North Uist

Saturday 26th August 2017

After a day of rest on the lovely island of Berneray I resumed my walk along the Hebridean Way leaving the charming youth hostel as early as possible to begin my three day trek to the next hostel in South Uist. There wasn’t a breath of wind as I passed through the eerily quiet surroundings of the settlements on the eastern side of the island and when I reached the ferry terminal I rejoined the Hebridean Way to pass over the causeway that links Berneray with North Uist, the first of many on the long chain of causeways along the length of islands that stretch all the way to Eriskay. The Hebridean Way continued along the road for another mile until just before Loch an Sticir where the now familiar Hebridean Way sign directed me onto the heather moor below the western slopes of Beinn Bhreac. Just as I’d encountered on Harris, wooden posts now directed my steps across the pathless slopes to a heather topped dyke that provided me with a handrail to follow up to Bealach na Beinne, the gap that lies between the hills of Beinn Bhreac and Beinn Mhòr.

I hoped the trail was going to go through the pass as I was already tired, but much to my disappointment it continued to climb the slopes of Beinn Mhòr and passed to the north of the summit circling around the hill to reach the eastern slopes where the stunning North Uist landscape was slowly revealed to me. The view took my breath away as I saw a complex terrain of land and loch where thousands of tiny islands were scattered along the complex shoreline on the eastern side of North Uist creating a landscape that is astonishing in its complexity. In the distance, the twin hills of Lì a Tuath and Lì a Deas sat at the back of a waterlogged landscape of loch and low grass-covered land. A very faint path was now beginning to appear as I dropped down the grassy slopes to reach a bridge where I turned to follow the edge of the sea loch around the side of Bàgh Teileam. The ground was relatively dry and wooden boards had been provided where it was not with frequent marker posts providing a clear indication of the route even where the faint path failed.

I enjoyed this section of the walk thanks not only to the dry, clear path, but also due to the warm sunshine that was now gracing the day and providing me with the best weather of my holiday. Eventually I reached a minor road where I turned right to follow this heading towards the twin peaks of Crògearraidh Mòr and Crògearraidh Beag until I reached the North Uist circular road. After a short distance I turned off at a sign for a car park and picnic site that took me around a brackish loch where I took the opportunity to stop and have my lunch. After eating I set off again and soon I had to follow wooden posts again, but this time they were much less reliable and took me onto boggy terrain across the western slopes of Blathaisbhal. There was no hint of a path and no sign of the three standing stones marked on my map, however they are apparently no more than two feet high and widely separated, so I must have walked straight past them without realising. Eventually I came to some excavations that seem to have been made right on top of the Hebridean Way which forced me to go around the tall, metal fences that surrounded the earthworks until I reached the service road for a Scottish Water facility.

On reaching the main road I turned right to head towards Lochmaddy, the ferry terminal for North Uist. The Hebridean Way follows the road as far as Strumore, but does not go into Lochmaddy, however, I wanted to see some of the town, so I took a diversion along an unfenced track to Sponish Farm where I found a rusty old suspension footpath over the outflow for Loch Houram where gorgeous views could be seen eastwards over Loch na Madadh in fabulous weather where no clouds were in the sky. A track led me into the delightful town of Lochmaddy overlooking the loch itself before I turned back to Strumore where I could resume my trek along the Hebridean Way using old roads that kept me away from the speeding cars on the circular road. During this prolonged section clouds started to gather, but the weather brightened once more when I reached the low hill of Beinn Langais so I once again had excellent views with the hills of Lì a Tuath, Lì a Deas and Eabhal dominating the views eastwards.

I was previously in this area two years ago while walking along the length of the Western Isles in the opposite direction and on that occasion I had climbed to the top of Beinn Langais before heading north on a different route via the western side of North Uist. It was good for me to be now taking a completely different route through North Uist through territory that I had not walked through two years ago, though by the time I reached Ben Langais the long trudge along the old road had worn me out. A well-made path took me past the Langass Woodland and around the hill to eventually reach Langass Lodge where I wished I could afford to stay, but instead I continued along the trail to reach the river that flows into Bàgh Orasaigh. Instead of staying at an expensive hotel I camped beside the boggy river where midges slowly congregated around me. Despite the tiring end to the day, this was a great day with some good paths in amazing weather that really showed off the stunning Hebridean landscape of land and loch. Fatigue and aching feet are always worthwhile when you can see landscape that is as stunning as in North Uist.