A windy, windy walk

A decision needed to be made this morning, we are trying to stretch the holiday out but aware we have to start heading home and the weather was starting to change with a promise of high winds everywhere. So we could choose between a small island near here (that is car free) and a walk in the wind or we could drive to Gothenburg (definitely not car free) and see some sights there. We were very unsure but were up early as either way we were moving on so we had time on our side. The day didn’t start off looking too great so as our first choice involved a bit of a ferry trip we thought we would head to the port and make a decision there. We needed to pick up a few supplies if we were to end up walking and so a quick stop at a supermarket was required. It was cold outside but it was a nice warm Willys so we definitely did not rush. I think by the time we got to the port it was pretty clear what we we were going to do so we made our sandwiches, got everything we needed ready and set off to wait for the ferry.
We were a bit early so needed to sit and wait, time for a coffee, but before too long it came into view. The ferry ride was only 5 minutes so we barely had time to get on and take a few photos before we had arrived and it was time to disembark. Where we arrived there are actually 2 islands that make up Gullholmen, one is very small and densely packed with houses, the other is larger and has part of the village but is mostly just wild. We wanted to walk to the far corner of it so set off on the path down the coast, at first checking out all the houses and then the scenery around us, both land and sea. The weather was even improving. I had passed up the opportunities for toilet breaks at the ports and on the boat as they were pay to play but the coffee I had was really kicking in and I was definitely regretting that decision. Especially since I wasn’t sure what facilities there might be to come. I was very happy then to see what looked like a cafe and even happier to see their outdoor toilet. In fact I was relieved in more ways than one. With a spring in my step we were back on the move.
On our map, we had started out on a vag (way) and this turned into a stig (path) and before too much longer it had deteriorated even further and we were seriously clambering over rocks as we made our way around the south of the island. It goes without saying that the views were spectacular, and the wind was really getting blustery but we could see our destination, although it was a little far in the distance and it never seemed to get any closer. We had been following blue and red dots which marked our route but as we got closer these changed to white and these did not seem to be as well maintained. Also, white on coastal rocks is a bit of a rookie mistake. we spent 15 minutes going in circles following spatters of bird poop. Eventually we gave up as tiredness and hunger won out and we found a high rock to sit on and have our now customary lunch of sandwiches, crisps and biscuits. The wind was blowing a gale, howling in off the North Sea with the waves crashing into the coast. It was a completely opposite scene to the calmness on the other side of the island.
After sitting in the wind for long enough to recover, and as long as our hair could stand, we set off on our return journey, which was going to be a slightly different route to start with. There was a very helpful signpost at a crossroads (I use the term loosely, it was basically just a spot where a few pathways through rocks seemed to meet) and it pointed us in the direction we needed to go. It wasn’t too long though before we realised that maybe the signpost was not as helpful as we thought as there were no paint markers we could see. We weren’t going to go back though and just stumbled through the heather in the direction we thought we needed to go. We had been visited by a little sparrow at this point who just seemed to be swooping around us, we think it was trying to tell us we were going the wrong way and was leading us to the right path. It got us safely back on track and then we said thank you Mr Sparrow and he replied, top on the morning to ye, as has was an Irish sparrow. We said our goodbyes, but possibly we should not have nibbled at those little mushrooms we foraged.
Although our total walk today was only about 14kms we were all feeling very sore, a culmination I think of all the exertion of the past few days. So it was a bit of an effort crossing some of the landscape, especially with unreliable maps and intermittent marking so it was a relief to finally make it back to the vag. Then, in a development no one could possibly have foreseen, we popped into the cafe from earlier on to sample their cakes. We have developed a bit of a routine with this, we pick out four, then Tate cuts them all into quarters so we can all sample each of them and then we consider and discuss the qualities of each. You know the sort of thing, ‘ooh this one’s nice’, ´the texture of this is lovely’, ´my god, they’ve caramelised the coconut on this one´, and so on.
Anyway, after all that we still had 3kms to go and it was pretty hard work, as I said, we were all pretty sore but we made it back with time to spare for our return trip and then decided we would stay at the campsite we had been at earlier this week. We have really made the most of this island but sadly tomorrow we have to start the journey home.Read more