This week we have been taking full advantage of the wilderness that is the Outer Hebrides, living the island life and becoming accustomed to changing our plans for all the weathers. We have found so many amazing beaches that we have had all to ourselves- windy wild walks, fires on the beach and cozy nights in the van- what’s not to love about such a simple life?
The joys of no plans and island life
Getting away this week was exactly what we needed. As much as we loved house sitting last week, we just needed to get away from the frustrations of our house purchase delays and have time and space to think about something else. The Outer Hebrides was just the place to do that. We have slipped into island life far too easily. With no specific plans, we have just gone with the flow and have been guided pretty much by the weather. We only planned to have 24 hours at beautiful Huishinis, but we ended up staying for 2 days.
Who would have thought we could have been so content in the middle of no where with no connection to the outside world? Our days consisted of getting out when we could, long walks on deserted beaches, eating when we were hungry, sleeping when we were tired (there is a lot of darkness up here!) and simply enjoying being together. The long nights have even given Jackie the opportunity to teach me backgammon- I have no escape and no excuse not to not join in.
Beautiful beaches, Highland coos
One of the main reasons the Outer Hebrides is one of our happy places and why we were so keen to escape here are the stunning beaches. They are simple some of the best beaches in the world. Granted, they may not be the warmest at the start of November, but the endless miles of clean white sand cannot be beaten- and it is not just a single beach but one of many. We have purposely targeted Harris and Lewis for this reason. On their western shores lie some spectacular beaches looking out to the North Atlantic. You really do feel like you are at the ends of the earth…and you are- next stop westwards is Greenland and New England!
The beaches are only trumped by the regular meetings with Highland coos. These docile beasts are hidden in pockets around the islands. They are not bothered one iota about humans, rarely looking up from their seemingly continual grazing. They wander the roads and footpaths of the islands- this is their land and we are clearly just visitors into their world. To sit and watch these mighty beasts is an absolute joy and so therapeutic. You cannot resist being pulled into their pace of life and hypnotised by their docile facial expressions- it really is food for the soul.
Loving the weather…whatever the weather
One thing about the Hebrides is you get the weather…all the weather…normally within a short period of time. It has really helped us with our early retirement mindset to be so influenced by the weather. Instead of being answerable to the demands of a job, we are now accountable to the weather and it is pretty simple. We cannot change the weather so we just need to respond to it. There have been times this week when we have been outside from dawn until dusk in glorious sunshine. There have been nights when we have hardly slept due to storms battering and rocking the van. All of this is an adventure and we have absolutely no control over it, all we can control is how we choose to spend our time.
Of course we would love to be out and about in sunshine all day every day, but that will never be. We spoke to a group of photographers who were on a workshop on the island- they had a lovely interpretation of this- saying that they would never visit the islands in the summer as there was far too much sunshine and blue skies. As photographers they wanted stormy and moody skies to fill their days. I guess we just need to change our perspective on the weather.
What do we need to live a fulfilled life?
If we ever needed proof of the importance of the simple things in life- this week has proved it to us. We set off with a van full of our weekly provisions just like if we were at home, and that is all we have needed. We have spent little, experienced lots and slowed down our lives to savour the things that we see as important. We have realised that once we have our basic needs met (of a warm van, food and water), everything thereafter it is about what leads us to a fulfilling life.
It is not our possessions, purchases or cash- we feel that we are relatively poor in cash (compared to our previous working lives), but we are now rich in time and experiences that money simply cannot buy.
House updates
We escaped to the Outer Hebrides after reaching our limits of frustrations with our house purchase. We are reliably informed that we are now down to just 2 enquiries that our sellers solicitor has to answer. We are entirely at his mercy when he chooses to answer these questions. Unfortunately it seems that we may have uncovered a bit of his incompetence relating to his communication with the Land Registry- but only time will tell on this one.
All we know is that we have had an amazing week not worrying about the house and accepting that our purchase will happen sometime in the future- we just don’t know when. As my Mum always says, “what will be will be” and we cannot do a thing to change that.
As I type these words , we are sat in a cozy van on a cold, windy and wild beach on the northwest coast of Lewis. We are surrounded by sheep and hills and nothing else as the sun slowly rises above the peaks and brings some warmth to the day. Absolute bliss!
Have a fantastic week,
Richard & Jackie
Fantastic and inspiring read, especially the statement : “Rich in time and experiences that money simply cannot buy”