It began with getting lost in the Grand Hotel, and another massive breakfast before heading out to wait for my lift. I was picked up by Susan from Allied Taxis who was so helpful and full of information about people and places. The weather looked perfect - by that I mean it was not foggy or windy. But it wasn’t; the cloud base was 1000 ft, and it was likely that we would not be able to go. I sat in the waiting room at Tingwall Airfield, talking to one of the BT engineers heading to Fair Isle for the day, and a lovely gentleman heading home. I had to be grown up and not let any impending disappointment show.

But we did leave, and despite an aviation background and alot of experience around helicopters and small aircraft, the moment that we took off was possibly one of the most exciting I have experienced. The view was fabulous; unfortunately in my over preparation, one of the things I forgot to pack was a card reader. I will not see the pictures properly until one arrives in the post in a few days.

I have studied Fair Isle so closely that as we flew over I could feel myself subconsciously reciting the names of hills and geos and crofts. And then we landed. I was finally in Fair Isle.

The cottage I am staying in is lovely, and has that beautiful old house smell when you walk in - no matter how much you renovate, it is still there. And for that I am thankful. My parcel had arrived with my art materials, along with a hideously expensive pack of 640 gsm 100% cotton full imperial watercolour paper from Jacksons which was badly damaged. Not their fault, and it all adds to the patina of the experience anyway. But only as long as it gets back to Inverness safely!

The weather was calm so I lit the fire, partly unpacked and then walked the 20 minutes to the shop. Fiona and Robert are so lovely and were incredibly helpful showing me where everything was, and telling me to choose vegetables that were less marked. And there was wine. Thank goodness.

The Milky Way was supposed to be just above the lighthouse at 6.24 p.m. and I had planned to photograph it, but it was too cloudy to capture it properly. Hopefully, there will be other opportunities.

After organising my space and things I made a very simple supper and went to bed early. I have lived in some very remote areas; I would say Fair Isle is the quietest and darkest I know of. Gentle music broke the overpowering silence and I slept for eight hours solid. Something I have not done for many, many years.