Craig, one of our regular guests, has kindly shared with us some of his thoughts on staying here and experiencing island life.
Island life
“The first time I visited and stayed at Treshnish in 1997 I remember thinking that I’d have the cottage for a week and take day trips to see other parts of Mull. But I never left the farm for the entire week.
After I arrived, I quickly realized that there was nowhere that I could go and nothing that I could see or do that would be any better than simply exploring Treshnish.
Now, after having returned to Treshnish from my home in the US at least once a year for the past 22 years, I still feel exactly the same as I did on that first visit.
Learning how to take a vacation
Staying at Treshnish has taught me how to take a vacation. To slow down, to abandon my “plans”, and to discover what the time and place have to offer every day. I once heard a walker on the headland say to another in his group that he was turning back because he had “seen all there is to see”.
In dozens of long walks over many years I’ve covered every part of Treshnish and haven’t yet seen everything there is to see.
I’ve sat for hours and watched a male and female seal with a newborn pup, watched families of otters fishing and playing in the tidal pools, discovered a den of mink with young, seen basking sharks trolling along the cliffs, been snowbound for a week at Haunn in the days before the cottages had electricity or cell phone service.
Sea eagles and making jam
I’ve watched as the sea eagle population has become established and grown, delighted in picking blackberries and making jam to share with friends and other guests, seen dozens of amazing sunsets – everyone different. I’ve met so many wonderful people and made new friends, and had thousands of unforgettable experiences – all without leaving Treshnish.
Many times I’ve simply enjoyed sitting in the silence on Beinn Duill just to see what would come to me. Something always comes.
Sea Room
In his beautiful book “Sea Room” Adam Nicolson writes, “The place has entered me. It has coloured my life like a stain. Almost everything feels less dense and less intense than those moments of exposure. The social world, the political world, the world of getting on with work and a career-all of those have been cast in shadow by the scale and seriousness of my brief moments of island life.”
I understand this completely, and am profoundly grateful to have discovered such an amazing place so carefully looked after and generously shared and made available for all to experience.”
Thank you so much Craig for sharing this lovely blog with us. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
