Top of the Island Surprises

I was a little disappointed to open my curtain and see a grey and dull day as it would have been lovely to see at least some blue sky to start the day and it got worse too, because as I was eating my breakfast it started to rain. It wasn't heavy and would be a nuisance if it stuck around, but then it stopped and that was it for the day.

The plan was to visit the most northerly point of the island which is about 40 minutes drive from where I'm staying. The Butt of Lewis hosts a brick lighthouse built in 1862 and according to the Guinness Book of Records this is the windiest spot in the UK. The lighthouse keepers were sent packing in 1998, presumably by the winds of change.

It was a pleasant drive with a single track road just for the last bit, which leads me to comment of how good the roads are generally here. Whist on Lewis I can't recall seeing a single pothole and there are no speed cameras either., with speed limits through the settlements a pleasant 40mph which is very civilised Generally, there's not an awful lot of traffic here and hat make driving a rather relaxing affair. An added bonus is that away from Stornoway, the street lights are turned off late at night which reduces light pollution and saves money and is something I believe should be standard practice across the UK. Anyway, back to the Butt of the island.

I spent ages here and loved it. Firstly and given its reputation, there was only a light breeze, being bright and almost sunny. Now add to that some spectacular cliffs, beautifully clear water with white foaming waves as they crashed against the base of those massive structures and you really do have something worth coming to see. Upon arrival I had a wander to check out what there was to attract my attention but I was soon itching to get my camera. Where do you start though - the lighthouse itself, the cliffs, the birds flying around and those nesting on the cliffs or the small flowers clinging to the rocks on the cliff edge? Answer: all of them of course and that is why I spend ages here.

I haven't yet had chance to review what I took so they may be hopeless. I'm optimistic for the small Sea Thrift cliff edge flowers and some nesting birds which I am pretty sure were Great Cormorants. My photos of those are unlikely to make the grade however, because bird photography is about as far away from what I do as you can get, though that's not as far away as dogs and cats it has to be said. I got completely lost in the moment here and have no idea where the time went but I did get chance to capture photos for you to see here.

I dread to think what this place would be like on a mid-winter stormy day given that to the west the next stop is Canada and to the north it's vaguely the Faroe Islands then the Arctic pack ice then the North Pole. The thought is enough to curl the hairs on your sporran.Read more