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The Herald Scotland

The library at Eas Mor has been named among the best in the world

'150 Libraries You Need to Visit Before You Die' by Léa Teuscher, a London-based, sub editor with Wallpaper magazine, contacted the Eas Mor team unexpectedly; they were thrilled to receive the recognition. The library at Eas Mor was created in 2000 by Michael 'Albert' Holmes as a shelter from the storm. 'I just built it with a chainsaw and a set of ladders and thought I'd leave some pens and papers in there for a rainy day,' Holmes explains, 'and now that place will touch the soul. It's a living entity.' Holmes, who formerly worked in the building trade across the water in Ayrshire, bought the woodland from the forestry commission in 1998 for 'a song' with the dream of rewilding it. Years, tears and volunteers combined to slowly return it to a diverse and thriving ecosystem, with paths dug by hand and only a motorised wheel barrow to assist. (Image: Kim McAllister) Now visitors can enjoy woodfired pizzas in the solar-powered café at the base of the trail, filled with hand carved windowsills and hand painted murals, before followings paths through larch, sycamore, hazel and Scots pine on the route to the library. The views over the forest, out to the Firth of Clyde, Ailsa Craig and the mainland become more spectacular as the journey takes the visitor up the hillside to the top of a waterfall. Holmes believes the wide vista shows the curvature of the Earth at the horizon, and explains that around three o'clock in the afternoon the sun hits the waterfall sending rainbows across the wonder then, that by the time they reach the library, visitors are feeling poetic. 'Sometimes I sit in here and just cry, this place means so much to people,' Holmes admits, as he gazes around the space. He has added a small set of step ladders to allow people to pin their notes to the roof, and four small school chairs have been placed by the table. Bookshelves line one wall, visitors can add and borrow books on a trust system. Holmes says there was once a first edition of a Harry Potter book left as a token of thanks from someone who was particularly moved. (Image: Kim McAllister) 'There's a donation box here – you wouldn't believe how much we spend on papers and pens and pencils,' he smiles. 'But it doesn't matter. The library is here to teach people about ecology and sustainable living.' He adds that the previous night he had had a group of children in the library helping to tidy up as part of an award with the John Muir Trust. He is particularly keen that children with additional support needs be involved, and is investigating different types of transport to help people with mobility issues to reach the library. His big dream was to install a hydro power plant, but it took 15 years to find the right partners and investment. Now the turbines are in place and the peaty water from the top of the hill gives the charity a solid income stream. 'I have to brush the filters twice a day because peat is like a heart attack for the system,' Holmes shrugs, slotting the hard bristled broom back into its hiding place at the top of the waterfall. There have been many setbacks along the way, most recently Storm Eowyn in January this year which brought down hundreds of trees and required a crowdfunder campaign to help Holmes and his team take care of the damage. 'Seven solid weeks with a chainsaw – it nearly killed me,' he jokes. 'Not one tree hit the library, right enough.' (Image: Kim McAllister) Everything in the forest is reused, visitors can see details throughout the hike, like hand-carved signs and seats. Rocks hewn from the quarry are crushed for the pathways and the wood is turned into furniture and structures, like the 'bar' created by a circle of logs round a firepit, used for celebrations around events like the summer solstice. An amphitheatre is taking shape and Holmes has big plans for the field where the island road meets Eas Mor. 'We have planning permission for a 12 bedroom lodge, covered in turf and we want to have yoga and a pottery studio,' he says. 'You never own the land, you only manage it. This place found me. I love my trees – my primary objective is the protection of this habitat.'