The Harris Walkway

Wednesday 23rd August 2017

It had started raining before I went to sleep and it was still raining when I got up for this walk. Overnight a tremendous storm had passed overhead bringing flooding to many parts of the Western Isles, and it was still raining when I packed up my tent while midges continued their onslaught. I walked the short distance to the small ferry terminal of Tarbert on the Isle of Harris and wondered whether it was worth resuming my progress along the Hebridean Way. I considered backtracking to the youth hostel at Rhenigidale and waiting out the rain, but then I got a glimpse of the weather forecast in the tourist information centre and I was told it was going to be sunny. This seemed highly unlikely, but on that basis and while it was still raining I set off out of Tarbert along the road soon turning off onto the waymarked path for the Hebridean Way, which coincides at this point with the route for the well-established Harris Walkway, a trail that was opened in 2001 whereas the Hebridean Way was opened just this year.

I was keen to follow this new trail even though I’d already walked sections of it before, two years ago, including the Harris Walkway, which helped with navigation as I could retrace my steps even where the signage was not so helpful. It wasn’t long before the rain stopped and gradually during the morning the weather slowly improved as I made my way along a great path that runs beside Loch Ceann Dibig until I reached the road at Meavag. Just before reached the small harbour I crossed a river that was heavily swollen by the overnight rain and was resulting in heavy torrents crashing down the hillside and under the bridge that was standing on. After an extended section of road walking during which the sun came out I reached the delightfully named Loch Phlocrapoil where an excellent path heads west across the fabulous rock and heather Harris landscape.

These paths gave me a fabulously enjoyable walk in the improving weather with fantastic views over the glorious West Harris scenery. Despite the heavy overnight rain this well-made path was relatively dry and is a resounding testament to the people who many years ago built this ancient path. Following a section between Loch na Cro and Grosebay along a quiet road I headed back out along this awesome walkway along paths that snake past the beautiful Loch Mhic Neacail and climbs steeply to afford me with some stunning views across this fabulous landscape. After the poor weather that I had suffered during the previous couple of days I felt I was really fortunate to have good weather for my walk through this fabulous landscape. Two years ago I also enjoyed walking along the Harris Walkway in improving weather, but since I had done that walk in the opposite direction I was now seeing different parts at its best as the afternoon progressed. When the path slowly started descending towards the township of Kyles Stockinish I turned left and headed north along another great section through a gap in the rocks beside a derelict building and on until eventually I reached a road.

Turning left towards Ardvey I turned right off the road at a T-junction and onto a path over Cnoc Biorach where I encountered my first person also walking the Hebridean Way. Since I was going in the ‘wrong’ direction I had assumed that I would come across loads of people heading north with their backs to the prevailing wind, but until this point I had seen no one. After a long chat about our experiences on the trail I set off once again and turning right at Ceann a’ Bhàigh I started to climb over the coffin route. This was the path that coffins used to take from the rough, unyielding lands of the south coast over the hills and down to the cemeteries on the grassier lands of the north coast. After an initial boggy section the path becomes very well-maintained as it climbs past the swollen Loch Creabhat and over the top of the pass to reveal the fabulous view of the luskentyre sands in the far distance. Two years ago I camped at the northern end of the coffin route overlooking the sands, but now the grassy patch where I had previously camped was covered with a beautiful display of many differently coloured wild flowers where it would be a travesty to camp.

There is an excellent view at that point across the sands with the island of Taransay in the background and I was keen to get a closer look, so I made my way down to the road and up the minor road towards Luskentyre until I reached a spot right next to the sands where I could pitch my tent with a great view across the estuary as the tide slowly came in and enveloped the sands. This day saw me walking along some fabulous paths in some tremendous weather. When the day started I had been feeling really down about the terrible weather that seems to have plagued me for the last year, but the turnaround throughout the course of the day was amazing. I was able to enjoy walking along fabulous ancient paths that people in the Outer Hebrides have walked along for hundreds of years and is now part of not only the Harris Walkway, but also the Hebridean Way. The landscape on the Isle of Harris is some of the best to be found anywhere and I was overjoyed that I was able to experience it once again in great weather. From a saturated, midge-infested camp spot I was now camped in a great location, in the dry and finally clear of midges.