Caravan on the Croft

Lochmaddy was our gateway to the Outer Hebrides - a small village and Calmac ferry arrival and departure point for North Uist. We drove out of the village aware the landscape had changed. The geography of the Uists is interesting. In the north is Berneray and moving south causeways connect North Uist to Benbecula, and then again to South Uist which in turn is linked to Eriskay in the south. Its about 60 miles from one end of the archipelago to the other but it feels further. These islands used to be separated but around 20 years ago causeways were constructed to connect all the islands. We had a 30 mile drive to our accomodation on South Uist. The most striking difference is an absence of trees. It's too windy here for trees to gain a foothold, apart from in a few sheltered places. 

On our drive to South Uist we stopped for some food supplies, firstly at the Hebridean Smokehouse. I couldn't resist buying some peat smoked salmon but couldn't tempt Mrs B. She was tempted though by the fruit cake sold at our next stop, McLeans bakery, where we bought fruitcake and bread. Our final stop was at the Co-op at Creagorry, just on the road before the causeway linking Benbecula to South Uist. 

When I'd been looking for accomodation in the Uists it had been tricky to find self catering accomodation for 4 nights, but eventually I found somewhere called 'Caravan on the Croft' - which had great reviews. I took the plunge and booked it. Its fair to say Mrs B. was a little apprehensive about what I'd done - until we arrived. Situated on a no through road to Loch Eynort, next door to the owners croft, we were greeted with a warm welcome by Archie the cat, Katie and her husband Donald, who popped round with some eggs from their chickens. The caravan was top of the range. Double glazed, centrally heated, fast wifi, a smart TV an ensuite bedroom and decking it was really rather luxurious - and even better the views were stunning.

Archie

The view from Caravan on the Croft

Archie immediatedy tried to take up residence. Once settled we made ourselves some food and then I went for a stroll down the lane. Donald had mentioned we might see some red deer and half a mile down the road I spotted three stags lying down in the moorland just behind a bungalow. I returned to our caravan and we had a very good nights sleep in a very comfy bed. 

For our first full day in the Outer Hebrides we first headed south to Eriskay. Its a small island only 2.5 miles long connected by a causeway to South Uist.

The causeway to Eriskay

Most homes are located around a bay about a mile from the pier where a ferry leaves for Barra. Eriskay has three things of note: A pub, a beach and a football pitch.Our first stop was the beach. It's an attractive beach, but there are lots of stunning beaches in the Outer Hebrides. This one has a bit of history. In 1745 Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart, otherwise known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, first set foot on Scottish soil in an ultimately fruitless attempt to seize the crown of Great Britain. After his defeat at Culloden, and the failure of the Jacobite rebellion, he fled to South Uist and hid out. He was assisted in his escape back to France by a woman from South Uist, Flora MacDonald, hiding in a boat disguised as her maid. Their journey across to Skye inspired the song 'Over the Sea to Skye'. We strolled along the beach watching the ferry depart for Barra. A couple of people in wetsuits, who had just had a swim, were in the water up to their waists, and just offshore a seal was watching them and us. 

Looking down at 'The Prince's Cockle Strand'

On the edge of the village was a pub called Am Politician. Its an uninspiring piece of architecture but its name is taken from a famous maritime disaster - the loss of the SS Politician, a cargo ship that ran aground of the coast of Eriskay in 1941, carrying 22,000 cases of malt whisky.

Am Politician

A lot of the salvage was recovered by the islanders and some is still rumoured to be hidden on the islands. It inspired the book and subsequent film 'Whisky Galore' released in 1943.

My final little excursion was to see Eriskay's football pitch. I'm not sure how visiting teams  cope playing on it, but it looks challenging. Its bumpy and far from level. It has been featured in a film shown at the Fifa World Football Museum in Zurich. When I visited it looked more like a wild flower meadow.

The home ground for Eriskay FC

We returned back to South Uist with the skies clouding over and rain on the way. This was to set the pattern of the weather for the next few days. The islands in this archipelago have a similar geography. The west coast is all sandy beaches, backed by dunes and machair. This gives way to pasture land and then moorlands, interspersed with lochs. On the eastern cost there are hills and a rocky indented coastline. All condensed in a few miles from east to west. Tucked away in this varied landscape you can find unexpected places with history, some unexpected sights and breathtaking scenery. Despite the overcast skies we made some trips down narrow bumpy roads to explore. One of the notables features of South Uist and Eriskay is that the dominant religion is Catholicism. In most of the Western Isles there is a strong Presbyterian tradition. Dotted around the landscape of this part of the archipelago are small shrines and on the main road a large prominent Catholic church designed in a incongruously brutalist style. 

Less visible and tucked away is Cladh Hallan. We parked next to a graveyard and walked through the dunes. I spotted a magpie moth. 

Magpie moth in duneland, South Uist

Not far from the beach are the foundations of some iron age round houses. It's not much to look at now, but is the only place in Great Britain where prehistoric mummified remains have been found.

Cladh Hallan

Beyond the site is a beach that is typical of those on the Uists. Long empty stretches of white sand that even on a cloudy day looked beautiful.

  

South Uist beach

Afrer a short walk along a deserted beach we headed further north , detouring to see a memorial to Flora Macdonald close to where it is believed she was born, and then on to Kildoan which has an excellent little museum. As well as providing more information on Bonnie Prince Charlie's exploits it gave us a better understanding of the history of South Uist, the struggles crofters endured and the challenges of island life before roads, technology and the infrastructure of the 20th century connected the islands more closely to the rest of the country.

It had been a packed morning and we headed back to our caravan for lunch and a rest. Later in the afternoon I walked down the south side of Loch Eynort and back (5 miles) and just as I was approaching the caravan Mrs B messages me to tell me there were deer in the 'back garden'. Three red deer stags were just 40 feet from our kitchen window, aware of our presence but completely unperturbed. We watched them for some time as they grazed in no hurry to move away. It was a magical moment. 

Our neighbours...

After rustling up a meal it was such a lovely evening I suggested we drive a short distance to Kildoan beach. We found it deserted apart from a whole variety of birds either in the pasture, dunes or on the beach itself. The late evening sun was shining and it was easy to see why these beaches feature on so many tourist brochures and instagram photos.

Wildlife...

....and beach life

The following day was cloudy again and the forecast was for it to become increasingly unsettled. In search of more history we made our way to the nearby settlement of Howmore. Parking by a simple white church we walked across a couple of fields to see the ruins of some ancient chapels, believed to be up to 800 years old. Rain started to sweep in so we beat a retreat to the car.

Ancient chapel, Howmore, South Uist

The weather in the Outer Hebrides can change quickly and the rain passed almost as soon as it arrived. We took a track over the dunes to have a quick walk on the beach before continuing on to see Loch Druidbeag - an RSPB reserve that has nesting white tailed eagles. We followed the road down to a track over the moors but despite scannig the skies didn't spot an eagle. Further down the road was Loch Sgioport, a remote spot at the end of the road with beautiful views both out to sea and looking back inland.

Loch Sgioport

Loch Druidbeag

Our final exploration of the day was a drive around the island of Benbecula. Its a much flatter island but we managed to find a nice community cafe and arts centre for refreshments  (some excellent leek and potato soup) and got some groceries from the largest supermarket on the island before we headed back. That evening after we'd eaten I suggested we have a short walk through a small community woodland on the shore of Loch Eynort - just two miles away. This was something of a novelty. There are very few trees on any of these islands - its just too windy most of the time, as we were finding out. One benefit is it keeps midges at bay. We walked for a couple of miles taking in the scenery. The woodland included wild fuschia so looked quite colourful.

The next day was forecast to be wet and windy but undeterred we added a couple more islands to our itinerary. We first drove to the small island of Flodaigh and then followed a track that became fainter before disappearing altogether. Reaching a small headland on the eastern side of South Uist and picking our way along sheep tracks, we scanned the offshore islands for signs of seals. We thought we'd drawn a blank but the spotted a group of four on rocks some distance away. Picking our way back through the bracken we came across some rusting old agricultural machinery. Lots of redundant equipment is just abandoned on the islands. Its not uncommon to see old cars gradually rusting outside croft houses. 

We moved on for a drive around Grimsay, searching in vain for a cafe. The weather was closing in with driving rain so we decided to head back to base and have lunch. That afternoon I went for an uneventful solo walk along the northern shore of Loch Eynort. Apart from seeing a lapwing, and a man cutting peat there was nothing else of note other than a small herd of highland cattle who, having more sense than me, had taken shelter in a old stone enclosure.

Walking back I had the wind behind me - which meant I made it back in record time.

It was time to leave the Uists and move on. In truth we were a little concerned the ferry that was due to take us to Harris might be cancelled and we'd be searching for somewhere to stay for an extra day - with accomodation options limited! The next morning the Calmac app said the ferry was due to depart on time despite the weather. There were 50 mph gusts and driving rain. We had a morning to kill and indoor options were limited but we headed to North Uist on the hunt for a bear. 

The previous evening our host Donald had told us the story of Hercules the bear. Hercules was a 'tame' grizzly bear, born in captivity and owned by a Scotsman, Andy Robins, who was a wrestler. He had been reared and trained for commercial work. He was used in TV commercials and in August 1980 brought to North Uist to film an Andrex commercial. He escaped and went missing for 3 weeks - eventually being recaptured having been spotted by a crofter. In those 3 weeks he hadn't attacked any other animals and had lost a lot of his bodyweight but recovered. The incident was national news and Hercules became a minor film celebrity - having a cameo appearance in the James Bond movie Octopussy. 

When he died of old age his ashes were brought back to North Uist and a wooden culture commissioned, located in Langais Woodland - a small community conifer plantation near Lochmaddy. We parked up in a small carpark on the edge of the wood and followed the bear paw print way marks around and into the trees, glad for some shelter from the wind. In a small clearing we found Hercules - or at least his sculture and a small stone marking his final resting place. It was quite a poignant moment.

Hug a bear time...

After this short stroll (it wasn't the weather for staying outdoors for long) we drove on to Lochmaddy where there's a small museum and cafe as well as a mosaic of a mackerel set on the rocks near the harbour. The museum focussed on the music of the islands and had the gold disc presented to our favourite Scottish band, Runrig, as well as one of their guitars.

Mackerel mosaic, Lochmaddy

Runrig memorabilia

It was a pleasant way to spend an hour or so and warm and dry! With another couple of hours to kill before we needed to check in for the ferry, I drove around to the western beaches of North Uist. On a dry sunny day I'm sure these are stunning. Even on a wet day the scenery is impressive. A couple of stops on the way for photos and a cup of tea and cake from a catering wagon called the Wee Cottage Kitchen ended our time on North Uist. 

Beach views, North Uist

The sheep get everywhere...

We had one more causeway to cross to take us on to the island of Berneray, where our ferry was departing on time. A surprisingly smooth crossing across the Sound of Harris, meant we arrived at our penutimate ferry port, Leverburgh in South Harris right on time, ready for a drive through Harris to Lewis and our next group of islands.