Colonsay Holiday

Kiloran Bay

At this time of the year our thoughts often turn to spending time on one of the Scottish Islands and after the grim weather of this winter this desire is even stronger. My christmas gifts brought some scope for reflection on past holidays. A book on the Scottish Islands and a slide scanner allowed me to revisit Colonsay and then scan in photos from a family holiday in 1990. It remains one of our fondly remembered holidays. We had moved house at the end of 1987 and the mortgage rate rise to 15% in 1990 had wiped out any holiday funds.  

As a result we booked a small flat on Colonsay for a week and took the bicycles. The weather was fairly typical for the Scottish west coast in July with cloud, rain and sun usually all on the same day but with the order changing. We simply wallowed between weathers as we cycled, spent time on beaches, crossed to Oronsay, went to ceilidhs, and made friends with other families. We met the brother of an old university friend and his family because I recognised his accent and mannerisms and asked if he knew my friend. 

Our three children pedalled without complaint, loved the beaches, the flowers, the empty roads and the easy friendships that they made. We left on the Saturday evening ferry fully refreshed after a week of total relaxation without having any of the anxieties of air travel, dodgy food, too much sun or expenditure that would take us months to recover from. It was a lesson that the best things in life: simplicity, the outdoors and exercise are free and life-affirming.

Tour de Colonsay

Heading across the Strand to Oronsay

Cold feet

Recreating Hornel's painting

Colonsay House and our flat

Tough cycling

Windswept

At peace

Diamond days

Crossing to Oronsay

Paps of Jura from Oronsay

Reflecting on the Island Peaks Race on Jura

Kiloran - our everyday beach