Outer Hebrides in April

[G-RMPS]

Today’s blustery walk was around the loch at the most westerly point on South Uist.

The museum opens officially on Monday, but the cafe was open and the staff let us in to the museum - but not until I had satisfied my desire for a sugar rush, with a huge slice of cake.

An attempt to find a camping spot on either the north or the south side of Loch Aineort was non-productive. A shame as the area is fabulous. There’s a footpath which starts at the end of the road on the north side but, alas, nowhere to park 7.5 metres.

We’re at the parking area on Loch Druidibeag. Pity it’s cloudy as there is absolutely no light pollution (or anything else) here.

 

[G-RMPS]

B890 to Loch Sgiopoirt is great. Just room at the end to park and walk.

The famous hot smoked salmon place was a bit disappointing, just a wee craft shop and a fridge nearly empty of, expensive by tasty, salmon. The nearby hotel was closed.

I escaped from the Hebridean Jewellery place with an intact wallet, having avoided the display cases and the £10 afternoon tea in tiny china cups.

And so onto Benbecula. The B987 eastbound is a smashing road. We found a wee parking spot (marked with a picnic table on the OS map) just half a mile from Peter’s Port.

 

[G-RMPS]

Beautiful day today, albeit with the usual cold wind. The Shellbay campsite just past the Dark Island hotel was closed.

The car park at Aird by the Calla beach is just large enough for a motorhome, but we didn’t stay overnight. The walk into the Benbecula village is uninspiring unless you are into airports. There is, however, an excellent shop (McLellands), and the Stepping Stones restaurant, which I have used before for lunch after flying in. The Maclean butcher/baker but not candlestick maker was closed on Saturday afternoon.

Heading north onto North Uist the Westford Inn was open but not particularly inviting. I had a good malty beer, but no prospect of an alcofrolic evening meal with no taxis and the pub being mayby 5 miles from the Balranald campsite.

The campsite opened today for the season so we’re the first motorhome customer. In fact over two weeks we have only seen one other! The campsite is underwhelming on first glance because you cannot see the beach, which is just 40 metres away! However the facilities proved to truly excellent, for £20 including EHU.

 

[Kelsae2]

Did you notice if the Shellbay campsite looked ok, or is the Balranald one better in your opinion. We will be in that area at the beginning of May.
It is great to follow your journey as we are planning to come from Harris and go all the way down to Vatersay.

 

[John and Jo]

It is great to follow your journey..

Sure is

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[G-RMPS]

Did you notice if the Shellbay campsite looked ok, or is the Balranald one better in your opinion. We will be in that area at the beginning of May.
It is great to follow your journey as we are planning to come from Harris and go all the way down to Vatersay.

Shellbay is close to a hotel, if that matters, and is on the main road.

Balranald is quiet, 40 metres from the beach and the same from the start of a 3-4 mile RSPB walk - superb. Campsite facilities were first-rate as was their attitude to service. However, nothing else close if that matters.

 

[Kelsae2]

No it does not matter too much if there is nothing great nearby. I have just been comparing both campsites and camping spots from the Wild Isles website for each area. It says that near the Shellbay campsite there is a community school with a pool and café. Shellbay has mixed reviews, so I was just wondering your thoughts on it. Balranald does get good reviews.
I am also now in the process of reading a book about the Outer Hebrides by Mark Rowe from a company called Brandt. It has a lot of information in it with some small maps of the different areas.

 

[G-RMPS]

We have this book on board, also a wee book with walks - 40 coast and country walks. The latter overlaps a little with the guide book but is handy to carry in a jacket pocket.

The Balranald RSPB walk was excellent, and basically starts outside the campsite gate. The RSPB visitor centre is 100 yds down the road with toilets and parking if you don’t want to use the campsite.

We’re staying overnight at a jetty on the north coast of North Uist, west of Sollas, surrounded by lobster pots. Weather has been fantastic for these parts in March - sunny with light winds.

 

[G-RMPS]

Back to wind again, but better than forecast. We’re staying at the car park at Sollas Beach. Too much sand and water for decent photos, so I have included a couple I took last summer when I landed on the beach. You can see two lines where the locals marked a temporary runway with a rake. Thirty aircraft flew in for a BBQ.

 

[G-RMPS]

...and now it really is April!

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[John and Jo]

motorhome and an airplane ...show off

 

[G-RMPS]

Well I had to sell half of the plane when my wife saw the motorhome for sale

 

[John and Jo]

 

[G-RMPS]

Between Sollas and Lochmaddy there’s a small B road heading past Loch Portain and out towards the sea. There’s nowhere really to wild camp other than a sloping tarmac parking area, though the run along the road is pleasant, especially in light wind with blue sky alternating with interesting cumuloform clouds.

There’s not much at Lochmaddy though the port has water filling and emptying facilities. The toilet dump is hidden in long grass at the back of the car park. We had a beer and “birthday cake” for the navigatrice at the Lochmaddy Hotel. The lounge bar was pleasant enough and meal menu looked good.

We’re now at Langass Lodge on the A867 for an extravagant dinner. The staff are happy for us to overnight in the car park, and are charging iPads etc for us. There’s a circular walk from here. I guess if you came for morning coffee, at least, you could probably negotiate something similar. Loch Langass is a two minute walk down a path from the lodge and is lovely. There’s even trees here.

 

[John and Jo]

This is excellent ..thanks.

How are you finding the single track roads? You look pretty big, we are 8.6 tag.

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[G-RMPS]

No problem at all. Beware if you go down dead-end roads the turning places at the end can be quite small. We’re 7.5 metres. I don’t think another metre will cause problems.

 

[G-RMPS]

Howling gale today, 50mph maybe higher gusts. We staggered up the track to the famous burial mound only to find the entrance blocked off due to an earlier rock fall. We’d hoped it had been made secure.

Short of gas (we’ve nearly used two Gaslow 11kg bottles in 16 days) we headed to Berneray for the ferry to Leverburgh. The road across the middle of the island to Sollas cuts through the peat bogs and nothing else of note. There’s just a couple of possible FLT stops on this road but they wouldn’t interest us.

Low tides and wind cancelled the 13:30 sailing so we got to sit around for four hours to wait for the 17:20 job. The one-hour trip is interesting as the boat zig-zags through the rocks. The steep ramp at Leverburgh had us in spite of an assurance from the boat staff. The rear chassis crossbar is now significantly bent, again.

A decent beer at the Anchorage restaurant was a pleasant change from gassy 80 shilling. This place is right at the jetty and seems popular. There’s adjacent parking which is where we are.

We’ll have to shoot right up to Stornoway tomorrow for gas, but then the pressure will be off, or on!, if you get my drift.

 

[John and Jo]

two Gaslow 11kg bottles in 16 days ...that the heating? We have same so interested and im not tight with gas.

Wonder if air suss would save the rear end.

 

[G-RMPS]

Heating, water, cooking, fridge. We heat water for showers, daily, and try to keep evening van temperatures around 20 degrees. First bottle ran for three days with gauge on empty. Second bottle is also showing empty. I’m on the second day with zero indication and getting nervous, too much food in the freezer to lose.

I’m sure air suspension would help. Next time I’ll be more insistent on something under the rear tyres. If you have space (and weight) to spare I guess you could take something with you. I guess a couple of inches of lift is all it would take.

 

[G-RMPS]

Gas died while making second coffee this morning, so fridge had survived the night. In pouring rain we made haste towards Stornoway. The road through South Harris is spectacular then disappears inland for the rest of the trip. All dual lane but little to see other than ancient rocks. The island looks more prosperous, more populated, more facilities, and more “no overnight camping” than the Uists.

Two miles from Stornoway we encountered the results of a recent road accident, complete with a car upside-down in the ditch. Police closed both ends of the road and all cars did a three-point turn and disappeared. We couldn’t turn around so got a grandstand view of ambulances, police photographers etc. Two hours later we were free to move on. Remember we had no gas so no coffee, no hot food, and no heating .

As promised, we did get LPG, 42 litres in fact at 66p a litre, same as Edinburgh. And diesel was £1.33, not outrageous considering the logistics.

We’re now at the expensive (£24) campsite in Stornoway. The money was enough to banish the rain so we walked 4 miles into Stornoway and back in the sunshine. The smell from three fish and chip shops was, almost, overpowering.

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[The Cricketers]

I am busily taking notes for our trip next month, this thread has been very informative
How was your meal at Langass Lodge?

 

[G-RMPS]

I am busily taking notes for our trip next month, this thread has been very informative
How was your meal at Langass Lodge?

Excellent if you like small portions of fancy stuff. Three courses and a bottle of wine fot two was £100.

 

[obanvanman]

"Low tides and wind cancelled the 13:30 sailing so we got to sit around for four hours to wait for the 17:20 job. The one-hour trip is interesting as the boat zig-zags through the rocks. The steep ramp at Leverburgh had us in spite of an assurance from the boat staff. The rear chassis crossbar is now significantly bent, again".


That boat crew did exactly the same to us.

When we got the ferry from Barra to Eriskay the boys put wooden blocks down for us and virtually ran the ferry
aground to make sure we got on and off ok.

They didn't bother at Leverburgh, despite me asking, the tow bar left a 3 mtr long gouge in their nice newly
painted ramp.

 

[G-RMPS]

Unbelievable weather here today, light winds and wall-to-wall blue sky. We couldn’t resist a second temptation at the fish and chip shop, nor at Stornoway Smokehouse.

We’re up the Eye peninsula. We looked at the jetty on the south-facing coast next to a small beach for a FLT stop. No problem, I imagine, but it was too early and appears to be a popular spot for locals.

We are at the lighthouse at the end. There’s a good parking spot 100 yards from the end. We’ve had a few folk drive up for a look, then depart. It’s quiet now. There are walks along the headland but bring your boots, it’s a bit boggy. Apparently it’s arguably the best place in the UK to spot whales, dolphins etc.

Still sat outside at 18:00, wish we had bought the tempting steaks for a BBQ.

 

[G-RMPS]

Finally got a reliable phone signal. We visited the Bridge to Nowhere, via a Cheese Factory that no longer exists. There’s a couple of FLT spots at the end of the road. On the bridge, or at the car park for the beach nearest the bridge, or at the car park for the much larger beach just further back down the
road. This, latter, car park has toilets but with a warning not to use for motorhome waste. I assume no chemicals, or green chemicals are OK.

We stayed at the smaller beach which is truly stunning. Go at low tide. You cannot walk around the beach to the larger one, but you can walk back over the headland adjacent to, or on, the road.

The beach gets a number of people coming to walk the dog, or whatever. But we were all alone overnight.

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[G-RMPS]

Next stop Butt of Lewis. The road from Stornoway is rather uninspiring, especially on a Sunday. The harbour at Ness is pretty, but there’s nowhere to park overnight. There’s toilets nearby which were closed, but there’s a sign on the door indicating nearest suitable motorhome dump.

We headed up to the lighthouse where there is parking, and we stayed overnight. Beware it’s arguably the most windy spot in the UK. We spent hours in the van just watching the birds. Lots of visitors by car, bike etc. but most only stay a few minutes. Again we were alone overnight.

This morning we did a 3-4 mile circular walk around the headland. Superb. There’s a fabulous surfing beach next to the kids play area, and we saw a couple of motorhomes parked there. We also saw numerous gannets diving for food. I recommend the walk, but get dressed for wind.

 

[Feltwell]

Arrrggghhh, stop it! I want to be up in the Western Isles again! Not stuck in damp Shropshire working for a living!! It's torture, I love that part of the world and I love it even in the windy & stormy weather, in fact a good storm just makes it better - well, up to a point!!!!!

 

[G-RMPS]

Here’s a couple of aerial shots of Butt of Lewis and Ness taken last June. Gives you an idea of the terrain on the walk around the headland that I mentioned.

Currently at Eilean Fraoich campsite. Small, tidy, plastic grass, £19. The view isn’t stunning, however there’s a clump of trees nearby with a white-tailed eagle nesting there. Been there 7 months apparently. I couldn’t get close enough with the phone camera but easily watched with binoculars. It was being hassled by a brave hoodie.

 

[Kelsae2]

We stayed on that campsite last year and found it fine. Is the swimming pool at the school open yet. We did not get a chance to use it last year. Are you going to the Carloway Harris Tweed mill while you are there.

 

[G-RMPS]

We stayed on that campsite last year and found it fine. Is the swimming pool at the school open yet. We did not get a chance to use it last year. Are you going to the Carloway Harris Tweed mill while you are there.

Don't know about swimming pool, though I doubt it. Yes, went to Carloway Harris Tweed, and black houses, and Norse mill, and Callinish stones, and Scallop Shack!

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