributing to.

After errands were achieved, we finally started the steep climb out of town and within minutes were back in the open country heading south, either driving down or up, between passages alongside various sea lochs. Our destination was going to be either the islands of Easdale or Seil, and in the end the latter won, when I saw the distant view of Easdale, a rather derelict-looking old slate quarrying site. I guessed Seil would be more satisfying.

We turned round and took a fork in the road and set off down another single track road. We quickly came across another rather touristy site, with coaches and their occupants spilled out beside the 'bridge over the Atlantic', as the hump-backed bridge between the mainland and the island of Seil is called. We didn't stop and drove on a few more miles to the end of the island, where the ferry to Luing can be found.

This is the ferry, as it is arriving to disgorge the few vehicles it can take. It is just preparing to turn around through 180 degrees to offload their vehicles Crossing every thirty minutes it provides a lifeline to the island on the other side and I was surprised at how busy it was. There was a tractor with a long trailer of hay, which took up the whole boat, post office vans, a large flat-bed lorry, local cars and tourists.

I sat watching the tiny harbour, with the ferry criss-crossing and the tidal surge coming in from the sea all around. Fishermen in small boats arrived, yachts sailed or motored between the islands, cormorants flew past in large numbers, as did swallows but there were few gulls to squawk as one expects in a place like this. Helena decided to go over to Luing on the ferry for a couple of hours of exploring, which I didn't fancy today. I was very happy, with my camera, sitting on the rocks, listening to the water with occasional waves lapping on the rocky shoreline, whilst a few people arrived to look across the waters while waiting for the boat.

A young Spanish couple with a tiny baby approached me for advice about whether Luing was worth a visit. I was very honest and told them I knew very little other than hearsay, but we had a good chat, as one does when standing beside the Atlantic ocean with time on one's hands.

The couple sitting on the slate beach were not waiting for the boat; they were killing time in a most enjoyable way, with thermos, newspapers, binoculars and a rock to sit on. They were there when we arrived and when we left. All that changed was that the tide reached up to where they were sitting, and from this I deduced they had done this many times before and knew how to keep their feet dry.

Before going straight home, we had to got to a tea-party for Stevie, the parytner of M., Helena's one sister who lives locally in Benderloch. A huge gathering of sisters, cousins and all their many children went off very well with much cake being consumed. Tanya, their sister who lives in New Zealand at present, had asked for a family picture to commemorate the occasion, as gatherings like this are rare and usually always comprise a different group of people every time, depending on who is in the country at any one time. I managed to take a suitable picture, but with Helena's camera, as I don't have a wide enough lens, yet.

I like this picture as instead of the big wide panoramic landscapes which I've been blipping whilst staying here, this scene shows a small scale and classic local sea setting, known to everyone and a vital part of life in this rather wild locale.