These images show a tiny islet in Loch Mhiabhaig, on the island of Harris in the Western Isles. On the islet are the traces of several stone-lined rectangular ‘kelp pits’. In the shore industry of kelp burning, the long fronds of the seaweed kelp* were harvested and processed for soda ash. This was needed in [...]
Archive for the ‘Islands’ Category
Kelp burning Leave a comment
Orkney and the Himalayas in Dorset Leave a comment
Currently looking over my photos of the stunning Thuli Bheri river in Nepal. I’m doing a talk on our 2010 white water expedition tomorrow night, at the invitation of Isle of Portland Canoe Club. Heather is also talking, on the subject of our extended trip to the Orkney Isles in 2009. All good. [...]
Bostadh Iron Age Village Leave a comment
In 1992, dunes on the island of Bernera eroded to reveal traces of an Iron Age village, beneath later Viking remains. At least five ‘jelly baby’ houses were excavated, offering insights to life on the Atlantic fringes during the Late Scottish Iron Age (this was basically the period when England’s Iron Age had ended, due to occupation [...]
Seanna Chnoc 2 comments
I should probably take a few minutes to straighten the horizon in the pic above, but life’s too short and I’m too lazy. Anyway, it shows the distinctive islet of Seanna Chnoc (‘old hill’), dominating the horizon offshore of the island of Bernera. It’s not an ugly place. We spent our last day in the Western [...]
Machir Bay 1 comment
Machir Bay, Isle of Islay. We surfed until after sunset, with the entire beach to ourselves. We are off on the road again; we’ve been back at work for literally weeks, it must surely be time for another holiday. This coming week, we’ll be exploring the Yorkshire coast, aided by sea kayak, surfboard and walking boot. [...]
Le Hanois Lighthouse 1 comment
Le Hanois rocks are the westernmost point of the Channel Islands. The fine rock lighthouse is reached by following a chain of rocks and reefs out from the south-west tip of the island of Guernsey.
Tout Quarry 3 comments
Tout Quarry is one of numerous similar quarried out wastelands, high above the cliffs of the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It has however been utilised as a ‘Sculpture Park’. We visited, one recent evening. The place is a mess. It’s location is barely signposted, and finding it requires a leap of faith by exploring behind an [...]
Bunabhainneader Whaling Station Leave a comment
These industrial remains are on the Atlantic coast of the island of Harris, in the Western Isles. This is the site of Bunabhainneader Whaling Station. This was a Norwegian/ British venture, hunting whales in waters north of Shetland. The catches commonly included humpback, sperm, blue and bottlenose whales. The chimney is the only one surviving of three formerly used [...]
Casquets Leave a comment
An island too far … we had crossed 26+ miles from Sark to the island of Alderney, negotiating some epic tidal flows en route. Another eight miles out from Alderney were the Casquets Rocks, with their lighthouse guarding the southern approaches to the Dover Strait. Reaching the lighthouse on these rocks would involve crossing some of the strongest [...]
Tractors of Sark Leave a comment
The stunningly beautiful Channel Island of Sark is famous for two things; for being an exceedingly dodgy tax haven* and for cars being banned. Whilst the latter situation seemingly implies some kind of ruritanian idyll, the reality is slightly less romantic. As cars aren’t allowed, the residents instead all own big noisy smelly tractors and use them [...]
Austrians in the Western Isles 1 comment
A pair of rather hardy Austrians setting out for a paddle to the island of Taransay* in the Western Isles. I paddled across to the island just after them, spent a while sitting miserably in the rain, and quickly came back. That afternoon was so wet that I had to work in the tent with [...]
Caverns measureless to Man Leave a comment
This cave (of which you only see the entrance) is on the east coast of the Channel Island of Sark. A couple of friends are shown entering the cave in these images, but I actually arrived here about 20 minutes before them and entered it alone. Far back in the cave, where light began to fade, [...]
Islay north coast 3 comments
We paddled from Loch Gruinart to Port Askaig on the island of Islay, on a rather grey and damp day; so the photos are a bit unprepossessing. Having a damp camera didn’t help. Which is a shame, because this turned out to be perhaps the most complex section of UK coast we’ve seen. The shores are crammed [...]
Mind the Gap 1 comment
Paddling around the island of Sark, last year.
Les Etacs Leave a comment
A visit to Les Etacs, a gannet colony off the Channel Island of Alderney, in 2010. Thousands of gannets, our largest sea bird, with a two metre wing span. Swirling, diving and roosting. It didn’t smell too good.
Alderney crossing Leave a comment
Claire and Heather finally closing on the Channel Island of Alderney, towards the end of a long (26+ mile) open crossing from the island of Sark. A big swell and very powerful tides had slowed us and pushed us off course, but we really didn’t care. Perhaps this image will suggest why…
Tràigh na Beirigh Leave a comment
Returning to the campsite at Tràigh na Beirigh near Valtos on the Isle of Lewis, after a morning spent exploring the local isles and coast. After getting some work done, in the evening we decided to view the beach from above… All good.
Luskentyre 1 comment
The sands of Luskentyre, Harris, Western Isles. Enough said.
Ardnave Island 2 comments
Alone at dusk on Ardnave Island, off the north-west corner of Islay. The ruined building is an old church, but the chimney is a much later edition, for processing kelp. A quiet spot, with only the porpoising seals disturbing the silence. I returned to Islay in darkness and managed to precisely locate the lochside spot where I’d launched [...]
Size Matters 2 comments
Regular visitors to this blog will notice that everything has just got a whole lot bigger. I changed the blog’s template as I’ve been frustrated for years by the limitations of the last one; basically, each photo needed individually fiddling with to fit onto a blog page, and then it would be reduced to an [...]
