Finding Hildasay by Christian Lewis

Author:Christian Lewis [Lewis, Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2022-12-13T17:00:00+00:00

18

I left my heart in Jura

I was by now starting to get a bit of national press rather than just featuring in local newspapers, and it would not be long before I realized the monumental effect this would have on my fundraising. Before crossing over on the ferry to Jura, I did an interview for The Guardian about my travels. Just that interview would become one of the many reasons that, up until this point, Jura became one of my favourite islands – and still is to this day.

The island is around twenty-seven miles long and averages around eight miles in width, with a total area of 142 square miles. Its name comes from the Old Norse word for ‘deer’, and with a population of only 200 humans and around 6,000 deer roaming free, I could see why the Vikings had chosen such an apt name. Craighouse is the small main town and holds most of the population, with random houses and farms scattered only up the east coast. The west coast is completely wild, bar one estate owned by Lord William Astor.

It just so happened that I arrived on the island only a week before the Jura Music Festival – a small and intimate affair where Scots from different isles and the mainland come to hear traditional music and to drink. It really couldn’t have been better timing! Arriving in Craighouse after a five-mile walk from the ferry, I did my usual and headed to the pub to have a chat with the locals, get a feel for the island and, of course, soak up what was always the best local information. No pamphlet or book can give you even a glimpse of the knowledge that a local can, which is partly why I always did my best to make connections. Arriving just before the festival, I was witness to the most amazing sense of community, unlike anything I’d witnessed so far on the other islands – everyone helping one another and doing their bit to set up and prepare. It was incredible to see and evident that this wasn’t just because of the festival – they looked after each other all year round. There was such a strong sense of community spirit that, sadly, I believe is long gone in most places, certainly where I come from.

I immediately took to them and had a feeling they had also taken to me. After telling them my plans and how rigidly I was determined to stick to the coast all the way around, including the completely wild, uninhabited west side of the island, I was made aware that nobody had ever done that before. There were two bothies on the west side of the coast, and people would cut straight across from the east coast of the island to the west to stay in them, do some exploring and then return the same way they came. Even asking some of the indigenous folk, I realized even they were unable to advise me what it would be like to walk the entire west coast stretch.

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