Car, ferry, bus, trains: back home to Glasgow

All too soon it was the last morning of my getaway.  I had relished every minute of respite.  I’d done quite a bit of knitting, seen dear friends, loved being out and about on Harris, read part of Jung’s autobiography, as well as about dowsing and Near Death Experiences.  It was just what I needed to put my and our current situation into a good perspective.

One of the things I enjoyed about staying at Two Harbours Guest House is their beautiful Portmeiron ‘Botanicals’ china.  Not only do I love that pattern because I love flowers, but it was the favourite china of a beloved childhood friend of mine, Diane.  She is long gone but is never forgotten.  (You can see a photo of her and me when I was 18 at the bottom of this post.) Diane would have loved this breakfast table:

Breakfast table at Two Harbours Guest House, Isle of Scalpay.

I said goodbye – but not for too very long because I intend to bring Sean a book when we’re back this summer.  I drove first to Callanish, where I nodded hello to the stones but went on to a friend’s house for a lovely visit.  She was widowed less than a year ago, and her faith, fortitude and humour are very inspirational to me.  After a lovely elevenses of freshly-baked scones and homemade jam, I drove across to Stornoway, where I left my little hire car.

I found a good seat on the observation deck of the ferry, and enjoyed watching the view as we pulled away.  Here you can see Lews Castle behind the houses of Stornoway.  It sits within a pretty woodland – as you know, trees are a special thing on the Outer Hebrides.

Leaving Stornoway on the ferry. Lews Castle is in the background. April 2016.

The crossing was beautiful:

The view from MV Loch Seaforth, crossing the Minch back to Ullapool. April 2016.

View from the ferry:  the Shiant Islands, off the coast of Harris.  April 2016.

I was interested in this board, and surprised (in my ignorance) at how many people were on shift:

It takes a lot of people to run a ferry! MV Loch Seaforth, April 2016.

The bus to Inverness was waiting just outside the ferry terminal and soon we were on our way:

Snow-capped hills ahead as the bus heads from Ullapool to Inverness. April 2016.

A striking rainbow accompanied us part of the way:

Rainbow!

I had a bit of time in Inverness before the train to Glasgow, and then I was on my way south.  The sunset was far prettier than I managed to capture in any of my through-the-window photos:

Sunset over the Monadh Liadh mountains south of Inverness. April 2016.

I changed trains in Perth, and was home by midnight.  I was met with hugs and kisses, presents were given out, and we all got to bed late.  The Dafter and Michael had done very well.  It was a big contrast with my first solo trip to Harris two years ago.  The Dafter was nearly completely bedbound back then, and Michael hardly spoke for the first 24 hours after I had returned, he was so exhausted from being the full-time carer for five days.  This year, although they were both glad to see me, they weren’t enormously worse for my absence.

Home again! The garden greets me. Early April 2016.

Life immediately became quite stressful and complex, for various reasons including the Dafter having a bad cold and a downturn, and Michael needing to go off the following week. My holiday soon seemed like a dream!  But doing these blog posts has brought it back to me, and I’ve been able to recover the sense of peace and well-being that I had at the end of my trip.

Thank you all for coming along with me on my most recent trip to Harris.  We are hoping to go as a family in August, so it’s not too long to wait until our next Harrisian adventure.