Friday 22 April

A beautiful day, which can only be described as the first day of summer. The mercury reached 21C / 70F, which is quite high for this part of the world at any rate. The highest temperature I have experienced here is 25C / 77F. Had morning coffee outside, and sat outside for a while reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It was very hazy as well, and some high- and medium-level cloud slowly edged across the sky in the afternoon and evening. This is obviously the Easter weekend, and as I type this (at 9.20pm) the 8.20pm ferry is still to arrive, full of holiday traffic. The weather is expected to cool down, with some rain in the night, but more sunshine tomorrow. Expected maxima on Saturday: 13C, which is still not bad going for Lewis in April.

The shellfish processing plant, which has sat off South Beach since the 90s has been taken apart bit by bit, and coming down the street into town there is now an unobstructed view of the buildings on the seafront. One other reason why I'm not loth to see the plant go was its terrible smell. Situated by the ferry terminal and the bus station, it created a poor sensory introduction for visitors to the island.