Memories of Eigg

Just recently I was catching up with a good friend, Dean Jones, whom I'd volunteered with on Skokholm back in 2014. Since our joint placement on Skok, Dean travelled over to the Greek island of Samos to help oversee marine and bird conservation initiates for a year, and no sooner has he returned to mainland UK than he's headed straight back off again to take up a Ranger position with Scottish Wildlife Trust on the Isle of Eigg.

Hearing him describe his first week on the island; the jolliness (and drunkenness) of the islanders, the indescribable beauty of watching the last rays of sunlight flare up from behind the distant mountains of Rum, suddenly had me reminiscing about my short but rewarding stint on this tiny Hebridean island last summer - working for the Eigg Heritage Trust.

It is an island of contrast - from the steep cliffs and dramatic An Sgurr rock formation in the east, to the barren moorland in the west, and sheltered sandy beaches in the north.

I spent much of each day providing an extra pair of hands for various island projects and events; sheep shearing, croft building, fruit-picking, community fêtes and cèilidhs, but every spare moment was spent exploring the island. As you can tell by the repetitiveness of the photos, I became particularly captivated by the view looking out to Rum: