Hey Guys,
So a post is long overdue and I thought I would share with you what I have been doing while I was away.
For the past month I have been living on an Island up in the North West of Scotland named Tanera Mor with no internet and no mobile phone signal, I have been going here for the past 18 years give or take a few and every time I see this place I feel an inexplicable sense of freedom, which is a bit bizarre given that once the boat leaves you are pretty stuck (not really, a boat is but a phone call away). But there is something enchanting about the heather covered hills and the rocky landscape that makes even the occasional rainy day unspeakably beautiful.
But Millie, I hear you ask, What do you do every day. Well esteemed reader I work in the Island's little café where baking and coffee making are the order of the day. I have always loved working there, as the people that come and visit the Island can be really interesting and fun to talk to. Last week I met a woman that had travelled around the world With nothing more than a guitar and a back-pack. She used her guitar to busk her way through America and even managed to get a job on a cruise ship to Tokyo as an entertainer/waitress, when she returned home she realised that she had spent so much time learning about the rest of the world that she hardly knew anything about her own country. And that made me think about how negatively I think about the UK, many people consider it to be this dull and cramped place where it is either raining or pouring when in fact we have so many brilliant and beautiful places available to us.
Unfortunately my adventures here end tomorrow, and I will be returning to the world of shops and reliable internet. But I shall forever be an Islander and I eagerly await my next trip up.
So a post is long overdue and I thought I would share with you what I have been doing while I was away.
For the past month I have been living on an Island up in the North West of Scotland named Tanera Mor with no internet and no mobile phone signal, I have been going here for the past 18 years give or take a few and every time I see this place I feel an inexplicable sense of freedom, which is a bit bizarre given that once the boat leaves you are pretty stuck (not really, a boat is but a phone call away). But there is something enchanting about the heather covered hills and the rocky landscape that makes even the occasional rainy day unspeakably beautiful.
But Millie, I hear you ask, What do you do every day. Well esteemed reader I work in the Island's little café where baking and coffee making are the order of the day. I have always loved working there, as the people that come and visit the Island can be really interesting and fun to talk to. Last week I met a woman that had travelled around the world With nothing more than a guitar and a back-pack. She used her guitar to busk her way through America and even managed to get a job on a cruise ship to Tokyo as an entertainer/waitress, when she returned home she realised that she had spent so much time learning about the rest of the world that she hardly knew anything about her own country. And that made me think about how negatively I think about the UK, many people consider it to be this dull and cramped place where it is either raining or pouring when in fact we have so many brilliant and beautiful places available to us.
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| One of our busiest days |
There are also occasional chances to see amazing wildlife, Tanera is quite popular among the bird community and sometimes, just sometimes, something truly magical happens. Last week we saw a huge pod of dolphins (about 150 dolphins) in our 'back yard', so naturally we went out to see them and instead of seeing them run away as so many animals do whenever humans come nearby, they changed direction and headed straight towards us, and for about an hour we were in fits of childish giggles at the sight of the dolphins playing in our wake, especially the young calves breaking with their mothers. It is a memory I hope never to forget but hopefully it will not be my only experience with them.
On my walk back home yesterday I decided to take a detour up one of Tanera's many hills and was greeted with by far one of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen. It was one a day with very little clouds and even less wind and the entire sea looked like a massive mirror and ironically sat and just wrote for about two hours. I can honestly say it was one of the happiest moments of my life. Simply because in that little window of time, I felt no stress, no anxiety about the future or events of my past and I felt no responsibility or pressure. I was just happy, at least until I realised I forgot to put any suncream on and retreated indoors to nurse my new sun burn.
Unfortunately my adventures here end tomorrow, and I will be returning to the world of shops and reliable internet. But I shall forever be an Islander and I eagerly await my next trip up.
Should anyone want any information about staying in one of the Island's five self-catered holiday lets then go to www.summer-isles.com I whole-heatedly recommend it, even if it is just a day trip from Ullapool or Achilitbuie, it is truly an awe inspiriting place to see.
Hi Millie, enjoyed reading about Tanera Mor, we have visited once a couple of years ago for the day but this year we are staying a week at The Farmhouse so was interested to read about the island, its sounds wonderful, regards Gilly
ReplyDeleteHi Gilly,
DeleteThank you so much. I hope to be working up on Tanera again this year. Maybe we will be able to meet. X