Thursday 20th April, W7 D7

At the ludicrous hour of 2am, I wind up Week 7 of my Great Spring Escape in an actual comfy bed, in Culbokie in the Black Isle,  not merely comfy but warmed by a hot water bottle courtesy of Rosalind Imrie - what a thoughtful hostess - thank you Rosalind. As well as a home cooked dinner and a long afternoon and evening of reminiscing about old friends and colleagues that she and Clem and I have shared over 5 decades in Glasgow, as well as catching up on our respective families' lives. So I have  opened this short entry with the view from the Imries' home across the Cromarty Firth.

But to start at the beginning of my day I found my way to the almost wholly concealed gate to the Eilean Ban, from the busy carriageway of the Skye Bridge one of whose supports is built on the island. I was met by Katia, a delightful lady from the south of France who spends part of her summer as a guide to this former home of naturalist and writer Gavin Maxwell.

The interior Long Room of the cottage has been set up with retained or recovered artefacts to be very much as he would have had it, and I must say that I too would be happy to spend my days at his desk, reading and writing, with a view across to Kyleakin and the hills of Skye beyond. I learned more about Maxwell, his lifestyle, his poetry, his otters, his privileged background and his reclusive last years.

We walked down to the jetty, the only access to the island, the Stevenson lighthouse (not now in use of course) and the wildlife hide looking down on the waters of the Loch, where again one could spend many happy hours. (But sadly, still no otters for me 😢)

We were joined by Gordon, a professional photographer working as a location scout for film and other media. He has lived in or around Plockton for 20 years, and on this commission was looking for white cottages and lighthouses for a fashion shoot. Nice work if you can get it (Katie G take note!) Gordon went up the Lighthouse, but I knew I couldn't manage the ladders. 

I had a longish drive ahead to get to the Imries' home in the Black Isle,  diametrically opposite from my fairly consistent anticlockwise travels, so I could only fit in a short hop to have another look at Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed in the country, where David Noble in 2012 had seen the ghost of a princess on the balcony. I'm afraid I saw the castle from a different side today, so can't be sure she's not still there - sorry David. 

Night Night.