Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

You would think that a trail passing through the countryside of Harris with its wondrous hills, glens and lochs would be well publicised. However, that does not appear to be the case for the Harris Walkway and I came across it while following tracks marked on my OS map during my explorations of Harris last month. Even finding a description of it on the web is not as easy as it should be. I did manage to locate an article written by Cameron McNeish for The Sunday Herald shortly after he officially opened the trail in 2001 when he was president of the Rambler’s Association in Scotland. Here’s an excerpt that gives you a good flavour of the route followed:

Start: A859 road just E of bridge over the Scaladale River. Grid Reference: NB186096.

Finish: A859 road near Seilebost. Grid Reference: NG090971.

Route: From the cairn by the side of the road follow the green track S past Caisteal Ard and Gormul Maaruig. The track rejoins the main road for a short distance before following a minor road to the bridge over the Abhainn Maruig. From here a track runs S over the Braigh an Ruisg and down to Urgha Beag from where it’s only a short distance to Tarbert. From there a combination of roads and paths run through Cadha, Diraclett, Kendibig, Meavag and Drinishader. From the head of Loch Plocrapool another track and minor road combination runs to Grosebay from where a green road runs over the hills behind Cluer and Stockinish. Follow the line of the Sgurran Ruadha dyke N until you meet the road again on the zigzags of the Uamh Ard. Follow the road down to the junction of the Stockinish road, turn right up the sign-posted track and follow it through the bealach to the A859 near Seilebost.

All in all, it’s a good twenty mile trek so splitting it over two days sounds eminently sensible. The trouble with trying something like this in one day is that you are rushing along and that Harris deserves much better than that. Leaving some time to take it all in is very much in the spirit of the island. Not having hoards following you or ahead of you like the West Highland Way in summer makes it easy to slow down and relax a little. From my experience, I reckon that the countryside through which you’ll be passing demands nothing else.

Ferry travel and island hopping are often synonymous. During previous Scottish outings, I have been known to explore Mull, Iona and Arran with Caledonian Macbrayne (Calmac to one and all) getting me to and from the islands in question. An Easter excursion to Arran involved an overnight stay but Mull and Iona have only ever seen me on day trips. Kerrera has been the same with its little passenger ferry getting me there and away.

The main way onto Skye these days is by going over its well known bridge but there ferry options for getting there too. One that I have used is that running between Armadale and Mallaig but there is another going between Glenelg and Kylerhea. That is a small community-run affair but it is summer-only like the much larger Calmac ferry. Unlike others that I have frequented, Skye has seen me on multi-day trips a few times although there have been shorter ones with me spending spending just a single night on the island too.

My Hebridean explorations last month had me spending just the one night on Skye with a few hours spent around Ben Tianavaig as well. I have shared that here already so I’ll move things along to that ferry ride to Harris. The sailing itself lasts an hour and forty minutes and the crossing of the Little Minch does take you sufficiently far away from land that they need registration cards for the crossing along with your ticket. That’s not to say that any sights on the crossing are devoid of land. Just stand at the right side of the boat and there’ll plenty to see.

I made my way to the cafeteria at the start of the crossing so we were well out of Loch Snizort by the time that I returned to the deck. An Easter Monday return from Arran taught me that getting fed before things got too busy was sound practice. It also started to rain as we left Uig so being under cover was no bad idea either and I had a dry few hours there before the ferry came.

Though we were out on more open water when I ventured outside again, Skye was far from being gone from view. In fact, the full length of the Trotternish was still visible even as it became an ever thinner line on the horizon. Some islands north of Skye came into view too. Visibility was very good with some sunshine about and the crossing remained a smooth one throughout.

Any lack of land was soon remedied as we pass into Loch an Tairbeart (Loch Tarbert West) with its myriad of islands. Scalpay was a major sight and, of course, there was Harris itself with its best hill country remaining steadfastly in shadow while other parts caught the sun. After all this wonder, Tarbert still seemed a pleasant spot even if it was far from huge. A visit to its tourist information centre resulted in my picking up a bus timetable for all of Harris and Lewis. Aird Asaig (Ardhasaig in English) was where I was staying the night so a bus ride was in order to save myself an hour’s walking with a full load on my back.

Once esconsced at my lodgings, I took to a spot of ambling. An Cliseam (or Clisham, Gaelic is the mainstay for the place names in these parts) and its client hills remained under cloud and some of the summits were shrouded too. I had no rain which was a blessing given the portents from the weather forecasts that I had been seeing. My wanderings took me around Loch Bun Abhainn Eaddara and along the shores of Loch a’ Siar. The journeying was short but glimpsed steep slopes that were stony and craggy, reminders that I was among proper hills regardless of what their heights might be. These were hills of which I was to see more but I had already seen enough to retire for the night. By then, the weather had taken on a damper aspect but the following day was when the real exploration was to commence.

I have written on this blog before about an idea of exploring the Western Isles that I got into my head. Well, it has come to pass and I’m now back from what turned out to be a good trip. The weather wasn’t too unkind to me at all and I reckon that I got far more sun than I had right to expect and even the rain that I got wasn’t unbearable either. Public transport got me from place to place without too much fuss and all of my lodgings did for me what I needed. Not surprisingly, I got in a good amount of walking with Skye, Harris and South Uist seeing my footfall, perhaps scratching the surface of what was on offer. Travelling about allowed me to see even more and the list of places glimpsed while on my way becomes a long one that includes names of familiar stomping grounds along with those on which I have yet to set foot. Relating it all in one long post seems too much so I’ll split up my account of the trip. I don’t know how many pieces there might be to it just yet; I think that I’ll see how that goes in the telling.

Now that the accommodation side of things has been organised, I think that I can be brave enough to share the scheme for a planned trip to Scotland that now seems to be very much in the offing. The destination this time is the Western Isles and it would be my first visit to these parts. The journey that is coming into place takes me from Skye onto Harris and then to Lochboisdale before I return to the mainland at Oban.

The weather looks as if it could be a mixed bag when I’m up there but it’s hard both to discern the future and to get a sense of the Scottish weather patterns from England anyway. As it happens, I seem to get the sense that those Scottish weather trends sometimes pass by those of us who live south of the border and that might explain how I got surprised by the perfect conditions that I enjoyed when I visited Argyll in May. Nevertheless, so long as ferry crossings are unaffected, there are some dry sunny spells and it isn’t a case of constantly getting soaked, I should be kept happy.

Sketching out some walking ideas is next on the planning to do list. I won’t be spending so much time on Skye but the prospects for some ambling cannot be ruled out. Getting to know a little of Harris, South Uist and what lies in between is the main point of the outing and some promising hill country exists on Harris and South Uist looks promising so I should not be short of ideas. In fact, perusal of the maps and guidebooks that are in my possession is already paying dividends. If rain intrudes on play, having a few "foul" weather alternatives in mind is no load since any wandering that helps me to get know these islands a little will be worthwhile.

Of course, the matter of deciding what to take and what rucksack to use to carry it is ahead of me too. My weighty Karrimor is not in the running so a recently acquired Osprey Aether 60 or my well travelled Atmos 50 could be making the journey with me. The former has on offer its 60 litre capacity but the tardis-like Atmos cannot be discounted either. Not only did it work very well for me on weekend visits to Lochaber and Argyll earlier this year but other examples have served well on a LEJOG and a two week crossing of Scotland on the Southern Upland Way. Whatever rucksack I take, the weight being carried will need watching since I’ll be travelling about; it’s not as if I will be fanning out from a single base. That weight watching will be balanced against what is needed to cope with whatever weather I meet and any terrain that I’ll be crossing. However, having sorted out a roof over my head for every night, that will help on keeping down the weight that I’ll be carrying too.

Getting ready for that trip up north has followed all the usual patterns for my trips away: arranging transport and accommodation, thinking out ideas for walks, sorting out what to take and doing the packing. Because I am heading for somewhere new and making a number of sea crossings, the planning might be a bit more deliberate than usual but common elements still are shared with a day hike or a weekend away. My preparations are still not complete and may not be so until just before I finally go out that door and set off. Even then, there can remain a certain amount of unfinished business with walking ideas or needing to pick up some needed item on the way. I certainly hope that there isn’t too much of that this time so I need to get cracking on making sure that everything is sorted out before I go.

Apart from Kershader, which is owned by Co-chomunn Na Parc, most of the hostels in the Western Isles are owned by the Gatliff Hebridean Hostels Trust. The trust’s website is well worth a look as it does more than introduce the hostels and tell us about its intriguing (to me, anyway) history. In fact, the website is almost as good an introduction to the islands as any, even if some sections might need a spot of updating and that can happen anyone. There are four hostels and each is situated a little away from the beaten track, never a bad thing. Advance bookings are not on offer but you shouldn’t be out of luck as regards a bed for the night, given their locations, and they are unlike many SYHA hostels in that they are open all year around. The tariffs are very reasonable too and, with the wardens being locals, you are contributing to the local community as well.

For one reason or another, this past June has involved me pondering hill wandering treks rather than doing very many of them. That still means ideas for the blog but having them is one thing but making something out of them is yet another. In fact, an idea can transform into something very different on its execution. For instance, I still have do another part of my Argyll trip report for May and that has spawned thoughts of walking that I have done while on excursions based in Oban, an idea for another post. Then, there are thoughts of places where I haven’t visited for a while and those that I have yet to reach. Among the latter are the Western Isles (otherwise known as the Outer Hebrides or Na hEileanan an Iar) and the prospect of spending some time there this summer has prompted another idea for a posting on here. It’s amazing what can come from meandering through the countryside in the mind whilst comfortably seated in one’s armchair. Even so, I really need to get out in the countryside for real rather than using the virtual reality opportunities of the theatre of the skull. Hopefully, July will offer some chances.