After leaving Tayvallich harbour, carefully going south of the cardinal marker, we motored south down Loch Sween passing an unmarked rocky island in the middle of the loch covered in seals.

Unmarked rock in the middle of Loch Sween – popular with seals

On rounding the headland, we raised sail and goose-winged it all the way toward the real George Orwell house – it was not his house of course he just stayed there while writing 1984 in 1947, the year Rosamund was born.  He published it the next year, 1948, and it was this year that apparently gave him the inspiration for his title, by simply changing the 48 into 84 to set it well into the future!

The house where George Orwell wrote 1984 in the distance as we approach by sea from the Sound of Jura

After anchoring, we had a slightly boggy but easy walk up the hill to the house.  Fortunately, it was not in use and we were able to be nosey and look through the windows.  “This is much more like it”, said Ros, as she looked at the range in the kitchen, “I could stay here for the week, and what a wonderful view”.  In the back window of one of the bedrooms there was a set of George Orwell novels on display making us even more confident that this was the right house.

From top left clockwise: Ros outside the house where George Orwell wrote 1984; his books in the window; a peep through the kitchen window; our anchorage in the bay south of the house, the view of the house from our landing strip and a peep into a downstairs bedroom

As the wind was from the south we chose to anchor in Port an Tiobart, the last anchorage before the Corryvreckan.  By this time it was 6:15pm and the tide had turned – even though flat out we were only making 2 knots through the water – fortunately it was not too far to go.