Our relaxed, late afternoon on the beach around a fire with friends turned to early evening as we  started packing up and dousing the smouldering peat slabs with seawater. On the palate was a reminder of the warming, life-affirming campfire conversations we had all enjoyed in those last few magical hours sitting together to share food, drink and stories.

On adding a tiny drop of water we left the beach, passing tidal pools, to head over the sand dunes and across the machair to the cottage where we stayed to savour peat-smoked salmon burnt ends cured overnight in brown sugar, salt and honey.