What sits across from us every day, yet still remains a mystery, and hardly anyone locally has ever set foot on it?

I wrote earlier this year about the wonders of Wee Cumbrae, and my only visit during its official launch as a yoga retreat and meditation centre in September 2009, and all the fanfare that went with it.

So it was with great anticipation that I was offered the chance to join Suki McGregor of Millport and her band of friends on board a private hire boat, and set foot once more on the alluring island.

As we skimmed across the bay at the west side of Wee Cumbrae, the first thing that you become aware of is the abundance of bird life, as cormorants fly past you, just a few feet above the water, and sometimes in pairs - it is almost like a signature welcome to this secret fantasy island, purchased six years ago by the Poddar family, who own a number of care homes in Glasgow and the central belt.

The old lighthouse on the far side, close-up, looks quite tatty now, but still imposing, and provides a reminder of years gone by when manned lighthouses were the norm, and part of our coastline for centuries. The last three lighthouse men to operate the Wee Cumbrae light left with their families in 1974 when it became automatic.

As we approached the southern west tip of the island, the bird life on the island became more extraordinary by the minute, as younger cormorant populations could be clearly seen, and then clusters and clusters of the winged menace of the moment - seagulls!

If you thought there were a lot of seagulls on Largs seafront, then think again! It was a land of birds as far as the eye could see, with thousands of gulls, and many coming over for a closer glimpse at some rare human infiltrators to their world. It just goes to show that seagulls can survive on their own - without the need to be fed by human hand.

We also passed some seals wallowing on a Sunday stretch along the rocks, before we headed for the small pier inlet at Wee Cumbrae. Both Cumbraes are referred to in Norse sagas of yore as Kumreyiar, and even featured more recently in Carole and John Barrowman’s Hollow Earth childrens books.

With strengthening winds, and drizzle turning to heavy rain, it was a stormy arrival as we berthed, but the majesty and magical solitude had an immediate calming effect.

The front of Wee Cumbrae had both St Andrew’s and India’s flags waving in the light sea breeze, and the Poddar family were delighted to host India’s famous yoga guru Swami Ramdev in 2009.

As the tide was out, we had a short window of opportunity to have a look in the castle, which is very impressive from the outset.

It is a category A listed building, and likened to Law Castle in West Kilbride, but it felt more like Portencross to me! The castle measures 12.5m long, 9m wide, and reaches 13.5m high.

Built by Lord Eglinton in the 16th century, it has three floors, a massive old fireplace area, and has a number of smaller rooms and passageways inside. It is pretty cavernous, with some green moss, and the gloom coming through the window, only added to its mystique. One narrow passage way had a clear ‘drip, drip, drip’ noise coming from it, and I had to go and have a look, and it was very spooky indeed.

And as I turned to the next floor, island photographer Karen Brodie took a perspective shot of the interior of the castle, and pointed out that she thought she had seen a ghost!

And sure enough in her picture, there was a strange blue light which appeared on the castle wall. With the grey weather outside, and no hint of sunshine, it was a mystery right enough where this glowing blue vision came from!

Climbing up to the top of the castle, there is a lovely medieval rocky structure on the seaward side.

At the rear of the castle, there is a marvellous view across Wee Cumbrae, while in reverse, you look straight on to Hunterston in the distance, with the towering turbines to its left.

But we weren’t able to spend too long on top of the ruin, as the call came from down below that the tide was coming in, and we would have to make it back across to Wee Cumbrae’s mainland!

In the early 20th century, under the ownership of Evelyn Stuart Parker, a new ‘mansion house’ was created from the original single storey farmhouse. The gardens were laid out to a plan by Gertrude Jekyll, a renowned garden designer. The impressive mansion is very much the central focal point of the island.

We had limited time to look about, and enjoy a packed lunch, before returning, and I went and had a look at some of the woodlands, which were beautiful and very verdant in the extreme as some sunshine began to filter through.

Indeed, there are many criss-crossing paths and walks up towards the top of the island with a signpost pointing the way to an old burial ground, and Shenwally Point.

There is some great old video footage of the original lighthouse building on the top of Wee Cumbrae, filmed by Walter Kerr during a visit in the 1970s, but unfortunately heavy mudtracks made it too treacherous for me to venture up.

Since it was taken over as a yoga retreat, there are still plenty of activities going on in the island, I was told by our boat owner, Cumbrae Marine’s Ross Goldie.

He remarked that there was also a lot of food including plenty of rice which gets transported across on a regular basis.

There were still pictures, posters and reminders of Swami Ramdev’s visit to the island in 2009 for the island’s re-launch as a yoga retreat when his stomach exercises on the green grass with the castle in the midst made front page photos in the national media across the UK, and there are rumours that he may be returning once more to Wee Cumbrae in October to promote the healing powers of his yoga.

As our boat whisked away from the island, and the grey gloom returned, there was a large group of seals on the rocks, and I could see clearly that there was a young seal pup in the centre.

I managed to zoom my Nikon compact camera in and got a quick snap, and it actually looked like he was waving goodbye!

I managed to get some pictures of the old outhouses, but the impression I got was that it was a very beautiful and predominantly barren island, and historically, it has largely remained unchanged and for that alone it is very special. I will still stand across from it every day, when taking photos, or going a walk along Fairlie and Portencross shores with a sense of wonder, until my next visit!