Western Islay

I was blinded by the light as I walked into the hostel's dining area.  I omitted to notice last night that it's situated right on the sea shore, and sunlight was reflecting off the sea.  If I had left the window open last night, I could have fallen asleep to the gentle sound of the surf.   Another glorious day.  Post Charlotte was gleaming like a new pin as I set off to the far south, against a stiff breeze.  

For company I had a few swallows, a couple of oystercatchers, an invisible cuckoo, and a very hairy caterpillar which had nearly crossed the road.  At Port Wemyss, a sign offered "free coffee if you don't see a seal".  I didn't, but the café was shut.  A nice loop round empty roads, then another loop on very rough roads, not so much fun.  

The highlights were a hare, running down the road ahead of me, easily outpacing me at 20mph downhill, and the distillery at Kilchoman, which has a nice café. And of course the usual scenery, beautiful beaches and so on.   I would say Islay doesn't have big hills but it is undulating, sort of moorland.  It is of course the whisky capital of Scotland, with at least seven distilleries.  Next weekend is the whisky festival, Feis Ile, so it will be busy - but that's relative to the current extremely quiet situation.

Next stop: Jura

PS. Thankyou to all of you who have left comments: it is difficult to reply to them from my phone, but I do see them.