May flowers

Bluebells

Early purple orchids

Cliff top 'gardening'

In the middle of a clump of willow were dozens of Water avens.  This one is one which is malformed because of a Gall.

Thrift and lichen

The roots exposed of a Juniper clinging on the cliff face.

Blue skies and blue bells

I don't know why it always surprises me when the Bluebells begin to flower and we find them in these cliff edge 'gardens'!

They grow in the Treshnish woodland too, but out in the fields they are spectacular, blushes of blue across the fresh greens.

The greening

The island is finally beginning to green up!  Relief for Farmer as there is now grass growing ahead of the ewes and lambs in the fields.

Our lambing is nearly over.   There is one Herdwick left to lamb - we cannot believe she hasn't had it by now!

East Cottage has one space in July left from 7th to 14th.  Please get in touch if you would like to book, or you can do so direct on the website.

It is funny to have been seeing photographs of bluebell woods further south in the UK for a few weeks now, as ours are just beginning to flower in the sheltered warm spots of the wood.  The ones that usually turn the Coronation Meadow blue are still only in leaf.

You don't so much walk through the woodland these days as scramble.  Lethal bramble tendrils threaten to trip you up at every step and fallen down trees act as gymnastic jumps - you choose whether to try and clamber over or limbo underneath.

Mallard duck and 3 young ducklings on the Duill lochan.

Lovely to have a pair of Collared doves around the bird feeders earlier in the week. Prasad saw Tree sparrows as well.

This bit of shoreline near Lagganulva is always good for Oystercatchers.  The Sea pinks are JUST beginning to flower. 

This little beach is near Croig, a short walk across grassy fields (no dogs). 

Finding the whisky cave and the zigzag path

The Treshnish Headland walk is Farmer's office, so you may well meet him while you are walking! 

Guests often ask us how to find the 'whisky cave' and it can be quite difficult to describe where the gully is.  Several times over the years, Farmer has left a fishing buoy or a stick at the top of the gully to indicate where to climb down, only to find someone has picked up the buoy and brought it home or thrown the stick for their dog. 

Here are some photographs which might help you find the 'whisky cave', and having done that, then find the zigzag path up towards Crackaig. 

The walk down from beyond the Haunn Cottages is fairly straightforward.  When you get to the shore you keep left along the raised beach.  You will pass Port Haunn and keep on going.   This is round the corner and Port Haunn is out of shot beyond the cliffs in the top of the photograph. 

 

The gully you need to walk down is towards the bottom of this photograph.  The whisky cave is the next shadow. 

Here in a bit more detail - shows the gully, the beach with driftwood and the cave in shadow.  Farmer often mentions looking for the rocks round the edge of the cliff.  I usually say look for a place in the path where the cliff/hill is steep on your left and the gully drops away on your right.  It is usually quite wet and muddy there too. 

The gully again. 

Recent OS maps show the path as going up the side of a very steep burn when actually you need to jump the burn and continue on a little way before climbing up the zigzag path. 

This is the burn.  Cross it and continue on the raised beach for a way.  When you see the scrub woodland ahead of you you need to look for the zigzag path to the left of it, before the wood. 

Here you can see Crackaig up on the top of the cliffs and the flat raised beach below.

The drone tends to flatten the perspective so you cant really tell how steep this is.  But top left of the photograph is the top of the zigzag path. The building on the right is the ruin of the schoolhouse.  

Cross the burn and you have arrived at Crackaig. 

Look out for the carvings on the largest house in the settlement.