A shooting and second coming at the three pillars of Knockbrex.

Last week the Atlantic storm St Jude hit southern Britain. In SW Scotland we escaped the worst but my friend Cameron enjoyed strong wind windsurfing in Fleet Bay. I started windsurfing in 1977 but have not windsurfed since I dislocated my right knee falling down a sand dune on Gunna in June 2009 but I do hope to get back to it someday...

I can't sea kayak at the moment either as I am recovering from shoulder surgery which happened at the end of July. Actually even my walking is not too good and I am due to have major surgery to reconstruct my left knee on Monday (as it is also dislocating). Despite this I decided to go for a...

 ...short walk to Knockbrex Bay to see the storm. This ash tree shows the direction and strength of the prevailing wind. No sooner had we left the shelter of the trees than we came across a...

 ...really splendid sight. Shafts of sunlight broke through a dark stormy sky and illuminated the three priapic pillars of Knockbrex.

The pillars were being battered by the storm but were standing firm as...

 ...successive waves rose up their shafts before exploding into clouds of spray which ...

 ...swept round...

...each side of the pillars before...

 ,,,coming together again on the downwind side. As the ground shook to the impact of the waves...

 ..we found the scene to be strangely uplifting.

It was after all, only 3 months since I had been chased off this beach by a man wielding a shotgun. That resulted in two police armed response units and a helicopter being sent from Glasgow. It is just as well I do not scare easily as I might not have come back to Knockbrex...