Earlier this morning, we took the Jura passenger ferry back to the mainland. Alex told us that they ran it since seven years with the Island Trust that they had set up some years back to support local services, but he thought that this year might be the last for the direct ferry. (The other one we took runs from Feolin on the southern end of Jura, via Port Askaig to Kennacraig, while this goes directly from Jura’s main village Craighouse to Tayvallach on the mainland) Nicol was the captain and he also gave us a bit of a guided tour during the 40-minute journey, and among other things we saw the remains of Castle Sween, one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland (from the 1100s). He also gave me a postcard and helped us call a taxi to pick us up in Tavallich and take us to the Glasgow bus at Lochgilphead Lochnell Street about 20 minutes way Immensely helpful!  

I was actually really sad to leave Jura – we had such tranquil time there.everything just felt silent and peaceful and pure in some way. I can’t see now when I would go back, but I do hope I do get to see Jura again some day! 

We somehow didn’t manage to book our guided tours until our last day, so we did both the Jura Whisky Distillery tour this morning, and then “Alex the bus” drove us around the island and told us about its history, nature, and everyday life. I personally found Alex tour more interesting than that of the distillery, but I’m not really a whisky drinker. Alex stories about the life on Jura were fascinating – it wasn’t an easy life for the inhabitants, and the landlords, the Campbell family, didn’t exactly make it easier. (But with a curse thrown at them, justice was allegedly served in the end.) Many people also left for the U.S. In the 1800s, some of them with a resettlement grant from the British Government. Today, life is different of course. While Alex told us that when his wife grew up there, people shopped clothes and other things when the traveling salesman came by, and then the day after everyone were wearing the same clothes, today with internet, everything can be ordered and reach the island within a few days. It takes maybe 5 hours to get to Glasgow by ferry and bus, but there are also flights there from the mainland so people can go for a day if needed. So in a way, it’s possible to have all conveniences. But finding work still seems to be a challenge, and also keeping many of the necessary services alive such as certain ferry routes, food services, and a little convenience store. Jura attracts about 20,000 visitors a year, but the permanent population is no more than 200 people and it’s difficult to get permits to build on the island as there are a lot of restrictions in place to protect the landscape. A challenge to find a balance as the population also needs a sustainable size to keep the island inhabited. Three fascinating and informative hours on the as you can see! I recommend anyone who visits the island to give Alex a call and book a tour     

 The tour ended with a visit to the little church where they had a fantastic photo exhibition of the life and the people of Jura from the late 1800s and onwards. 

After a Scottish breakfast at the Anchor Hotel this morning, we booked a taxi to the Ferry Terminal in Kennacraig as no busses connected until much later in the day. Well on the ferry, we bumped into a woman that had been on the bus yesterday, and who was on her way out to this part of the country for the first time. It turned out that she was on het way to her first day of work in the cafeteria on the ferry. She was a bit nervous and it was quite sweet. But what a fantastic job to be on that ferry! The ride took about two hours hours and the view was spectacular, even though it rained a lot. Andreas and I drank coffee and caught up on everything that had happened since last time we met.

The stop in Port Askaig was quick and all we had time to do was to walk the 30 meters or so between the ferries. The little hotel where we were supposed to have stayed was right there in the harbor by the ferries, and both Andreas and I thought when we saw it that our involuntary overnight in Tarbert might not have been a bad thing after all, since the little town where we had stayed seemed a little more happening than Port Askaig. 

Once we reached Jura, the bus schedule seemed to have a lunch break and wouldn’t leave until about 2 hours later, so we called the hotel who called “Alex the bus”, who picked us up 20 minutes later and gave us a tour on the way up to Craighouse and the hotel. He offered a guided tour during our stay, which I think we will take him up on before we leave.

We are now back at the hotel (The Jura Hotel, which is lovely by the way) after walk up to the little cemetery in an abandoned croft village a bit up the hill. It’s raining a bit, but it’s not too cold and the fog and the mist somehow adds to the beauty of the landscape. A little tired after our walk, and with a book and a small glass of Jura Whisky at the hotel pub (which is seemingly the only pub in village), and with the rain tapping on the windows, we both feel like this trip is already everything we expected!