We are so enjoying the wild flowers of ‘the big garden’ the meaning of the name ‘Lismore’.
Beyond the bright yellow of the flag iris a medieval tidal fish trap can be seen in the small bay to the south-east of Castle Coeffin. Among the many other flowers the pale lilac orchids are glorious in their simple beauty.
Walked up the hill behind our friend’s house to check her beehives were not damaged after the winds and decided to keep walking to one of the two ancient castles on Lismore, Castle Coeffin. It was delightful wending our way along the western cliff paths and on through fields of wild flowers.
As we returned along a track the shorn sheep shone a brilliant white against the ruined stone houses and the dark green grass.
It was wonderful walking in the wilds again.
We arrived at Port Appin on the west coast of Scotland in time to down a drink before the ferry left for the Isle of Lismore.
The wind was teasing the water and shifting the shafts of sunlight to illuminate a cluster of white painted cottages one moment, then a strip of lime grass, and then the whole side of a mountain. Each glimpse a fresh world of glory.
This is why we come.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said: “After Sunday’s attack in Orlando as Christians we must speak out in support of LGBTI people, who have become the latest group to be so brutally targeted…
We must pray, weep with those affected, support the bereaved, and love without qualification…
The obligation to object to these acts of persecution, and to support those LGBTI people …arises from the unshakeable certainty of the gracious love of God for every human being.”
About 330 million years ago, warm seas deposited marine sediments in layers which became compressed to form limestone rock and were subsequently eroded by ice and dissolved by rainwater.
Today, between heavy rain showers, we wandered the resulting shoreline limestone pavements. Further out into Morecambe Bay the mud flats and shallow water provide rich feeding for birds such as shelducks.
We worshipped with the community of St Bartholomew’s church in the delightful South Lakeland village of Barbon. The friendly community know how to welcome strangers and we enjoyed refreshments and a good chat before taking a wander around the village and farm lanes.
Surrounded by Union Flags in a beer garden at lunchtime we reflected on Friday’s 90th birthday celebrations. Happy birthday Ma’am!
‘Between the head and the feet of any given person is a billion miles of unexplored wilderness. ‘
I saw these words of the dance teacher Gabrielle Roth on a poster advertising a course working with dance as a transformative process.
It struck me that however far we travel across this amazing planet, it is the inner journey which remains the most adventurous.
The view along this stretch of the River Lune at Kirkby Lonsdale was said by John Ruskin to be ‘one of the loveliest in England, therefore the world’. It is a beautifully balanced pastoral scene of woods, hills, river and meadows which was also loved and painted in the 19th century by Turner.
Today the sun was warm, the air scented by meadow-sweet and the water clear. It was a very good place to be.
We drove up to Lancashire and are chilling out in a friend’s house. Hospitality has been a theme throughout this last year.
We are in receipt of the gift of time with friends and family and now the sunshine and warmth of the west coast has amazed us. This is the warmest we have been since Italy. Superboa!
This morning we said goodbye to our friends in Paris and drove to Dunkirk to catch the afternoon ferry to Dover. The roads were extremely wet, and the ferry crossing wild. Then, through the rain, we saw the white cliffs and were back on UK soil in no time.
We drove on to a small town in Berkshire where we met our latest family baby, just a few weeks old. It was incredibly precious to hold her and enjoy our first encounter.
canddaway's Blog 