Back from my Islay adventure...

Islay was beautiful! If you have never been and enjoy miles of unspoilt soft sandy beaches, clear water and beautiful countryside with plenty of wildlife then I definitely recommend Islay as a holiday destination.

I am however, very, very sunburnt! I currently look like I have been on holiday to the sun. Moral of the story - always take suncream!! Scotland does get glorious sunshine and it certainly left it's mark on me!

 My little car also has some permanent memories...many scratches around the wing mirrors from a certain couple of highland cows who realised salt gathered nicely on the windows and it clearly tasted good! It's a good job my little car is 18 years old and I don't care about the scratches...although, it is what you get for parking in their field. 

Anyway, Sadly we didn't catch any fish (I'm too impatient I think) So I was unable to print any. However, that is my mission for this week. I also have a few more ideas for some lino prints so watch this space! And as I now have six empty weeks ahead of me I will be able to get plenty done.

So...I thought I would add a few photos from my trip, just to give you a little taster...

This was on a walk around The Oa, right on the south west coast of Islay. The beach looked fantastic for beach combing (through the binoculars) however it looked very difficult to get onto...and despite how calm the photo looks, it was incredibly windy up there.

As I have said, Islay has miles of empty beaches, so on a day exploring the north coast we stumbled across this wonderful stretch of sand, and decided to bust out the wooden fire pit to cook marshmallows on for lunch.

This was the night before we left sitting at the entrance to our tent. Stunning sunset over the Atlantic and looking over to another part of the island. It was such a peaceful evening after such a hot day.
 - The campsite we were on was in a fantastic location on the south west coast of the island about a 10 minute drive from Port Ellen. The campsite is called Kintra Farm and is a lovely place to base yourself...I do recommend you don't pitch your tent on the top of a hill though; it's quite windy!

And lastly...plenty of things to be found on the beaches but my favourite find to add to my collection was an unbroken Sea Potato shell (Urchin shell)

So...That was Islay! Now sadly I have a few more mundane jobs to do and then I can get creative!...after the pain from my sunburn disappears that is...