The Beaches of West Harris

Friday 12th June 2015

When I got up on this morning it was drizzling and it seemed that I was going to have poor weather for the rest of the day, however by the time I left the delightful Berneray Youth Hostel the sun had begun to peak through the clouds and I thought that maybe the waterproofs that I had just put on were not going to be necessary after all. After catching a bus around the island from the hostel to the terminal I caught the ferry across the Sound of Harris that meanders around the many rocks that litter the channel until I eventually reached Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris. I passed through Leverburgh four years ago, but didn’t see much of it on that occasion as I simply got off the bus and onto the ferry. Now that I was coming the other way I was walking out of the terminal. On my holiday I have been following two different routes along the length of the Outer Hebrides, one that I knew the route of and the other that I didn’t.

One of the routes was based on a book by Peter Clarke called "The Timeless Way", and at this point in his expedition he took a route along the Golden Road, a winding road over difficult terrain along the east coast of Harris that was very expensive to make. This route starts, from the south, in the township of Rodel at the southern-most tip of Harris, and continues along the undulating road through the rugged and deeply indented coastline past fishing townships rarely finding a path off the road. The opposing option is to follow the new Hebridean Way currently being constructed by the local council, but since it hasn’t been finished yet the final route has not been announced. I did, however, thanks to Public Contracts notices, know that the route goes over the Gleann Horsacleit to Gleann Uachdrach pass.

Since I wanted to see the beaches of West Harris on this walk I decided that I would attempt to try and follow the route of the new Hebridean Way so I set off along the quiet road out of Leverburgh past Loch Steisebhat to Loch na Moracha at the eastern end of Gleann Horsacleit. I had assumed that the path would start near Loch na Moracha, but when I got there I couldn’t find any trace of the path, except for something in the distance that may have been a path on the other side of the loch. With no sign of how to get onto that supposed path I decided to return along the narrow, winding road in the glorious sunshine back to Leverburgh and try to find the start of the path from there, but as I headed down the main road I could find no sign of it. Eventually I had to give up and walk beside the main road through Gleann Choisleitir and down to the sands of Tràigh Scarasta.

It was frustrating not being able to find the path and it was definitely there as once I reached the other end of the pass I found the new path coming down from Gleann Uachdrach. By now, however, I was already becoming mesmerised by the beaches of West Harris with Scarista Sands the first of many, and one of the finest. The beach was gorgeous with golden sands that were a marked contrast to the white beaches that I had seen earlier in my holiday. After walking along the machair grasslands behind Tràigh an Taoibh Thuath for a while I eventually could resist the temptation of the sands no longer so when the sands narrowed into Tràigh Scarasta I dived across the dunes and down the beach to the sea. The weather was fabulous with stunning views along the length of the Sound of Taransay and towards the mountains of Harris. No other island in the Outer Hebrides matches Harris for its craggy hills that reminded me of national parks in England and Wales, most notably the Lake District, which is praise indeed.

I had a thoroughly enjoyable walk along the soft, golden sands of Scarista and didn’t want to leave them, but eventually the rocks of Sgeir Liath impeded my way. Rather than move away from the coast I clambered over the rocks between the sea and the Isle of Harris Golf Course making my way along the coast to smaller, but equally stunning beaches of West Harris including Tràigh Mhòr. Eventually my familiar Hebridean nemesis of barbed wire reared its head and barred my path forcing me back onto the road. Now my views of the beaches was restricted to that from the road as I made my way along the coast until I got to West Beach and beyond the headland to, the queen of Harris beaches, Luskentyre Sands, possibly the finest beach in the UK. I had been looking forward to seeing this beach for months, but by the time I reached Tràigh Losgantir it was evening, I was getting tired and the sunshine that I had bathed in on Scarista had dulled. My photos show white sandy beaches in Luskentyre instead of the golden sands that I encountered on all the other beaches on this walk.

The biggest difference between Luskentyre and the other beaches is extensive tidal flats that must be a delight to walk over when the tide is out, but when I was there the tide was in making the wide estuary seem more like a vast, shallow lagoon. By the end of this walk I was really tired and was keen to find a spot where I could put up my tent and rest, and eventually I found a spot that overlooked the Luskentyre Sands. At one point on this walk I had thought this was going to be a bad day, but the weather turned out to be fabulous and I was entranced by the stunning views of the Harris hills behind these gorgeous beaches. However I am disappointed that I wasn’t in a mood, or have the time, to really appreciate the Luskentyre Sands so the sands that I actually enjoyed the most were those that I first visited: Scarista, whose golden sands and distant views of mountains were spellbinding and a highlight of my holiday.

Berneray

Thursday 11th June 2015

After several long, tiring days walking across the island of North Uist, I felt like I really needed a rest so took the opportunity when I reached the island of Berneray. I was half way up my trek along the length of the Outer Hebrides and thought this was a good place to stop for two nights to rest and explore this delightful island, so once I had posted a parcel of dirties and used maps back home I set off. The many delights that this island has to deliver were encountered as soon as I walked out of the door of the youth hostel from where a broad spit of sand and rocks extends into the sound of Harris for a least a mile. Peter Clarke, whose book "The Timeless Way" was an inspiration for me on my holiday (and is chairman of the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust that looks after the hostel), describes Berneray Hostel as a place where “the passage of time and the outside world quickly become of no concern.” The wonder of this place extends to the machair grasslands north of the hostel and the stunning east beach that starts near the hostel.

I set off across this machair that is replete with wildflowers including daisies while below me the sea glistened spectacularly. The weather was not great on this walk with overcast skies most of the day and it was rather cold with none of the sunshine that I had enjoyed on my long, wearying walk the day before to Berneray. At the northern end of the bay by the houses of Ruisgarry I found a footpath sign and followed the route it indicated up the short slopes of Beinn Shleibhe to the highest point on Berneray, but only a meagre ninety-three metres above sea level. Nevertheless there were stunning views across the Sound to the hills of Harris, brooding under grey clouds, but promised me delights for the days to come. The whole island of Berneray was arrayed before me with a line of low hills to the east and extensive machair flats to the west, not unlike South Uist. It was very windy at the top of the hill so I put my cagoule on and headed down the other side following the marker posts down to the beach.

This gorgeous beach extends for a long way, from the northern slopes of Beinn Shleibhe all the way down the whole length of the western side of the island to Rubha Bhoisnis in the south-western corner of Berneray. I slowly meandered along this beach occasionally dipping my feet into the surf while taking many pictures of the sand and the many islands in the distance that dot around Berneray. The beach goes west for a mile before bending south-west stretching on for another two miles before reaching the end, and on the occasions when I tired of walking along the sand I climbed up onto the dunes between the beach and the grasslands in order to get a look at the expanse of machair that takes up half of the island. I spent most of my time on the beach wandering slowly over the sands taking my time and enjoying the unspoilt views where the only footprints in the sand were my own as I slowly made my way south. Eventually I reached the rocky headland of Rubha Bhoisnis that marks the end of West Beach and there I sat on the grass looking back along the sands and had my lunch.

Resuming my walk I rounded the point and headed along the south coast of the island over beautiful wildflower-rich grassland and past a memorial to Angus MacAskill – the ‘Nova Scotia Giant’, who was born on Berneray. Soon I reached the tidal inlet of Loch Bhuirgh and this pleasant walk continued besides the loch heading back into the island until I reached a rusting old wreck where I turned away from the loch and across the grass until I reached a road. This led me across the vast fields of the machair to the community hall on the edge of the town of Borve where I came off the road in order to climb the hill of Beinn a’ Chlaidh that marks the southern end of the line of hills that begin on Beinn Shleibhe. At this point I had good views across the causeway to North Uist and the hills of Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Mhòr with the tops of Maireabhal, which I had passed over the day before, sitting hazily on the horizon. Continuing down the slopes I headed south towards the causeway and the stores of Ardmaree.

On reaching the road I slowly headed back along the coast around the seal-populated Loch a Bhàigh to the stunningly located youth hostel at the eastern tip of the bay. This was a very short walk that only took me about five hours dawdling the whole way, but it was just the sort of break that I needed in my relentless progress north along the Western Isles. It gave me the chance to recharge myself and to explore this wonderful little island. Unlike other islands that I have encountered on this holiday I was impressed by the well-signposted footpaths all over the island and greatly helped with my enjoyment of this day. A sign next to the hostel detailed all the walks available on the island and it was a pleasure to walk all over the island doing the walks described. It is a pity that other islands in the Outer Hebrides are not as welcoming to the walker.

Beinn Amhlasaraigh and Clachan Sands

Wednesday 10th June 2015

After breaking camp beside the inlet, or maybe it is an estuary, called Clachan Cumhang, I headed along the coast walking along the strip of land between the fence and the water. Across the estuary were stunning views over the sands of Tràigh Leathann to Baleshare and Kirkibost Island and they just got better as I made my way up the coast towards Oitir Mhor and Bayhead. On this holiday I was making my way north along the length of the Outer Hebrides following the route of the Timeless Way, which is also a book written by Peter Clarke, and takes this west coast route around the island of North Uist. The previous day I had found traces of the new Hebridean Way being constructed near Beinn Langais and that presumably is going to head towards the east coast and Lochmaddy, however I had decided to stick to Peter Clarke’s route, but it was hard work. There were a lot of inlets or bays on this coast meaning that my progress was slow, but at least it was better than walking along the road, which is something I was getting rather fed up with on this holiday.

My progress along the coast was taking me so long I was fed up with the weaving course and made my way across several fields and over several barbed wire fences onto the Circular Road. I had come onto the road just before what Peter Clarke calls the Committee Road, a road that cuts across the island from Àird Heisgeir to Ceathramh Meadhanach on the north coast of North Uist. This road took me away from the coastal Circular Road, where all the houses in North Uist are found, and out onto the unpopulated open moorland. By now the weather was surprisingly warm and I was enjoying the best weather of my holiday as I made my way up the road in the sunshine past a chap who was cutting peat for his winter fuel as has been done for hundreds of years. Just beyond Loch a’ Charra I came off the road and climbed up Beinn a’ Charra onto the heather moorland heading towards the chain of hills that sit in the centre of North Uist and have their top at Maireabhal.

It seemed to me a bit odd that Peter Clarke should have gone to the top of these hills on his walk along the length of the Hebrides as he could have easily gone around them as I’m sure does the yet to be completed Hebridean Way. The only excuse he gave was to see the view, and for that I had to climb all the way up to the top of these hills carrying my heavy rucksack up the rough, boggy hillside. However as I was struggling up the hill I realised that this was only as high as Old John in Leicestershire, but I have never tried to climb Old John from sea level through tough heather and deep bogs while carrying a heavy rucksack. Eventually, after much effort, I reached the western top of Maireabhal, which is named Beinn Amhlasaraigh, and since I couldn’t see the point of visiting the top of Maireabhal itself I immediately headed straight back down the hill on the other side eventually reaching Loch Uisdean at the start of a lovely track that ran all the way down to the Circular Road near the township of Solas.

My biggest reason for wanting to take this route through North Uist was so that I could visit the Co-op in Solas where I could stock up on food. I had hoped that during my time in the Outer Hebrides I would hear plenty of the Gaelic language being spoken in these islands that are among the only places in Scotland where the Scots Gaelic is still widely spoken. I had thought that I would hear it being spoken in the Co-op in Castlebay, but was disappointed to hear everyone speaking in English, and the Co-ops in Daliburgh and Cregorry were no better. In my fourth and smallest Co-op so far, I finally heard two elderly women greet each other with “Ciamar a tha thu?” and “Tha gu math,” (the limit of my understanding of Gaelic) before launching into a long conversation with each other in Gaelic. It is sad that younger people in these islands don’t seem to be speaking Gaelic amongst themselves as this does not bode well for the future of the language.

Once I had gotten my provisions I set off along the Circular Road. Peter Clarke had cut the corner at this point by crossing the sands of Traigh Athmor, but I took the safer option by following the road all the way around the bay. The weather was fabulous with gorgeous sunshine as I walked past stunning coastal views until eventually, several hours later, I came off the Circular Road and reached the machair at Clachan Sands. Once past the farmland that is always found behind the machair I reached a cemetery and realised that I had passed a large number of cemeteries on my holiday and they had all been within sight or smell of the sea, as if the Hebridean people have such an affinity with the sea that they have to be buried beside it. Behind the cemetery is a gorgeous white sandy bay, Traigh Lingeigh, the sight of which made up for my long, tiring walk along the road.

After walking along the top of the dunes for a while I began to think I must be getting back onto the road soon, but a marsh in the middle of the machair forced me to stay beside the dunes until I reached the northern end of the machair at the foot of the hill of Sudhanais. Barbed wire fences were a problem at this point as they have been not just on this walk but throughout my holiday. It seemed to me that there are a lot of barbed wire fences in the Hebrides and for me they always seemed to be in the wrong place, while any gate that I was lucky to find was not only bolted but tied shut with thick rope as a guard against the strong Hebridean winds. After crossing more barbed wire fences I eventually reached the road at the junction beside the ancient Dun on Loch an Sticir. More wearying road walking took me across a causeway onto the seventh island of my Hebridean trek, Berneray, and after a long walk around the delightful bay of Loch a’ Bhàigh brought me to the idyllic Berneray Youth Hostel. This was a long, tiring and rather frustrating walk with a prolonged section of road walking albeit in fabulous weather, and far too many barbed wire fences.

Ruabhal and Beinn Langais

Tuesday 9th June 2015

After my frustration with the walk the day before when I had considered abandoning my whole plan, it was a relief to finally have a satisfying walk as I continued my trek north along the length of the Hebrides. A large reason for my frustration had been the amount of time that I had been spending walking along roads, albeit on roads that don’t get much traffic, but on this walk I made a significant discovery that I had been looking for throughout the length of the holiday. I had spent the night camped beside a track that skirts the southern slopes of Ruabhal, the highest hill on the small island of Benbecula, an island that is sandwiched between North and South Uist. After breakfast, before breaking camp, I climbed up heather-covered slopes to the top of Ruabhal, which I found very enjoyable not only because this low hill commands extensive views all around the island, but also because I’d left my heavy rucksack behind in the tent. The views were marred by grey, overcast skies, but I still had an astonishing sight across the whole island that revealed an assortment of loch and moor.

The extensive views from Ruabhal were exploited by Bonnie Prince Charlie when he spent a few days hiding at the top of this hill before taking a boat with the aid of Flora MacDonald over the sea to Skye. After coming back down to my tent I broke camp and set off along the track heading east further away from civilisation and towards Ròsinis, where Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald set sail. The inspiration for my trek along the Hebrides was a book by Peter Clarke called "The Timeless Way" and I was using a GPS track of that route when in doubt. After passing between two lochs I reached a yellow marker post beside a gate that was exactly at the point where my GPS indicated the Timeless Way turns north. At that point I turned off the track and set off across the pathless heather-covered landscape eventually reaching a ruined shepherd's hut, known in Scotland as a shieling, not far from the edge of a tidal inlet of Caolas Fhlodaigh.

This was a delightful, unspoilt place with colourful wildflowers, mostly sea pinks, on the edges of the large sandy bay. There was a modern house within eyesight, however a direct line was blocked by a bog, so I took a roundabout route following the shoreline until eventually I reached the road near the start of the causeway to the tiny tidal island of Flodda. Instead of going onto the island, I turned left and walked along the road with the coast on my right back onto the main road. From this point I had quite a bit of unavoidable road walking as I followed the road across the series of causeways that links the island of Benbecula with the island of North Uist, while skirting the edge of the small tidal island of Grimsay. Peter Clarke had crossed from North Uist to Benbecula by walking across the sands of the North Ford, which is not the safest thing to try if you don’t know what you are doing, however since the tide was in it was not an option.

Once on the island of North Uist I stopped to have my lunch while the planes coming in to land at Benbecula Airport passed overhead. Continuing to walk beside the road was not as bad as it could have been as there was a wide grass verge or stones beside the road that I could safely walk upon until I reached a Free Church of Scotland where my GPS track confirmed the Timeless Way comes off the road. There was no trace of a path, but I trusted the GPS and passed through the gate across a field until I reached a gate on the other side of the field where I found a clear track. Soon after setting off along this track I was astonished to see the condition of the path improve dramatically and a footpath that had clearly been recently constructed. Excitedly I realised that this was part of the new Hebridean Way that the local council were building and of which I had previously found no trace. As I made my way along the path I found that it was still being constructed and in many places was nothing more than two narrow trenches with the lifted turf piled in the middle while at other times the path appeared to have been completed with gravel covering the surface.

It was a joy to walk along this path, especially after the days of walking across pathless terrain or along roads. There had been no indication that I would find the new Hebridean Way at this point and if the Timeless Way had not taken the same route I would never have found it and probably, tragically, wearily continued walking along the road. I much prefer to walk along a clear footpath than having to find my own way across the terrain as it allows me to enjoy the surroundings, including the sight of Eabhal, the highest hill on the island. I had wanted to climb Eabhal, but access from this direction is tricky as the path I was on headed north while Eabhal passed me by. Further along the path the route was marked by nothing more than a rubber mesh that is maybe simply the first stage of the process of path building, but still gave me an easy walk past a couple of old cairns and down to the road near the end of Loch Euphort with the hill of Beinn Langais opposite. Despite now having reached my third map I was disappointed that I was not going to be climbing Eabhal and was instead walking away from it.

After a short walk along the road I noticed the same rubber mesh that I had walked on earlier now heading north from the road towards Beinn Langais. Realising that this must be the continuation of the Hebridean Way I set off along it, following a winding route past Barra-mhail and eventually reaching the Langass Lodge Hotel at the foot of Beinn Langais. Passing by the hotel I took a track up the side of the hill, but as I made my way up the dirt path I found more of the rubber matting marking the route of the Hebridean Way around the eastern side of the hill. When I realised that the path was not going up to the summit I turned off and made straight for the top of the hill soon reaching the trig point at the summit. The view was sensational despite overcast skies across a land so filled with lochs that in places water was more plentiful than land. The stunning views continued as I made my way down the hill past the ancient chambered cairn of Barpa Langais until I eventually reached the Circular Road of North Uist.

I now had to choose whether to follow the new Hebridean Way along the old road towards Lochmaddy and the east coast or to head west to Clachan and rejoin the Timeless Way along the west coast. Eventually I decided to go west to Clachan and from there I found a way onto the edge of the bay and followed a faint path beside the estuary until I found a good spot to camp for the night. Despite the overcast weather this was the first day of my holiday when it didn’t rain and I was left feeling like this had been a good day on new and non-existent paths, however I was still questioning the wisdom of this whole enterprise and whether I should keep going. The tranquil, slightly windswept, surroundings of my camp spot, looking across the sands towards the island of Baleshare, reassured me that it was worth going on for moments like this.