Very soon our ferries will be bursting with holiday makers – hopefully they will run on time and without incident!

Cars tightly packed, brimming with excited families, as the holiday season begins in earnest on the island.

The arrival of spring and winter always clings on, reluctant to loosen her grip, with hailstorms sweeping across blousy blue skies. Heavy downpours that feel like they are being poured from huge buckets way up in the clouds.

As fields become filled with puddles and pools, regardless of the weather, nature carries us forward. Daffodils line the verges and lambing and calving get well underway.

The excitement of a new season takes hold as the arrival of all the visitors brings an added buzz to island life.

Tourism here has evolved and grown sharply over recent decades. There's accommodation to suit various budgets – campsites and a youth hostel, pods, and cottages, state of the art hotels, and luxurious guest houses.

More than 60 odd years ago and possibly at the very grass roots of the island’s tourist journey, a local farmer unwittingly dipped his toes into the world of sustainable tourism, way ahead of his time.

It was a ‘friend of a friend’, a big favour, for a young family looking for a holiday on the island. Never wanting to see anyone stuck, the farmer’s attention turned to the caravan that had lain in the corner of the field for more than a few years.

Somewhat ‘vintage’ and more than a little ‘wind battered’, he set about fixing it up. A few repairs here and there, nothing a hammer and a few nails couldn’t sort.

A jolly good airing. Some tape at the windows. A bucket and a couple of pots and pans strategically placed ready to catch any rain that might drip through the old leaky roof, should the weather turn.

A good root through the farm sheds and a large sheet of canvas and four fence stobs were located, finally allowing the finishing touches to be added. The makeshift windbreak, secured to the ground, before an old Elsan ‘bucket toilet’ took pride of place.

In true Hebridean style, the day the visiting guests arrived they were pretty much blown off the ferry to their lodgings, in howling wind as the rain came lashing down in torrents.

Inside the old caravan, the pots and buckets came in very handy as rain dripped steadily into them. Cold draughts swirled through the crevices of the damp walls and as there had been no heating on for years, the interior remained decidedly musty.

There were also the 'joys' of that old chemical toilet, precariously placed behind canvas, firmly pegged to the ground, as the stormy weather raged.

It did not take long before the family were soon knocking on the door of the farmhouse looking very apologetic. Thanking the farmer’s wife profusely, they explained that given the awful weather, they would need to find more suitable accommodation for their young family.

Looking aghast, the farmer’s wife wholeheartedly agreed with their decision, saying she was horrified they had even thought of staying in the old leaky caravan, especially considering the hens had only been evicted from the van the week before.

Happily, the hens moved back into their living quarters, as the old caravan hung on to its very last threads. Eventually, it would have collapsed in a winter storm with the last remnants stripped to provide kindling and firewood for the farmhouse, before going to a big bonfire in the sky. Leaving only an old rusty chassis, perfect for the sheep to rub their fleeces against.

Thankfully, those early tourist experiences did not deter the visitors. Accommodation on the island continued to develop and grow. With times continually changing and moving on, a good sprinkling of that unique Hebridean versatility, character, and charm, is what makes for the best visits to the islands.

Recently, at Persabus, it has been the antics of the farm animals that have been causing the latest source of entertainment.

The Hebridean sheep, who regardless of being heavily pregnant, seem to have become partial to dabbling in athletics and a little fence hopping, before taking themselves off for a toddle along the main road.

Phone calls, and messages alerted the farmer to their shenanigans. However, on hearing the quad bike, those clever cookies, like naughty school children not wanting to be caught, simply hopped back into the field.

Happily chewing on the cud, beady eyes cocked on the approaching farmer, not a sheep out of place. As the quad headed away, fence hopping resumed.

Out and onto the road went the escapees, flirting and flaunting with the traffic, and so the messages would begin again. The quad bike would duly arrive in the field, and those sheep would have skipped back to barracks, happily chewing the cud again.

The issue began when those ladies had earlier spied an open gate and had taken it upon themselves to relocate to another field. A field that handily lent itself to their fence hopping escapades.

Why does the grass always look greener on the other side?

Today, it was the turn of the young calves on the hillside. Three of them had managed to squeeze themselves under the old electric fence, fancying a bite of the longer, green grass on the verges of the single-track road.

Maybe they had a plan to munch their way along to the local distillery, where surely, they could enjoy a ‘wee nip’ before heading home? Unfortunately, the best laid plans were thwarted.

Yet again, the farmer was alerted. The quad bike to the rescue and off he sped, to chase them back through to the waiting herd on the right side of the fence.

Crawling on his belly under the electric wires, he duly followed them back, was ready to chase them away a little further up the hillside.

Unfortunately, though, his foot got caught and lodged in the booby trap of an old bit of rusty wire and instead, he fell flat on his face in peaty bogland.

The herd, which had gathered round curiously to watch him shimmying under the fence, could be heard sniggering loudly, as one mud-covered farmer made his retreat to the waiting quad bike.

The daily practices on the home-made assault course and the Happy Farmer will soon be a likely candidate for the next episode of SAS ‘Who Dares Wins’. With an old electric fence added on his ‘to do’ list, there may also be the added bonus of some extra entertainment for the visitors to the farm in the coming days too.

Happy Easter!