Smoke on the water, in the Sound of Eigg.

Ian and I found our kayaks had been untouched and were as we had left them at the Galmisdale shop and community centre. Facilities at the shop include a small restaurant, toilets, showers, wifi and a water tap.

 Our gear was rather damp so we let it dry in the sun as we moved the kayaks down the jett ready for our crossing to Muck, the last of the Small Isles..

There was a sea of fog to the north east though we could see the dark hill above Mallaig and the Distant mountains of Knoydart soaring into the clear air above.

 To the south west a similar bank of fog floated above the sea beyond Eilean Chathastail. We could see the Ardnamurchan mountains but there was no sign of the great peninsula.

According to the West Coast Pilot we would meet 3 knot tides in mid channel and 4 knots off the coast of Muck. It was spring tides and we would be in mid channel 3 hours after slack. The tide was running through the gap between Eigg and Eilean Chathastail like a river so with a last look at the chart we prepared to put in some hard work with a high ferry angle.

It was good to be on our way again and low lying Muck lay on the far side of a mirror calm Sound of Eigg.

To our left the fog banks had lifted allowing us to see all the way to distant Ardnamurchan Point.

Paddling along the south coast of Eigg we were rewarded...

...by a magnificent view of the Sgurr of Eigg, which we had been denied the day before.

We soon left the last house of Galmisdale behind and came to a...

...piece of coast with a dark secret.

Beneath the Sgurr are some sea caves that were cut when the sea was higher. The big one is Cathedral cave. Nearby a smaller cave, Uamh Fhraing (also known as the Massacre Cave) saw the death of almost the entire population of the MacDonalds who inhabited Eigg. In 1577, 395 Macdonalds hid in the cave from a group of raiding McLeods from Skye.They were found and the McLeods lit a fire at the only entrance. They all died and the corpses were left in the cave to rot. As recently as 1979 a human skull was found in the cave.

In those dark days in Eigg's past, it was not banks of fog on the water but smoke.

Better days, the birth of a new community on Eigg.

When Ian and I crested the summit of the "trans Eigg highway", we came across this old play boat for local school children. It was well and truly high and dry!

The Old Shop is now a museum so the free entry sign is not out of place.

Just past the Old Shop we came to an even older standing stone on the way to...

...the school building which currently houses 10 pupils. The school boasts a HebNet dish and a recently installed biomass heating system. It burns logs grown on the island and new trees are planted to replace those cut down.

As we continued our descent we became surrounded by fog...

...which made the surroundings of this larger standing stone...

...very atmospheric.

Above the moor on which the standing stone stands the Sgurr of Eigg rises sheer.

Next we came to the lovely, well maintained Eigg Parish church.

Nearby the old manse was showing sad signs of neglect.

The mist lifted for a short while giving  some more...

...great views to the Sgurr of Eigg which is only 39m high but is one of the most...

...dramatic and distinctive blades of rock on the west coast of Scotland. It is composed of volcanic pitchstone which sits on ancient sedimentary rocks.

Descending towards Galmisdale we passed this array of solar panels which form part of Eigg's electricity grid   together with hydro power and wind power generators. The grid was opened in 2008 and now supplies all the homes with 24hr electricity. Prior to that islanders depended on noisy diesel generators.

The mist thickened as we approached the old pier at Galmisdale. An elderly steam yacht lay tied up against the jetty. Perhaps like the wooden play boat she too has seen better days.

Ian and I were nearly back at the shop and cafe, at the head of the old slipway, where we had left our kayaks. Another stone stands above the bay but this is not ancient. Eigg has recently emerged from the cloud of unsympathertic private ownership. This stone was erected  on 12th June 1997 to commemorate the purchase of Eigg by the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust. Eigg is now owned by the community which lives there and this may partly explain why the island seems to be a thriving community, in stark contrast to what is happening on nearby Canna. Ian and I arrived at Galmisdale with the feeling the island of Eigg, with its ancient and recent history, is now certainly enjoying better days.

A long and winding road on Eigg.

After breakfast at Lageorna, Sue offered to run Ian and myself the 7km back to the jetty at Glamisdale where we had left our kayaks. We thanked her for her kind offer but we had already decided to walk. So we loaded our possessions into that ubiquitous luggage carrier of itinerant sea kayakers...the Frakta Ikea bag. We breathed the fresh still air deep into our lungs. It's aroma was a mix of sea and natural countryside. Closer to the crofts there was also the smell of cattle and sheep.

As we passed each croft we could not help but notice the antennae for the HebNet terrestrial wireless broadband system.

Eigg also has an older communication system. This post box dates from the reign of King George V, who reigned from 1910 until he died in 1936. Ian and I had originally thought it would have dated from the reign of George VI but the typeface of GR confirms it as the Royal Cypher of the earlier monarch. Interestingly there are no specific times of day for collection of the post. Instead, the collection is made 1 hour prior to the departure of the ferry.

Some of the crofts were in better state of repair than...

...others but all shared...

...a marvellous view of the Bay of Laig. Ian and I were so glad we had decided to walk and to savour the atmosphere of this wonderfull island.

A new hedge of willow wands had recently been planted alongside the brae that leads from Cleadale to the watershed of Eigg.

Primroses adorned the banks on either side of the road.

Behind us, the Cuillin of...

...Rum slowly receded as we made...

our way up the long and winding road that led to the watershed of Eigg and...

...a view of the Sgurr of Eigg.

Where do the eggs on Eigg come from?

 As the sun rose on the face of the Sgurr of Eigg, the low clouds slowly lifted and ...

 ...to the NW, we finally got a view over the Sound of Rum to the magnificent Cuillin mountains of Rum.

We had stayed the night in the comfortable B&B at Lageorna, which was still deep in the shade of the steep hill behind. I wondered where the passengers on this early morning high flying jet had come from and were going to.

My eye followed the jet's contrail t and I noticed something on the hill side. It was part of the HebNet system which the community on Eigg has commissioned to bring broadband to the island. I used it to check the weather forecast before...

...enjoying a wonderful breakfast in Lageorna. There was no need to ask where this fried Eigg egg had...

...come from.

Putting down roots at Lageorna, Eigg.

True to her word, Sue waited for us to get changed out of our kayaking gear at Glamisdale jetty and ran us in her car the 7km over the spine of Eigg to her BandB at Lageorna in the township of Cleadale on the west side of the island.

We were welcomed by Sue's lovely collie bitch.

Sue told us that she was an incomer to Eigg, she had only been there for 35 years or so but Alastair her husband had been born at Lageorna.

Alastair's great grandparents had owned the croft and it had been in the family ever since.

The large sycamore tree that now stands at the croft gate had been planted by his great grandmother.

When we visited on 1st March there were bunches of snowdrops growing under the tree. It's nice to have roots.

Sue showed us to our rooms, the first thing that struck me was the beautiful beds which had been made by Sandy Fraser from Ivy Cottage on Rum. We had chatted to Sandy and his wife Fliss during our visit to Rum. Fliss runs a BandB from Ivy Cottage.

My room also had a bed settee and a window looking out to Rum which was still shrouded in fog.

Ian's room had a view...

...over to the Sgurr of Eigg which had a wisp of mist blowing round it like the peat smoke from a croft's chimney.

After showering Ian and I walked a little way up the Cleadale road and enjoyed the view from the war memorial. From this tiny place, 11 marched off to serve in WW1 and 3 were killed. 29 served in WW2 and 3 were killed. They fought for what was dear to them.

Lines of swell were still marching into the Bay of Laig and we...

...were glad our kayaks were safely drawn up on the jetty at Glamisdale. We had no worry about leaving them and most of our gear Eigg is far removed from the vandalism and petty crimes of the city.

As we returned to Lageorna, the mist lifted just for a moment revealing just a bit of the Cuillin of Rum.

It was with some anticipation that we returned to the crofts of Cleadale with their reeks of peat smoke.

Sue has a reputation as a fine cook and we were not disappointed by the fine three course dinner she prepared. Lageorna is also open to non residents for dining.

Outside the sky darkened over the Bay of Laig but...

...just for a moment, the Cuillin of Rum put in their first appearance of the day. Far below the summits a light betrayed the presence of a fishing boat working the Sound of Rum.

Ian and I so enjoyed Lageorna that we intend to return with our wives.