On my first visit to the Outer Hebrides, when I got to the missile test and launch area on South Uist I discovered that the Ground Guidance Repair Station was fully staffed by a resident crew, and my presence was sort of surplus to requirements. I spent some of the copious spare time hiking on Benbecula and North Uist, but most of it was spent on the beach just north of the airport at Benbecula.

The beach was several miles long, and at the northern end was a rip tide that ran between the channels where puffins liked to gather. During that first trip in 1960 Sgt Ken 'Mac' Macklin and I spent several days just hanging out on the beach, building sand castles and swimming.

Mac took these two photos with my Adox fold-out 2x2 camera, which I still have.