DIARY OF A HOLIDAY

This short diary was submitted by Mrs Jan Dollar of West Lothian. It was written by her mother, Mrs Ethne Broome, in 1960. The family spent many holidays on Coll, travelling from Matlock in Derbyshire. Mrs Broome died in 1961

Friday May 20th

Left Oban at 6.30am. Rather a misty day. The boat was very empty. Had our usual very good breakfast and by the time we reached Tobermory the sun was shining and it promised to be a beautiful day. After leaving Tobermory it became rather misty again and it was sometime before we could see Coll. At last we saw it looming long and low through the mist. Gradually we got nearer until the moment came when we could go down the stairs to be ready to jump into the ferry boat. There were a few passengers for Coll and soon we were speeding over the water towards "our" island.

Elizabeth III, as John calls her, was on the pier, all smiles to welcome us. In no time at all we were in the island "taxi" and being whisked up to the cottage where the inevitable cup of tea was laid out and waiting for us, not to mention the fact that a brand new runner had been spread over the floor for our benefit.

We had our very welcome tea and tried to talk intelligently to Elizabeth III but by now we were beginning to feel the worse for missing our sleep the night before. The rest of the day passed for me in a sort of daze and I went to bed at 8.30pm.

Saturday May 21st

Woke up in the "wee sma' hoors" to hear a bird making a most peculiar noise, rather like a knife being sharpened, loud and harsh. Wondered if it could be a corncrake and was pleased to discover the next day that I was right.

We got up about 8.30am to a beautiful sunny day. After breakfast and tidying up we spent the morning sitting on the seat in front of the cottage, absolute bliss to sit in the sun and do nothing. In the afternoon, feeling we ought to be a little energetic we walked to Cliad. To our surprise, no caravan. We think it must be at Cornaig with the other one. We lay in the sand for a bit and then decided a little nip was in the wind so we walked back to the cottage. After a meal we read for a bit, had a short stroll to the pier, and then bed!

Sunday May 22nd

Woke up to a fairly strong wind and the morning looked a bit dull. No church to go to as there is no minister at present. It seems rather sad to see a big church like that going empty and unused, makes John think of retiring early and going into the Church all over again. At about 10.30 we set off along the road past the Doctor's house. After a while we left the road and climbed up to the knoll. We had a nice light lunch followed by a good rest.

After that we set off again, this time going through the village, past the old post office and striking away over the hills. It was wonderful walking through the heather and bog myrtle, stooping every so often to listen to the stillness. There was nothing to be heard except for the occasional trilling of a lark high up in the sky. As we were walking, what we thought was a lark flew out of the heather at our feet and looking down we saw, cunningly hidden in a tuft of heather, a beautifully made nest with four chocolate brown eggs in it. We did not linger for fear of frightening the bird away.

Shortly afterwards we struck across towards the road and walked home the way we had gone in the morning. We see a lot of bullfinches about, not a very common bird at home.

Monday May 23rd

Woke up to rain and wind. Went down to see the boat come in, no passengers today. The rain got heavier so we decided to have a really lazy day. We lit the fire and spent a very cosy morning reading. It cleared a bit in the afternoon so we had a short walk between heavy showers. The evening was better but very cold, so we stayed beside the fire. At 9.30 we heard movements in the Annexe and there were William and Elizabeth III who came in for a cup of tea. We chatted until about 10.30 when they went.

Tuesday May 24th

As so often happens in the West Highlands, after a day of rain dawns a beautiful clear day. So it was when we woke this morning, clear and beautiful with sun and a slight wind. While I tidied up after breakfast, John went into the village to run the meat to earth and indeed it took some finding as no-one seemed to know where it was. However, he eventually found it at Mrs Mackinnon's in the High Street, (grand name for a wee row of houses in Arinagour).

As it was such a beautiful day we decided to walk to Acha to see Mr and Mrs MacFadyen who have been living near the old mill there since March. It was a lovely walk and we enjoyed every minute of it. Mr and Mrs MacFadyen were very pleased to see us and of course, with the usual highland friendliness and courtesy invited us in.

While there, John went to ask the Laird for permission to fish and saw Mrs Stewart who he called me out to meet. To our surprise, she turns out to be the daughter of the Captain Wilson who used to live at the Winnats and of course knows Darley Dale and Matlock and also knows the Wills very well. So we are now to go there one evening for a drink!

Mrs MacFadyen would insist on our sharing their mid-day meal with them, potatoes, onions and milk, very good it was too. Mr MacFadyen is a most interesting old man with a fund of knowledge about Coll and its old stories and superstitions. He is a fluent Gaelic speaker and writer and spends his winter evenings writing in a book the meaning of all the place names in the island and all the old tales etc. he can find out about them. We felt we could have listened forever. To crown it all, he produced a fiddle he had made himself, a most beautiful piece of work, and proceeded to play tunes, both sad and gay, to our great delight.

In the course of our conversation I mentioned our association with Dr. MacLean Watt and he was most interested. It is amazing how the name of MacLean Watt is still almost a household word in the islands, especially among the old people.

Rather reluctantly we left them and walked back to Arinagour, stopping on the way to have a chat with the peat cutters. For ten shillings a year the islanders can cut as much peat as they like and with coal at ten pounds a ton it is not surprising that they burn peat in large quantities. After it is cut it is stacked and is dry enough to use after about three weeks.

In the evening John went fishing with William but it was too clear, (the weather is always wrong for the fish!), and they caught nothing. Terry (the dog) and I went out and climbed the hill and looked until the midgies drove us in. So ended a perfect day.

Wednesday May 25th

As so often happens in the Highlands, after a lovely clear day comes a dull one. So we were not unduly surprised to find it cloudy and inclined to rain. We went down to see the ferry boat go out to the old Claymore. The sea was a bit choppy and I was quite glad to be on the pier.

We saw a yacht at anchor on the other side of the bay. Davie the boatman said a lot of yachts come in during the summer. Up to lunchtime we read our papers, they only come every other day so one tends to read them more thoroughly than one does at home.

After lunch we decided to walk in the direction of Cornaig, taking sandwiches with us. The wind was behind us so the going was reasonably good. On and on we went over the once very familiar road until we eventually reached the Cornaig caravan. It is a lovely situation and we felt we must go there again one day.

We ate our sandwiches beside the caravan and were just starting our return journey when there was a wild shrieking behind us and there was Elizabeth III. She had been up at Cornaigbeg having a cup of tea with Mrs MacRae and was coming back to the caravan to wait for Wiliam to pick her up with his scooter when she saw us. Of course she had to take us into the caravan to show us how "smashing" it all was, with new seats etc. It certainly is a very nice caravan, she does not stint on her furnishings for either the cottage or the caravans.

She then decided to walk back with us until she met William. By this time the wind was strong in our faces making conversation almost impossible. I say almost, because nothing can stop Elizabeth III talking! We could seldom hear what she said but it mattered not! It was a hard walk and we were really tired when we got back to the cottage, after all we'd done 12 miles.

Thursday May 26th

We began today very lazily by putting our breakfast on the trolley and wheeling it into the bedroom. Had to get up about 9.30 as Mrs Stewart rang up to ask us if we would go over to Acha for coffee about 8.30pm.

It was a dullish day but we decided to take sandwiches and go up to the reservoir loch in the hills where John could fish. John had hardly been fishing for five minutes before he caught a lovely big trout, we were so pleased. He did not catch any more but it did not matter.

We stayed up beside the lochan 'til nearly 5 O'clock and had a refreshing drink of John's "tinker's tea". The water is boiled in a can over a fire of heather roots and when boiling the tea and sugar is added and allowed to boil for two or three minutes. Then the can is dipped in the loch and it is ready. The dip in the loch sends the tea leaves to the bottom of the can.

After we got back to the cottage, had a meal and tidied ourselves as best we could, we set out to walk to Acha House. We got there at about 8.30 and after we got in we had to go upstairs to see Mrs Stewart's eldest little girl who is three and a half. She would not go to sleep until she had seen us! Her name is Fiona and the other little girl of eighteen months is called Fenella.

Acha House is not very large but is furnished with furniture and portraits taken from the castle. We had a very pleasant time chatting with Mrs Stewart about people we both knew at home and gleaning information from her about the island and its' people.

Mr Stewart came in later. He had been busy peat cutting. He farms of course. He was a pleasant young man in his very early thirties and obviously has the well-being of the island and his tenants at heart.

Another strange thing came to light in the course of the conversation: he is connected by marriage to the Forresters of Tullibody House near Alloa. I used to go there when I was young to play with Emily Forrester who was at school with me.

We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and Mrs Stewart kindly brought us back to the cottage in her land rover.

Friday May 27th
Our last day, but strangely enough we feel as though we have had a long holiday and it certainly has done us good.

Being boat day we went down to see who and what came in - no passengers but a lot of goods.

For lunch we had the trout which weighed one and three quarter pounds. I grilled it and it was delicious, very pale flesh, almost like salmon.

After lunch John thought he'd like to fish in the Mill Loch at Acha so I walked along with him but turned back before he got there as I wanted to do a bit of packing. Shortly after I'd left him it came on a very fierce shower and I got absolutely soaked. As soon as I got back to the cotage it cleared and the sun came out once more.

A wonderful holiday - nothing changes.