Cumbria Naturally
  • Home
  • Blog
  • My Books
    • Cumbrian Contrasts
    • A Lakeland Experience >
      • Introduction
      • Derwent
      • Langdale
      • Ullswater
      • Kentdale
    • About Scout Scar
    • Atlantic Odyssey
  • Other Writing
    • What Larks!
    • Further - Explore Shetland
    • Autumn Migration
    • Rydal and Nab Scar
    • Perspectives
    • The River Kent
    • Wings
  • Gallery
  • Contact

The Wilds of Jura, an introduction

15/7/2017

0 Comments

 
PictureThe Paps of Jura
We sail for Colonsay on a beautiful July day of vistas and  calm seas  An opportunity to map out islands of the Inner Hebrides.   The Paps of Jura show on the horizon - sun on cliffs and sandy beaches . The island is rugged and wild.  We’re almost within sight of the whirlpool of Corryvreckan off the northern tip of Jura.  The brilliance of gannet fishing, the spectacle is unrivalled from the power of the dive to the  white wings caught in sunlight.


Picture
Estuary of the Corran River with the Paps of Jura beyond
Leaving Colonsay in the early evening  of a long summer’s night  we make out Loch Tarbert, the sea loch penetrating the west coast of Jura at the island’s narrowest point.  Tarbert of the Crossings, for thousands of years a short-cut across a kilometre of land avoiding the perils of Corryvreckan to the north and strong tides in the Sound of Islay to the south.  Tarbert, an isthmus ,once a focal point and now a place of solitude. 
Leaving Colonsay, we sail south into the Sound of Islay, looking out toward the rugged  west coast of Jura..  An inspirational prelude to our week on the island.   Dim evening light with streaks of sunlight illuminating the wild west coast  with basalt dikes, intrusions  which outlast the Jura quartzite,   raised beaches,  terraces of pebbles and cobbles.  Red deer forage on the beach, framed by dark dikes of basalt, by caves, stacks and rock arches. The sacred places  where man has trod  lightly, leaving the faintest footprint.  With twilight glimmer cast over the wilderness of Jura we step through a portal into myth
The wild west coast of Jura is inaccessible, wilderness walking.  The Paps dominate our horizons as we explore the Inner Hebridean islands: Colonsay, Jura and Islay.  On Jura, we have a sequence of fair days, still, calm and clear- so we compose walks focusing on The Paps – a challenge which is irresistible.  Throughout our trip, we admire these mountains in ever-changing mood.
 
I plan a Jura sequence of nature writer’s blogs.   Sometimes  experience ( like an evening sail in fading light) is evocative but not photogenic. The Paps of Jura in fine weather can hardly fail to yield an abundance of good photographs.  I am immersed in editing and reflecting on the experience.
  Corra Bheinn
Beinn Shiantiach
 Beinn An Oir , Hill of Gold  
Beinn a Shiach , the consecrated hill, 
Beinn a Chaolais, The Hill of the Kyle 
In a sequence of blogs, I hope to show why the Paps of Jura are so distinctive.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Jan Wiltshire is a nature writer living in Cumbria. She also explores islands and coast and the wildlife experience. (See Home and My Books)

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    November 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    April 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009
    January 2009
    January 2004

    Categories

    All
    A Local Patch
    Birdlife
    Butterflies And Moths
    Flowers
    Locations
    Views
    Walks
    Weather
    WIldlife

    RSS Feed

Website
Home
Blog
Gallery
Contact



​Cookie Policy
My Books
  • Intro - My books
  • ​Cumbrian Contrasts
  • A Lakeland Experience
  • About Scout Scar
  • Atlantic Odyssey
    ​
Other Writing
  • Intro - Other Writing
  • What Larks!
  • Further - Explore Shetland
  • Autumn Migration
  • Rydal and Nab Scar
  • Perspectives
  • The River Kent
  • Wings
Jan Wiltshire - Cumbria Naturally
© Jan Wiltshire 2022 All rights reserved
Website by Treble3