I think the west coast of Scotland will always be "home" to me. Home - sounds so simple yet over the last few years it's been a changing concept to me, as I've moved from west to east, north to south. I have a home that I live in, and a nice village that I live in. It's home in one sense. Yet home is also that place in my heart, that feeling of belonging in a particular place. For me, that place is quite geographically broad. It's the west coast of the Scottish Highlands. For a while it was one particular place, a beautiful peninsula strung out into the Atlantic, but now I just need to be in the West Highlands for my heart to be full.
This May we packed the van full of walking gear and wetsuits, ushered in the spaniel, strapped the boards on the roof and ventured north to Scotland. We cheered as we crossed the border, full of excitement for a holiday back in our old homeland.
Our destination for a few days was the Isle of Tiree. Growing up on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, I had for years looked out to sea at so many islands - Inner Hebrides, Outer Hebrides - but had visited so few of them. This trip we wanted to visit somewhere new, and ideally, somewhere with surf.
Tiree is known for its surf in a windy sense as much as a normal surf sense. Often buffeted by Atlantic blusters, it's very popular with windsurfers. On our first day on the island, we could see why.
Sometimes a picture just can't tell the whole story. A beautiful white sand bay in May... must be bikini weather right?! More like down jacket weather. However, we managed to find some shelter along the rocky shore and fell asleep with the sun warming our faces. Sleeping outside is definitely one of my favourite things.
And so our first day on Tiree was a drive around the island, winding around the machair watching the skylarks, listening to Ziggy Alberts sing about his love for the sea. Tiree essentially feels like a giant sand dune with some rocky shore. We visited a couple of beaches, and then found our campsite for the night (new post coming soon about camping). Parked up on a slight gradient on a little croft field behind a beautiful Hebridean Home, we felt that familiar pang of longing to move back to the Highlands. The wind continued to chop the sea, but in consolation Tiree did offer us a classic west coast sunset.
One of my favourite things about van life is waking up in the morning, sliding open the door whilst still in bed and letting the outside in. This is even better when the view outside is to Tiree's best surf beach. We were in luck! The wind had dropped and the surf was small. Not a soul on the beach. The tide was ideal. The tempo of our holiday suddenly changed - quick quick! Get up! Get the wetsuits on! Boards off the roof. The hunt for my earplugs. Ben took off down the beach before I was even ready.
I'm always a little anxious when I step into a surf break I don't know. Wary of rips, excitement levels began to be overwhelmed by worry. However, very quickly I realised we were fine (largely because Ben was already in and hadn't drifted off anywhere). Initially the waves were hard to catch, but it didn't matter as I stared down into a perfect clear blue sea. It was too early for the jellyfish (they're not my friends in the water), and I was glad to have worn my winter 5/3 suit as the sea felt colder than I was expecting.
And then the highlight. Suddenly we weren't alone anymore, as an otter shuffled down the beach and plopped into the sea. Gone so quickly, I began to question myself as to whether I actually saw it. Scotland at its best.
After a few hours, I left Ben to it and wandered back to the van to get changed and take some photos. Still nobody at the beach. Clearly I'd been living in North Wales a while, as an empty beach no longer felt normal (but most definitely felt right).
We finished the session with our favourite post surf snack: coffee and kannebolle (aka cinnamon buns), a taste acquired from Ben's time living in Scandinavia. The price of ferry tickets paid off - surf trips are always risky as they depend so much on forecasting the wind and swell. A perfect morning, and there was still a whole afternoon to explore more of the island before catching the ferry back to Oban that evening. Tiree, your white sand beaches, wildlife and surf will definitely entice us back.
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