Islay – Land of Geese and Ghosts
POLLY’S PLACES Islay – Land Of Geese And Ghosts You will be awed and moved by Polly Pullar’s visit to the evocative and beautiful island The glorious sandy beach of Sanaig SLAY, often referred to as the Queen of the Hebrides, sands overlooking Bowmore and Bruichladdich. has reason to boast of its loveliness. It is indeed an Our drive to Sanaig from Port Askaig is slow – so Iisland of superlatives. much to see. A sea eagle quarters hill ground close to Like all the Hebrides, though, it is notoriously fickle the road, and a male hen harrier, grey and white against in mood: rain-drenched, mist-swathed, gale-lashed, the low sun, flies moth-like over tweed-coloured scrub. sleet-beaten, or sun-kissed, it has a gentle side, a Lapwings dive and wheel above verdant brackish vibrant history, a thriving farming community, and a pools, their emerald crests blown by the breeze. fabulously diverse fauna and flora. And then there are thousands and thousands of Its beaches stretch eternally and its scenery, geese. The morning is calm, an early mist drifting into dominated in the north by the nearby Paps of Jura, is oblivion, the sea turning a rich shade of navy. The sky breathtaking. The island has long attracted visitors in is a thoroughfare for more geese, which move back vast flocks due to the richness of its sustenance. and forth in sweeping skeins, filling the air with their There are more distilleries here per square mile yapping cacophony. than anywhere else in the country, though it is the The island is an ornithological reverie – it is sheltered sea lochs – Indaal and Gruinart – and their abundant with songsters, ducks and waders, corncrake intertidal flats, plus the island’s lush pastures and in summer, as well as birds of prey year-round, stubble fields, that draw the vast flocks of wintering including merlin, peregrine, sparrowhawk, kestrel and geese.
[Show full text]