Puffins & Patrick Stuart's Paradise

We didn’t spend much time at the runes themselves. My mother had heard word of alleged puffins nesting on the far side of the island, and she was eager to check them out. When we got to that side, the view of the chaotic ocean waves so far down the island’s cliffs was worth the trip all by itself. The is fortunate, because sadly the puffin watching was pretty sparse. We spied maybe two dozen sitting in the water, but given how tall a cliff it was, even with the binoculars it took effort to recognize them as puffins.

We did spy one lone puffin pretty close to us on a cliff, much closer than any puffin we’d seen up to this point. He was pretty cute and looks quite happy, lazily wedged onto a cliff ledge. But as cool as he was, nothing beats the feeling of standing at the edge of such a cliff and staring far out into the ocean, the familiar Atlantic in an unfamiliar place. What a wonderful feeling.

Just off the island were the remains of a small castle built by the Earl Patrick Stuart in the 1500’s. I’m not kidding about the name. It was a small castle, and very ruined, but there was some good ruin climbing, some tall chambers and dead ends. The oddest piece was when we discovered that there was one portion of this well-ruined castle that was locked. The room we at first took to be condemned was in fact fully and luxuriously furnished, with windowpanes installed where the castle window openings had been. It is very likely still the living space of someone to this day, and if that’s true, what a bachelor pad this person has. We might have stayed longer, but by this time I think everyone was ready for lunch.

But first: a very important stop.