Arnish Lighthouse

Watched a program on BBC 2 Scotland, which showed the admirable efforts of the community at Shawbost (West Side, 18 miles west of Stornoway) to establish a community garden around their old school, near the bridge. The project would cost somewhere in the region of £50,000, for which the people of Shawbost required funding from Western Isles Enterprise and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council). Official channels tend to be sluggish, but persistence paid off and the work could be commenced. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the second program (the TV being otherwise engaged), but I'll nip over to the West Side to have a look for myself.

The villagers of Shawbost took their inspiration from their neighbours in Carloway. In that village, they have an open garden project, where people are invited to visit private gardens. If memory serves me, Upper Carloway in particular (being sheltered) has some beauties. The Western Isles has a reputation for being barren and bare, but with a bit of encouragement, it is amazing what the soil can come up with. Other sources of inspiration included a German lady in Uig (15 miles to the west as the crow flies). The entire program (as the captioning image suggests) was in Gaelic, including a creditable effort from the Uig lady.