To Rum From Eigg

The Isle of Eigg, Scotland. 11 January 2011

- DAVID CLAPP

David Clapp heads off to the picturesque wilderness on the Isle of Eigg to go off-grid in search of stunning scenery to shoot

I turn the pages of another book, the rain running down the windows, the start of our second day on the Isle of Eigg. Scotland in the winter is always a risk. Right off the ferry, we greet our ‘taxi,’ taking us to our cottage, a Mitsubishi Shogun piled up in the back with palettes. “This is the second car I've had since I arrived here in 1968,” we're informed. The story unfolds; his last one was a classic Mini Cooper, shipped there with the owner from East London. The Shogun got so rusty that the suspension collapsed and was replaced with a railway sleeper. You would think the last straw would be when the driver’s door fell off eight years ago. That was replaced successfully with a shower curtain, complete with a plastic rail.

“Behold – the city of Cleadale!”

A few houses nestle in the gentle hills, a mile or so from the shore, with views to the beautiful Isle of Rum, calling us onwards to another potential adventure. Tim and I get the fire lit. Not only do the peat cuts and briquettes keep us warm, but they also power the hot water.