Day 13 Coll - Barra
We had a fantastic sleep on Sea Crusader last night, we were too big got the buoys so we had to anchor. I decided to creep in and see how far we could get and I had anchored really close to the pier which was far better than the moorings which required a long journey in the owners dinghies.
Linda had booked a lunch for us at the hotel, she had charmed the receptionist who had promised to find us a table if we arrived promptly at 12. This meant we had to get up and get moving as Linda's first priority was to get to the post office.
Linda went inside and asked the Post Mistress if she had any Scottish stamps and as luck had it she had some with the Saltier on it. "Will they be franked Coll", "They will if I stamp them but it's a lot of trouble" came the terse reply with a glint in her eye.
Linda emerged from the Post Office on cloud nine thinking of the reaction of eighteen seven year olds receiving a letter from their teacher posted in "The Isle of Struay". After hunting the town for more Katie related buildings and taking various photographs we headed off for lunch at The Coll Hotel. The hotel is definitely a "cut above" and a quite a welcome surprise.
We left for Barra after lunch and because of the limitation on time we were forced to motor for much of the way, in hindsight it would have been better if we had stayed another night and left tomorrow morning and we could have enjoyed a slow sail to Barra. On the way over we were accompanied for a short time by a pod of bottle nosed dolphins.
The entry into Barra was easy and as soon as we tied up we ate, went to bed, looking forward to exploring the town tomorrow.
PS for those not in the know, Katie Morag is a BBC childrens programme based upon the books and set in the Isle of Coll.
Linda had booked a lunch for us at the hotel, she had charmed the receptionist who had promised to find us a table if we arrived promptly at 12. This meant we had to get up and get moving as Linda's first priority was to get to the post office.
Linda went inside and asked the Post Mistress if she had any Scottish stamps and as luck had it she had some with the Saltier on it. "Will they be franked Coll", "They will if I stamp them but it's a lot of trouble" came the terse reply with a glint in her eye.
Linda emerged from the Post Office on cloud nine thinking of the reaction of eighteen seven year olds receiving a letter from their teacher posted in "The Isle of Struay". After hunting the town for more Katie related buildings and taking various photographs we headed off for lunch at The Coll Hotel. The hotel is definitely a "cut above" and a quite a welcome surprise.
We left for Barra after lunch and because of the limitation on time we were forced to motor for much of the way, in hindsight it would have been better if we had stayed another night and left tomorrow morning and we could have enjoyed a slow sail to Barra. On the way over we were accompanied for a short time by a pod of bottle nosed dolphins.
The entry into Barra was easy and as soon as we tied up we ate, went to bed, looking forward to exploring the town tomorrow.
PS for those not in the know, Katie Morag is a BBC childrens programme based upon the books and set in the Isle of Coll.
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Important Katie Morag building in the background! -
"I am not excited about Katie Morag, I am just going to lie here"