Today I ventured to the other side of the Gair Loch, the stretch of water across from the Village of Gairloch, to the communities of Sheildaig, Lecknasaide, Badachro, Port Henderson, Opinan, South Erradale and Red Point.
Before that, I stopped off at the Gairloch Sitooterie ...
During 2015, the local
community decided to fundraise in an attempt to transform the hopelessly
overgrown wasteland area in the harbour area of the village. This became the
Gairloch Sitooterie. It was never originally intended to be a garden, just a
“Sit-oot” area for locals and visitors to enjoy, but today it has turned into
an award winning colourful attraction in Gairloch.
When I was
there this morning, there were a dozen or so local residents volunteering their time to plant the summer flowers and do some maintenance.
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| Dating back to Queen Victoria's reign |
After that
excursion, I went off to a very special location for me ~ My Rock at Big Sands
Beach.
I have
written about My Rock in previous blogs, where I have said ~
“I believe everyone should have a special place in their life, a place you recall with fondness, warmth and where you never once felt fear. A place from your past or even now in the present, which provides safety and comfort. A location whose surroundings render an environment to develop your hopes, formulate your ambitions and think about your dreams. A place perhaps like mine that only requires the company of the sea, the mountains and the warm wind to make it perfect.”
It was as a
10-year-old in July 1971, that I first met My Rock, a place that provides many
extremely happy memories of great times and adventures. I often fished off My
Rock, caught crabs and only when the tide was in, I would jump from it into the
water and swim to the beach. On other occasions I would sit and gaze at the
beautiful mountain ranges often getting completely lost in my thoughts. With
views looking east and west, I would see impressive sunrises and in the
evenings the most magnificent sunsets which I have never seen equaled anywhere.
Many times
I would sit there so long, that the tide would come in and create a watery link
between me and the beach. I would then have to strip down to the bare essentials,
throw the rest of my clothes towards the sand hoping they would land there,
then wade or swim ashore.
As I sat
there this afternoon, my thoughts went back to the times when myself and my dad
would walk along the coast from Big Sands Beach. We would be gone for hours,
exploring the little inlets, climbing rocks and tramping over peat bogs ~ I would
love to do that just one more time with him.
I looked
over at Longa Island which can be seen from My Rock and recalled an event from
summer 1972. We (me and my dad) decided that a visit to Longa was well over
due, so we rented a rowing boat. Off we went and got there OK and had a lovely
wander around the deserted island. Coming back was completely different, the
wind had got up, the sea was rough and I could see the fear in my dad’s face,
as every effort with oars made no difference to our progress. Eventually, a
boat came out to rescue us with a tow back to the beach.
It was nice
sitting there today recalling memories, I was drawn back to some incredibly
happy times in my life. It was on My Rock that I developed a deep love for
the sea and anything coastal, it was therefore no surprise after too many years
in land-locked Ontario that when the opportunity arose, I quickly moved to Nova
Scotia, where I also have a Rock.
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| Those trees on the upper left have no altered in six decades |
My Rock Pool ...
