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Picture of a walker in a red jacket surrounded by yellow gorsePicture of walkers walking up hill through treesAs the weather didn't improve significantly the originally planned circular walk at Ardnave had to be cancelled. For this walk we were joined by a local church group including several elderly people, so we needed something a little bit more sheltered.

After some quick improvisation we drove to the RSPB reserve at Gruinart and walked through the woodlands of the reserve. It turned out to be a quite enjoyable walk through hedges of gorse and the woodlands.

Only the calves seemed to think "what are these humans doing out here in this horrible weather?"

Picture of walkers through trees Picture of two calves
Picture of Ian BrookeAfter the walk we returned to the RSPB Visitor Centre for tea and home made scones.

And we also had a reason to celebrate: Ian Brooke explained the cards he had been giving out all week. For each completed walk a hole was punched into the card and after eight completed walks the walker qualified for a WalkIslay hat.

Picture of three walkers
Brian from Ilchester was the first to complete eight walks. He was presented the woolly hat with the WalkIslay emblem by Marie from Sweden. My mother Jutta, who came over from Germany, is looking on (She completed her eigth walk the next day). A truly international Islay Walking Week!
Picture of four walkers Picture of walkers at the visitor centre
Picture of Saligo Bay As we still had a little bit of time left in the afternoon we decided to drive over to Saligo Bay to see if there were any nice waves coming in.

As it turned out the waves weren't too spectacular, but we were rewarded nevertheless: Just as we arrived the sun briefly broke through the clouds presenting us with some great views. A full rainbow appeared towards the east over Saligo. The panorama below doesn't really do it justice, this is the best I was able to capture in the short time I had before it disappeared again.

In Saligo Bay the water was glistening with sun reflecting from the way, dramatic clouds overhead. As quick as it came the sun was gone again, but it was enough to enjoy the moment.

Picture of a rainbow
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