Wednesday 18 August

One of those non-descript days. Some sun, some rain, some mosquitoes. Zillions of them, as there is no wind.
Our freight ferry, the Muirneag, sprung a leak on its overnight crossing to the mainland. An investigation found the leak after many hours, and we'll be treated to the spectacle of the old tub sailing away at 11.30 pm tonight.

Above image was taken at 11.54pm on 17 February 2006. The triangle of lights is the Muirneag.

This evening the coastguard helicopter was directed to the Doune Braes hotel near Carloway, to attend the victims of a serious road-traffic accident. Two cars were involved, and two occupants were airlifted to Stornoway. One other followed by road ambulance. The A858 Westside road is closed, leading to a lengthy tailback at nearby Carloway.

Doune Braes Hotel from the A858

Tuesday 17 August

As it is a bit brighter today, I wind my way towards the Eye Cemetery at Aignish, 4 miles east of Stornoway, to retake some gravestone pictures and look for new ones. The total harvest is 50, of which 17 are new ones that I did not discover on previous visits. The Eye Cemetery is a large burial ground, and on previous occasions I may have been clockwatching. This time round I had left myself plenty of time (between 2.45 and 4.15) to criss-cross the graveyard. I should also mention that across the way from the Eye (more correctly: Aoidh) Cemetery lies the ancient church of Aoidh, which is now a roofless ruin. It has its own graveyard, which is in rather a sad state of maintenance. I questioned it with a local man, in charge of the Eye Church Trust, but he advised me that strimming the grass could damage the gravestones, and presently securing and restoring the church building has a higher priority than keeping the grass down. It was a bit of a contrast with the Eye Cemetery, where a man with a mower was busy keeping the place in order.


Old Cemetery, Aoidh Church (Aignish)


View from the cemetery east to Knock and Swordale


Left of the gravestone: man with a mower


Aignish


Muirneag and the villages of Broadbay