Many of the facilities for the island are gathered together in the centre of the island in the Achafolla or Kilchattan area. Facilities are basic but there is a school, a church and a war memorial as well as the old mill. Of course, Cullipool has the shop and the unfound WC and as we discovered, later, Toberonochy has the hall whilst the fire station is in the middle of nowhere. What more could an island want.
There’s the school which looks much like village schools anywhere.
It just goes under the name of Luing Primary School.
The vegetation there included fuchsia bushes. The old name of Achafolla means field of blood.
The view across to Black Mill Bay
I can be very simple in my pleasures. I loved this lichen covered fence post with the plant growing in it.
The war memorial and a most unholy mess of wires. We often think that the small islands will be behind the times. This is not so although there may be a pleasantly gentler pace of life. It would seem, though, that the men of Luing were not slow in coming forward in times of war. It’s a small island – there may have been about 400 inhabitants at the time of the first war of whom 10 made the ultimate sacrifice.
The locals appear to have had some kind of a scarecrow festival. There were quite a few near the school along the roadside.
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They were not ‘Urchfont’ standard but even so they were good fun.
There were lovely flowers in this area - just as at Cullipool only here it was inclined to heathers as well as the fuchsia seen earlier.
Overall, though, there was a greenness here on the gentle but humpy-bumpy hills.
This pleasing little building was the church.
It was pleasing inside as well.
There was definitely a Latvian connection. This lectern made me wonder if there might have been a Latvian boat sunk in the area.
This picture, made in amber, had quite recently been given to the church by grateful Latvians. Thought it was stunning.
An explanation board outside explained all.
We moved a little further south to the old church at Kilchattan
