Cramond Island

Alien Wally and Mags were left a tad red-faced after visiting Cramond Island a few weeks ago. And red-legged and red-armed. Not so much sun-kissed as sun-walloped-upside-the-head-for-not-putting-suncream-on. Oh well, at least it made a change from the freaky-deaky white glare with which they blinded everyone at the start of the trip.

Cramond is a suburb in the north of Edinburgh on the banks of the Forth. Cramond Island sits in the Forth itself, about a mile offshore, and can be accessed by means of a causeway that appears when the tide goes out. And when the tide goes out seems to be anyone’s guess as neither the Official Website Of Tides nor the Official Notice Of Tides at Cramond itself got it right. Nearly right, to be fair, but both off by about an hour (in different directions).


So while they waited patiently for the tide to go out, Alien Wally and Mags joined the throngs on the beach and did some paddling in the water. They fully expected their bones to shrivel up in panic as soon as their little toes touched the usually icy water, but they were pleasantly surprised to discover a balminess akin to the warm side of the ocean in Cape Town.