Tarbert, Harris blanketed in rain 27 May 2024

 

Despite the rain, maybe because of the rain, spring in Tarbert is vibrant.
This years Larch cones, Yellow Iris, Rhododendron (a ubiquitous weed).

The day has been very wet from the outset - constant light rain, interspersed with periods of heavy rain!  The cloud base was only just above the town chimneys. On the plus side it is calm (which means the rain will not move too far) and not too cold.

After a long breakfast followed immediately by coffee on board, we went for a walk. Over the isthmus again, on to the old piers on the West Bay, and then back to view the shops in Tarbert.

On one of the old jetties on West Bay - next stop America.

An extremely well tended small house overlooking West Bay.  Idyllic.
The Red-hot Pokers in the garden were magnificent.

Mr Akrams general store is a must. The window display should not be missed, but should not put you off visiting the internal emporium. Everything is available!  Two doors up is the grocery store - small but perfectly formed.  Near the main road is the Harris Tweed shop - a magnet for every visitor to Tarbert, it was thronging.  Full of lovely stuff as long as you like tartan.

Of course there was only one place we really wanted to visit:

Isle of Harris Distillery just at the top of the Tarbert Marina gangway.

Inside was very welcoming, warm, dry, and full of whisky and gin.  The whisky is still quite young (5 - 7 years) because the distillery only opened in 2015. A couple of samples had to be tasted, and with that came a mellow warmth towards the world.

Susie and Gordon bought a bottle of their batch 10, with Mary and I bought batch 12.  
We’ll review the difference a little later.
Hearach means a native of Harris in Scottish Gaelic.

This evening will probably be spent playing cards and solving the world’s problems.