‘When I see blood I will pass over you in the night’
Noltland Castle on Westray is 16th Century. Surrounding it are 17th Century additions, one of which has this fragile arch still remaining. …
Busy building
Someone was busy building with stones on Mae Sands. Clever hands made this beautiful bottle-shaped construction.
Miniature rock stack
There’s a beautiful miniature rock stack on Westray. It’s slippery at dawn as I clamber down to the beach to see it.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s going on?”
Patterns in the sand
There are billions of tiny almost indistinguishable grains of sand yet together they can make the most wonderful patterns. We are all …
Mushrooms in the field
There’s something otherworldly about mushrooms. They’re more closely related to animals than they are to plants. A very different kind of life …
Alive
The fact that I’m alive is so incredibly unlikely. To be here now, to witness the Earth turning around the Sun, is a privilege.
The bit in-between
Winter days on Westray are very much like the short flight between Westray and Papa Westray. The flight is the shortest scheduled …
Stormy sunset on Westray
Walking down to Grobust beach from the tiny car park I’m suddenly aware of how dramatic the sky has become. There’s such …
The worms of Woo
Lugworm casts litter the beach at the Sands of Woo on Westray.
The Late Swallow – a poem by Edwin Muir
Orcadian poet Edwin Muir is a favourite of mine. As I watched the Swallows at Einar I remembered his wonderful poem The …
Shag – alone on the rocky shore
This Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. It stands alone on the rocky shore.
The Bay of Noup
The Bay of Noup looks to have beautiful sand on this rocky and rugged coastline.
The Grip of Cleaton
The history of Westray is told in two small volumes. One is its telephone directory, with its handful of names, many of …
The top 10 reasons you shouldn’t visit Westray
Friends and relatives often ask me whether Westray is a good place to visit and my answer is always very clear. “No,” I say. “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Here then are my top ten reasons why you should never visit Westray.
Westray phone box
Westray still has several relics of a bygone era; red telephone boxes. There are weeds growing inside some of them as they …
Footsteps
Someone has been here before me.
Feeling alive
Seeing birds close up, in the wind, with rain on the horizon and a glorious sunset in progress, sat at the top …
Biting Stonecrop
The Biting Stonecrop on the walls at Einar is obviously confused. There’s one solitary flower left when it’s meant to flower in …
We need to talk about Dog Whelks
‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ is the actual name of the book and the movie. Kevin, however, has been talked about enough. What we really need to talk about is Dog Whelks, because despite the fact that there isn’t a bestselling psychological thriller written about them, their story is just as interesting.
Pincushions
This moss is so beautiful in a tight pincushion on Westray’s rocky shores. Mosses have been around since before plants evolved flowers …
Love and Groatie Buckies
There are many Groatie Buckies on Westray’s beaches. It takes real dedication to find them, though.
Baby Butler
The Hall of my house used to be a school and the entrance to it has the places for lots of small …
This heart belongs to Tullochs
There’s a stone heart outside Tullochs.
