Tuesday 11 December

The day started with a beautiful sunrise at 9 am, and not a breath of wind all day. Temperatures ranged between -1C and +2C, and there was ice on sheltered puddles - you had to be careful out and about on the streets.



I had some fun this morning going through my old pics from walks in remote areas of the island, which have inspired some of my recent poems. Loch Langabhat lies at the centre of Lewis, and stretches for 8 miles north to south, with Loch Coire Geurad lying within feet of its western shoreline. There is no permanent habitation within 4 miles of Langabhat, and it can only be reached after walking some very rough moorland terrain. I'm used to that; if you're not, the area can be dangerous. The interior of Lewis was in use for shielings, summer grazings.