Rain May Pour

One drop of rain on your window pane
Doesn’t mean to say there’s a thunderstorm coming.
Rain may pour for an hour or more,
But it doesn’t matter, you know it doesn’t matter.

The Fortunes – Storm In A Teacup

After an excellent night’s sleep, we woke up at 6.37am exactly as the Glen Rosa’s generator sprang to life once more. Inserting my industrial-strength ear plugs, I turned over and fell asleep again until 7.30am. 🙂

Getting out of bed, Trevor and I kept doing an ungainly dance around each other as we tried to get washed and dressed in the limited space. Looking out of our porthole, we could see that the weather was such a contrast to yesterday; grey sea and grey sky and a wet deck, showing that we’d had some rain during the night; the low cloud swathing the tops of the nearby mountains in mist showed that more rain was on the way. But hey, this is Scotland – it would be more unusual if it didn’t rain. 🙂

Making our way up the narrow stairs to the saloon (you have to walk through both the wheelhouse and the galley on the way) we saw that John was already there; no sign yet of Isabel, Greg or Lisa.

Charlie soon appeared and asked what we’d like for breakfast. For such a tiny galley on a tiny boat the selection of breakfast items was amazing, and nearly everyone (the others had arrived by now) selected something different. Trevor opted for Scottish smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, and I chose haggis and poached eggs.

We washed our delicious breakfast down with another freshly-percolated coffee and sat around chatting for a while, before Skipper Jemma came and advised us that our planned itinerary would have to change in the short term because of Force 8 winds (gales on the Beaufort scale). Rather than seek shelter in Tobermory, Jemma thought it would be nice to let us have some time ashore here in Loch Aline, and Charlie said he’d take us ashore in the tender dinghy (the “liberty boat”), whenever we were ready.

Back in our cabin, we changed into waterproof trousers and walking boots, and donned our cagoules before returning to the stern of the Glen Rosa, where I looked down at the tiny tender with some trepidation. Not so much at the sight of the little boat, but more at the ladder I would need to descend in order to reach it!

Trevor and I were issued with our life jackets and Charlie then went down the ladder and into the boat, followed by Jemma, who waited at the bottom while I gingerly stepped down, making sure I had both feet firmly on each rung before reaching for the next one. With a sigh of relief I reached the bottom, where Charlie’s helping hands enable me safely to get into the boat. Next down was Trevor, and once we were both seated, Skipper Jemma cast off the ropes, the outboard motor gained momentum, and we roared off across to the landing stage.

After making sure we had the boat’s telephone number, Charlie said all we had to do was call whenever we were ready to come back, and they’d soon return to pick us up.

We walked around the landing stage then over a small bridge, not seeing another soul. While the sky was grey and there was low cloud over the mountains, it wasn’t actually raining, so we were able to enjoy a slow stroll, revelling in the peace and quiet; the only sounds we could hear was the gentle washing of the sea on the tiny, rugged beaches, as well as the cry of the seabirds. Nothing else stirred; everything was still. I suppose the fact that it was Sunday also added to the calm, as the small shops we came across were all firmly closed, but if you wanted to go somewhere to “get away from it all”, this was the place.

Presently we came across a mine and quarry, a sign of which proclaimed it to be Lochaline Quartz Sand Ltd. There were huge heaps of pure white, soft sand around, as well as some of the sand by the roadside. Scooping up a handful of the sand, it was indeed very fine and contained no apparent impurities. A leaflet on the Glen Rosa explained that

“LQS85 is a high quality silica sand with very low iron content and exceptional whiteness, unique among UK sand sources. The sand is particularly suited for production of top quality flint glass and is valued for a range of other uses where the consistent white colour and low iron content are demanded.”

You can read about the fascinating history of the mine at their website at www.lochalinequartzsand.co.uk

As we walked along, I kept turning towards the sea and standing and staring, looking at some pretty little houses right on the banks of the loch. What it must be to wake up to these views every day.

We walked in both directions; probably a couple of miles in total, before deciding to give Skipper Jemma a call to send the liberty boat back for us. Heading back towards the landing stage, we soon saw the little boat coming towards us and, donning our lifejackets once more, we stepped aboard and it only took a minute until we were back at the stern of the Glen Rosa, where Skipper Jemma waited to make fast the dinghy… (ha ha, that’s just reminded me of that old Royal Navy song): 🙂

You make fast, I make fast
Make fast the dinghy…

Back inside the cosy interior of the Glen Rosa we headed straight for our titchy cabin and changed out of our waterproofs. Then, back up in the saloon, we saw that it was nearly noon and therefore time for a cold beer. 🙂 When Greg, Lisa, John and Isabel appeared soon afterwards, they saw Trevor’s and my bottles of Highlander beer and decided to have one too. 🙂

Soon afterwards Skipper Jemma weighed anchor and the Glen Rosa put to sea once more. The weather forecast was for the weather to be dreich (a good old Scottish portmanteau of dreary+bleak) and, as Jemma’s first and foremost priority was to keep us and the Glen Rosa safe, we would be dropping anchor for lunch at a place imaginitively named Fishnish. 🙂

As it was Sunday and Charlie the chef had promised up a massive traditional roast beef dinner tonight, lunch was only a light, but totally delicious, affair. We enjoyed hot and cold smoked trout mixed into fresh salad greens accompanied by thickly-sliced home baked bread and home-made butter, into which was mixed slivers of local dried seaweed. Is this making you hungry yet? 🙂

Once the Glen Rosa was underway again towards our anchorage for tonight, Trevor and I decided to go and have a post-luncheon power nap. Despite the rumbling of the little boat’s engines as she carried us towards our destination, we enjoyed a refreshing sleep, and afterwards returned to the saloon where we passed the time reading, chatting or checking emails (or the weather forecast!) in a companionable silence, and I wrote up some of this blog. 🙂

Soon the change in pitch of the Glen Rosa’s engines indicated we had reached our anchorage, in a sheltered bay in Loch na Droma Buidhe (pronounced like Drambuie, the whisky liqueur).

I had to move my laptop out of the way (it needed charging anyway) for Charlie to set the table for dinner, some of us enjoying an aperitif of gin and tonic or wine before the huge dishes of food were brought out for a veritable Sunday dinner feast!

There was roast sirloin of beef, roast and mashed potatoes, buttered mixed greens of shredded savoy cabbage, broccoli, leeks and tenderstem. In case we should still find ourselves hungry (!!), there was a vast dish of cauliflower cheese, whole roasted carrots and shredded swede with a crispy breadcrumb topping. I was very pleased that my trousers had elastic inserts in the waistband. 🙂

As if this lot would not fill our boots, dessert consisted of an amazing sticky toffee pudding with a nip of whisky (what else?!) in the toffee sauce, and a scoop of salted caramel ice cream.

The meal was accompanied by a very palatable Merlot and finished off, as ever, with coffee and a wee dram. The six of us then sat back and we enjoyed good conversation, as it grew dark outside. No sunset again for us tonight; the grey skies and low cloud hadn’t let up all day.

Eventually, Greg and Lisa, John and Isabel said their goodnights and disappeared below decks, leaving only Trevor and me in the saloon. We contemplated going outside and walking around the decks, but it was still mizzling on so we stayed put, reading and making the most of the Glen Rosa‘s wifi to check emails, read the news etc.

Around 11.00pm we returned to our dolls’ house sized cabin, and somehow manoevred ourselves into bed. In the silence and darkness, we slept very well, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.