"I was about twelve. I used to spend my summers helping the old bodach Murdo from the end of the road. I used to help him row his boat. We would leave in the morning and would not return until late in the evening. I would row around the island while he would reach over the sides and haul in the lobster pots. We would leave from Aird a'Mhuichan and spend all day travelling around Scalpaigh. We would row all the way out and round past the lighthouse.
"On the way home after an entire day rowing, one of the larger fishing boats pull alongside us and shouted over "A bheil thu iarriadh tobhadh a 'bhalaich?!", asking if we would like a tow. I was over the moon, my smile reached from ear to ear, but as I was about to pull in the oars ol' Murdo shakes his head and shouts over "Tha sinn gu leor! Moran taing Dohl!"
"My heart sank, the old b****r."
As told by Murdo Macleod, resident of Scalpay
More information on visiting the area can be found here.