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On the edge
I'm off on the Calmac ferry to Stornoway then west over the moor and through the hills to Uig sands. Where the Lewis chessmen were found. Somebody's lost treasure. I could get a boat to St Kilda from here, but after that it's America, and for me, even St Kilda is a step too far.

Why am I going ? It's a place I visited years ago for an hour or two and never forgot. This time I'll have days to let it sink into my bones. The tide goes out a long way. Miles of white sand. Wild flowers, wildlife. The Vikings used to go past on their way to Ireland. And came back again laden with booty.

I'll bring back treasure too. Photographs to remind me of what I've seen. Maybe a sea eagle or a basking shark. Perhaps the stones of nearby Callanish at dawn. Or the endless white sands at dusk. Who knows ? It will be a bit like trying to bring water home from the well in a sieve. A task set in a land of magic. Far away on the edge of the world.
Islands on the edge.
Silver sands and wild green seas.
Once the main highway.