Wednesday, April 15, 2009

ARISAIG

It's been way too long between posts here on the Wee Scottish Blog so we must apologise!! Of course, when such a space occurs things have always changed. So it is that Evan has moved from Glasgow to the tiny village of Arisaig, close to the most westerly point of Scotland (and the UK) in the seach for work back in the tourism industry. His new home? The Arisaig Hotel.
Of course, the weather has changed a little over the past couple of months as well (couldn't have happened sooner!!) as is evident in some of the pics in this instalment. Enjoy!

The tiny (tiny) village of Arisaig. Situated on the "Road to the Isles" about 3.5 hrs drive from Glasgow. The white building in the middle of this pic is the Arisaig Hotel..

You get a real sense of the 'wild' west coast as some of the locals call it. Isolated and at the mercy of the elements..

Still, the scenery is pretty spectacular no matter which way you look..

Arisaig and most of the towns in the area, paticularly Mallaig to the north, have relied heavily on the fishing industry in the past. Unfortunately it's not quite the same today, with many spots having been fished out and quota systems being put into place..

Looking over to the Isle of Eigg and its spectacular cliffs. This and the following shots were taken from the old road to Rhu, an old crofting village about 3.5 miles SW of Arisaig, during Easter when Carly was up for the weekend..

Beautiful. At the time of writing this the sun hasn't stopped shining for over a week, beginning Good Friday and continuing right through to the next weekend. Scotland does get warm(ish!)..

Local house..

The cliffs of Eigg with the mountains of (the Isle of) Rum behind - plus white sandy beaches!..

Eigg - with An Sgurr at left. This 1200ft mountain dominates the views from Arisaig. In the middle are the clifs of Eigg with the mountains of Rum in the background right..

West coast Scotland - doing its best tropical impression..

Arisaig, seen from the road to Rhu..

Easter Monday again dawned clear and sunny so we jumped on the local charter boat for a free cruise over to Eigg. This is a new perspective on the cliffs so visible from the mainland..

An Sgurr dominates the southern part of the island, home to about 90 people. Eigg is unique because the local people actually own the island, having bought it in 1997 in partnership with the Highland Council and the Scottish Wildlife Trust..

Amazing landscapes in this part of the world..

An Sgurr, looking very similar to the mountain in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind?!"..

Eigg harbour at Galmisdale..

Looking SW from the harbour towards open ocean..

After the cruise, back on the mainland we took a stroll around Arisaig village, eventually ending up at the centuries old cemetery which looks down on the town below..


So, that's Arisaig! Stay tuned for more adventures from this part of the world - hopefully sooner rather than later!!