Monday 4 October

World Animal Day today. It is not a terribly nice day, with strong winds. Although it is sunny in the morning and the early afternoon, rain comes down in buckets later on. The start of it caught me out as I ventured forth to the shop, a couple of hundred yards away. There is extensive disruption on the ferries, and our freight ferry, the Muirneag, is off. Expecting empty shelves in the shop tomorrow.

The Callanish Stones have had a third more visitors this year than the year before, meaning that the visitor centre there has struggled to cope. It was upgraded in March, but another upgrade seems likely if island's prime tourist site continues to pull in the crowds. Callanish is a 5,000 year old site, where several dozen stones, some up to 15 feet in height, have been arranged in a circle and outward in the shape of a cross. Its purpose is shrouded in mystery, but the leading theory is of a lunar calendar. From the site, the Lunar Standstill can be observed - this sees the moon rising low behind the Lochs hills (15 miles away to the east), disappearing behind Roineabhal, then reappearing to set behind the Clisham. Three years ago, I was at Callanish to observe the phenomenon: I close the post with some of those pics.