056:29.079 N
006:52.342 W

Tiree Music Festival

Today has been very special; horizon-to horizon-blue sky all day and this morning 200+ people appeared on the beach and did a 20 minute yoga session, then all ended up in the sea amid plenty of shrieks.

Before we set off on this trip, I’d said to Bol there were two things I’d absolutely love to do in Scotland; one was to visit a Whisky distillery which we did in Tobermory with Isabelle, and today had the potential to fulfil the other dream, to hear some live Scottish music.

So we came ashore slightly apprehensive of just walking up the beach and into the Tiree Music Festival without a wrist band (as had been recommended by the chap in the Loch Ness locks) but that’s exactly what we did, and no-one seemed to care.

There was ‘The Wee Top – home of the acoustic stage’ where we caught the last few songs from ‘The Eves’, a very lovely sounding female duet before we wandered over to ‘The Big Top Tent’.

Remarkably good timing as ‘Take The Floor Ceilidh’ band were just starting up ~ on BBC Radio Scotland apparently too. Having (purposefully) not listened to any Scottish Country Dancing music since my Pa Robin died in 2013 (he had taught Scottish Country Dancing since the 1960s and we all grew up dancing) suddenly to be hearing such familiar tunes, spectacularly loud, with a fabulous live band, in this extraordinary setting, put a huge lump in my throat. But plenty of dancers filled the floor and the atmosphere was electric so it was a wonderful hour of being transported to another world and another time.

After we’d had our ‘fix’ of live music, we wandered off to have an explore of Tiree. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with hot sunshine and a warm wind ~ how lucky for the Festival.

We were aiming to walk to the north coast and made it half way before deciding we’d return to the beach for a swim…. which we did!

Back on TC for tea, happy hour and supper in the cockpit continuing to listen to the music booming out of The Big Top.

0400 start tomorrow making the most of a northerly flow and catching the south going tide, so the dinghy is back on board and we’ll aim for an early night, happy that mission #2 with live music in a gem of a setting has been achieved.

All very contented on TC as she rocks gentle at her anchor.