On Lunga

After our mammoth 60-mile cycle yesterday, it was great to have a full day off the bicycles. Fred had been organised and had booked a boat to take us to Lunga and Staffa. The sun was shining as we cycled from the beachside campsite at Fidden to the mooring at Fionnphort. We whooped as we noticed that the local shop was open for croissant and coffee, which made waiting for the boat a real treat.

With some Norwegian, Croatian and Dutch sightseers, we headed out of the bay. Our first stop was the island of Lunga where we had an hour or so to explore and see the birdlife. The noise was incredible, especially on the sea stack where thousands of guillemots roosted. There were shags, puffins and razorbills in abundance, too. They let us come quite near, although I didn't wish to disturb them. Some photographers were getting just a wee bit too close, which made me cringe.

Fred headed to the top of the island to get away from it all. I wandered around the north and found a group of people who were residing within a ruined settlement for the summer to tag the chicks.

It was soon time to head for Staffa and the weather changed. The skipper warned us that the basalt rocks were slippy when covered with fresh water - that's an understatement! I was wearing my walking boots, but if it wasn't for the railings and non-slip paint on some of the rocks, I would have been head over heels in no time. I was far too scaredy to head into Fingal's Cave - standing at the entrance was fine (it's a steep drop to the water and the hand rail isn't on the water side!) The basalt island and the cave were amazing - they're well worth a visit.

It was both windy and rainy by the time we left the island. The skipper warned us of a soaking if we stayed outside so we huddled into the cabin. All of us, that is, except Fred and a Croatian sailor, who stood at the back of the boat wearing silly grins. They gave us the thumbs up and were duly drenched by the waves while some of the tourists in the cabin filmed them.

Fred and I didn't know that the boat would be stopping at Iona, so that was a welcome surprise. We headed for the tea emporium first (despite Fred dripping) to warm up, then explored the nunnery and abbey. Being in such a historically important place was quite awe-inspiring. It was very dreich, though, so we didn't hang around for long. We headed to the pub to await the ferry and met a priest and his wife from Vancouver Island who were fantastic fun.

Other photos from the day are here.