Saturday 8 June

Quite a warm day, and I decided to go on a long walk to the Pentland Road windfarm. This is located some 6 miles northeast of Stornoway, and can easily be accessed from the council dump near Bennadrove. It was quite warm in sheltered places, like the Castle Grounds. The road to the windfarm, not tarred but still well made, is exposed to the wind. About a mile or so beyond the dump, it rises over the hills to the windfarm at an altitude of 600 feet. The views are nice, but the wind machines completely deprecate the wilderness aspect of the area. I have explored these foothills of the Barvas Hills in 2005, but was deeply saddened upon viewing the violation wrought by the turbines.

Friday 7 June

A beautifully sunny day, which I spent outside, watching the antics of three groups of birds. Starlings, blackbirds and sparrows, all with nests of young. The blackbird chicks are gathering up courage to emerge from under the bush in the garden; the starling chicks are screeching from their rooftop position and the sparrow chicks are fluttering their wings at their parents to have their gobs stuffed.

The Hebridean Princess, a small cruiseliner, put in an appearance. You can spend £4,900 for a 14 days cruise, hanging over the side being seasick most of the time. Sorry, I'm sure it's quite a comfortable vessel, but can't resist the jibe. The Serenissima put in an appearance at sunset.

Thursday 6 June

Today was the 69th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces landed in Normandy, France, to commence the liberation of continental Europe. It was to take another 11 months for Nazi Germany to be finally defeated, also through the efforts and sacrifices of the Soviet Union.

Wednesday 5 June

Awoke to fog, which lifted to low cloud later in the morning. The sun came out later, leaving us with a nice afternoon. The Coastguard helicopter hovered over the outer harbour at one point.

Tuesday 4 June

It was a very nice day, so decided to take a bus to Ness. The purpose was to have a look round the Old Cemetery, behind Swainbost, for the grave of a man who had been awarded Commonwealth War Dead status back in 2011. Unfortunately, a new gravestone has not yet been erected. It was in quite warm, and I enjoyed the amble through the machair to the beach at Eoropie. Had a cuppa and a piece of cake in the Tearoom, before jumping on the 3.40 bus back to town. Down the West Side, I could just discern the Flannan Isles from 60 miles away.

Monday 3 June

In November 2011, the island of Lewis was shaken by the news that a 16-year old boy had been found murdered at Steinish. Liam Aitchison, originally from South Uist, had been stabbed, kicked and beaten. Two men were arrested and charged with the murder. Over the past 3 weeks, they were tried at court in Glasgow. Gruesome evidence of the murder scene was presented during the trial. After about 8 hours' deliberation, the jury today found the two culprits guilty. Sentence will be passed at a later stage.

Friday 31 May

Went on a walk round the Castle Grounds, partly covering ground I had reconnoitered on Wednesday; the path between Strawberry Hill and the Marybank Gate. This allowed me to mark out a 4½ mile walk round the Castle Grounds, from the Creed River in the south to the Water Wheel in the north.

Thursday 30 May

Today started as sunny as yesterday, but after about 2pm the haar (or seafog) rolled ashore. This was actually quite shallow, as the sun remained visible through the cloud. However, visibility was severely restricted and familiar features like the Arnish Lighthouse, the Coastguard Station and Goat Island were lost from view.

Wednesday 29 May

A brilliantly sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. We managed 15C today, 60F,not quite as good as yesterday, but still creditable. Went for a walk in the Castle Grounds today, to explore the Strawberry Hill area. I was pleased to find a new path, which links Strawberry Hill with the Marybank Gate, a distance of about a mile. This means that a circular walk can be made in the Grounds, without much use of the main roadways. I have yet to mark out this route, but it will probably amount to about 6 miles in total. The new path was completed only very recently. My route continued to the Golf Course and back to the town centre.

The nice weather was also a bonus for the passengers on the cruiseliner Marco Polo, a regular visitor during the summer months, who would have seen the island in its full glory.

Tuesday 28 May

A brilliantly sunny day, with the mercury shooting up to as much as 17C / 63F during the afternoon. Naturally took full advantage of the conditions - out in the sunshine.