After yesterday we knew that today would be rather more low key.  The rain was back, together with a 33mph gale.  We spent a quiet morning in Bessie, being buffeted roughly but the rain cleared (as so often is the way here) by the afternoon so we took to the road towards the airport café as usual.  The windscocks were flying so there was obviously a plane due.

There was a bit of a hub-bub inside – lots of rucksacks over the floor and people obviously waiting.  After a while one of the airport staff gave an announcement.  All those who wanted a lift to the ferry follow me.  Unsurprisingly, the flight had been cancelled because of the weather.  The café quickly emptied, apart from a few diehards like us and the German couple from the beach.  The plan was to take the ferry over to Eriskay, thence up to Benbecula and then a flight from there to Glasgow.  All in a day’s work for the folk at Barra Airport.

Tea, coffee and cakes later the blog was published and two slices of their apple pie were bought to take away for supper.  Peter thought he should get some more diesel so we drove down to Castlebay.  It’s still £1.22 per litre there – about 20p cheaper than two years ago but still presumably dearer than the mainland.  There’s a cruise ship out in the harbour – the Ocean Nova from Nassau.  A visit to Castlebay is never complete without a stopover at the Co-op.  Peter went in for a couple of things and I watched the school football match between the gap in a couple of recycling containers on the pitch beyond.

football

We drove over to Vatersay as usual to see what we could see.  All the usual crowd – Turnstones flying from one patch of seaweed to another, Oystercatchers noisily rushing about, a flutter of little Dunlins and Sanderlings along the shoreline and Mrs Shelduck amongst the rocks.

turnstoneflying

dunlins

shelduckrocks

sanderling

Then this strange scene:

sealteeth

Scary or what?

Going back along the Atlantic coast the Thrift is blooming amongst the rocks

thrift

And we get held up again – this time by a small flock of sheep plus shepherd and sheep dog!  Didn’t they know to wait in the passing place? ☺

flocksheep

The clear early evening light meant that we could photograph some birds and get good results.

meadowpipit

Meadow  Pipit

femalestonechat

Female Stonechat

stonechat

Male Stonechat

What appeared at first to be a write-off of a day proved once more not to be.  It happens so often we should know by now!