the corner office

I get enough annual leave for Ronwen and I to each take a week off each year to do our own thing, and have plenty of time left over for family holidays. My visit to Shetland in January was actually 2024's week off, delayed, and 2025's repairing (reparation?), a couple of weeks ago, was to the Outer Hebrides (mainly South Uist, but I got to see Barra and Vatersay along the way, which is where the photos in this post come from).

A dilemma I have with holidays, in general, is whether to spend them doing nothing and relaxing, or getting out and doing things. For winter getaways, the policy is easy: find somewhere with a great view, and then let fate decide. If the weather's good, head out, and if the weather's bad, get cosy indoors and stare out the window.

As with Shetland in January, I ended up having a bit of both. The week started with weather which might charitably have been described as "mild", and I got to spend a few days walking. And then the storm came in. I don't think this was a named storm, just "lousy weather", of the rain and 60-70mph winds for two full days variety. Hunkered down in an armchair with a few books at my side, it was awesome. I was sad when it ended.

All told, it was a great week. A beautiful and rugged part of the world, friendly people, Gaelic spoken everywhere, sand dunes and beaches. I'm not sure I'll be doing Shetland style travelogues, but more photos will undoubtedly follow.