NOVELIST

As Martin himself says, the inside of this place is pretty impressive. Three floors, with views out to all the cardinal points. 

We set up our drinks bar, unpacked and stored our food for the week. Our stash of movies for evening entertainment went into the lounge (Martin of course had his cherished box sets), and settled into the idea that we were now set for any number of outings around the islands. 

We'd put together an itinerary that covered pretty much every place that Martin was to visit in the book; we'd just wait on each day's weather to decide the order in which to sequence them.

Here are some of the interiors of The Broch, that we shared with Martin and Caitlin...

You might recall Martin's rushed exit from the Broch after becoming unexpectedly (but justifiably in my view) upset at a sudden visit from Jason Donovan. 

We took a walk down to the main road, and traced his steps, first to the bridge over the burn running from the hill to the small estuary to the beach, and then onto the beach proper, at the back of the estate house. It was on this brief wander from the house that I began to soak up the feel of the landscape here; I'd been writing the novel for over six months at this point, but now I had the luxury of experiencing the sounds and sensations of the place; the Atlantic winds, the sound of seabirds, the scent and taste of the place. Yes, its true, Martin was a tourist of sorts, as were we, and we'd always be seeing the landscape though that transitory lens, but being physically present? That can't be beaten, whether you're there for a week, or the whole of your life.

I'll mention here, for once and for all, that categorically, AT NO POINT, on any of our travels during the week, did we indulge in any Jack Daniels. Even if we'd chosen to do so, I suspect the island's supply would not yet have recovered from his frontal assault on it.

Note the hill in the far background of the first shot of the Estate house, taken out of the lounge window of The Broch. This is Toe Head, onto which two ascents are made in the book, first by Martin and then by Caitlin.