I found it difficult to resist Blurb's recent "35% discount" special offer, so decided it was time to pull my finger out and turn last year's Hebrides trip into a book. You'll be pleased to know that it will be in all good bookshops in plenty of time for the Christmas rush...
Showing posts with label Hebrides. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hebrides. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Hebrides 33: Epilogue
We stopped for lunch in Carrbridge at the same cafe we'd used on the way home from Orkney 11 years previously. The food was mediocre at best and the service was abysmal, but at least the old bridge was just as pretty as ever.
We then hit the A9 and headed to Pitlochry, which was absolutely heaving with people. It had become extremely touristy since our previous visit, and is now clearly the place which puts the "twee" in tweed! On the plus side, I did manage to buy myself some slippers at Wilson's (where else?).
The traffic built up (and, of course, slowed down) as we passed Perth and drove across the Forth bridge; we also encountered the first of a series of very heavy rain showers. We managed to navigate our way around Edinburgh without getting lost (quite a feat), and then headed towards Dunbar and Berwick. Having failed to find somewhere to grab a bite to eat, we continued around Newcastle and stopped at an uninspiring (although very quiet) Costa Coffee in Washington before hitting the A1 with all its road works. We eventually arrived home just before 00:15 - 618 miles and a gnat's whisker less than 19 hours since we'd set off from Lemreway. I love Scotland, but why does it have to be so far away?
So that's it. Another long and tedious travelogue finished, and this time in the same year that the journey took place. Maybe, in the future, I'll get round to posting the pictures "as they happen"? Whatever else, I'm sure it won't be too long before we're back in the Hebrides. Next time I suspect we'll bypass the Uists, instead spending time on Mull and Skye. (I also have a secret ambition to visit all the distilleries on Islay at some point, but that's another story.) Harris and Lewis are magical places which managed to get under our skin in the short time we were there. We were genuinely sad to leave, and will definitely be back to explore further...
We then hit the A9 and headed to Pitlochry, which was absolutely heaving with people. It had become extremely touristy since our previous visit, and is now clearly the place which puts the "twee" in tweed! On the plus side, I did manage to buy myself some slippers at Wilson's (where else?).
The traffic built up (and, of course, slowed down) as we passed Perth and drove across the Forth bridge; we also encountered the first of a series of very heavy rain showers. We managed to navigate our way around Edinburgh without getting lost (quite a feat), and then headed towards Dunbar and Berwick. Having failed to find somewhere to grab a bite to eat, we continued around Newcastle and stopped at an uninspiring (although very quiet) Costa Coffee in Washington before hitting the A1 with all its road works. We eventually arrived home just before 00:15 - 618 miles and a gnat's whisker less than 19 hours since we'd set off from Lemreway. I love Scotland, but why does it have to be so far away?
So that's it. Another long and tedious travelogue finished, and this time in the same year that the journey took place. Maybe, in the future, I'll get round to posting the pictures "as they happen"? Whatever else, I'm sure it won't be too long before we're back in the Hebrides. Next time I suspect we'll bypass the Uists, instead spending time on Mull and Skye. (I also have a secret ambition to visit all the distilleries on Islay at some point, but that's another story.) Harris and Lewis are magical places which managed to get under our skin in the short time we were there. We were genuinely sad to leave, and will definitely be back to explore further...
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Hebrides 32: Stornoway to Ullapool
Because of a 07:00 ferry sailing, we had packed up and left the house in Lemreway by 05:15: the start of a very long day. The heatwave of the past few days had disappeared, and Stornoway was grey and overcast when we arrived. It was clear that we'd be on an "industrial strength" ferry for this crossing, unlike the much more intimate vessels which had taken us between the islands. No matter, it still served the famous CalMac "Full Scottish".
A view back to Lewis as we set out for the almost three hour crossing to Ullapool. Another chance to hunt out some old sea dogs in order to pass the time...
Not very many canines on this crossing, unfortunately, so I had to make do with a few fellow passengers as well.
The weather brightened up as we approached the Scottish mainland, and the blue hills looked wonderful in the morning haze.
Ullapool is in the middle of a very large sea loch, with the surrounding hills and islands providing a large natural harbour. The sea was like glass, and occasionally we spotted dolphins and minke whales surfacing. Their location was almost impossible to predict, though, so the second picture below is probably the worst example of whale photography in the history of the universe (but at least it proves that we saw them).
Eventually we started to reach "civilisation" - initially a few scattered crofts, and then Ullapool itself.
It would have been lovely to spend some time there, as both the town and the surrounding countryside looked really attractive. Sadly we had rather a long drive ahead of us...
A view back to Lewis as we set out for the almost three hour crossing to Ullapool. Another chance to hunt out some old sea dogs in order to pass the time...
Not very many canines on this crossing, unfortunately, so I had to make do with a few fellow passengers as well.
The weather brightened up as we approached the Scottish mainland, and the blue hills looked wonderful in the morning haze.
Ullapool is in the middle of a very large sea loch, with the surrounding hills and islands providing a large natural harbour. The sea was like glass, and occasionally we spotted dolphins and minke whales surfacing. Their location was almost impossible to predict, though, so the second picture below is probably the worst example of whale photography in the history of the universe (but at least it proves that we saw them).
Eventually we started to reach "civilisation" - initially a few scattered crofts, and then Ullapool itself.
It would have been lovely to spend some time there, as both the town and the surrounding countryside looked really attractive. Sadly we had rather a long drive ahead of us...
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Hebrides 31: Butt of Lewis
After all that airy-fairy camera waving, I though it was time for a bit of proper photography: namely, some of the birds we saw at the Butt of Lewis. The Northernmost tip of Lewis boasts an iconic lighthouse and cliffs which are home to plenty of gulls and fulmars. Given its location, it's also on the flight-path for gannets between St Kilda and the Scottish mainland, so is a great place to watch the birds as they come and go.
No, there aren't any birds in that first picture: it was just a test to see if you were paying attention! I also included it to give a sense of the craggy cliffs (yet more Lewisian Gneiss) and the vegetation which grows on them.
Looking closer it was possible to see fulmars nesting in the cliffs opposite. The constant bickering and guano-streaked surroundings were a bit of a give-away.
A few pictures of gannets, gulls (herring and greater black-backed) and fulmars as they flew around the cliffs. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I could have stayed there for hours watching these graceful creatures.
I wasn't the only one, as Harriet was in bird-watchers' heaven.
This is the Butt of Lewis lighthouse. Not especially attractive in itself, but obviously a very welcome site for a string of cyclists as they arrived having completed the Hebridean Way: a scenic ride from Vatersay in the South to the very tip of Lewis in the North. All uphill too...
By lunchtime the West side of Lewis was covered in a blanket of thick fog, so we drove back across the Barvas moor to Stornoway, determined to visit the town while it was open! The two highlights were By Rosie, a shop giving a very modern twist on traditional Harris Tweed, and the Lewis Loom Centre which we'd attempted to visit on Sunday. The home-made signs were a sight to behold, and we're still not quite sure which animal they're supposed to depict. Sheep, presumably, but we didn't spot any mutants like these anywhere on our travels.
The Loom Centre itself looked (slightly) less derelict than it had done a week beforehand, but it was obviously doing a roaring trade. The interior was a veritable Aladdin's Cave of Harris Tweed in all shapes, sizes and colours: a bit like a sweet shop for textile artists like Harriet. The only problem was deciding which bits of cloth to buy, and this took a little while. On the plus side, I now know what a "fat quarter" is.
Since we had a very early start the following morning, it was then time to head back to the house to pack everything up and load the car ready for the journey home. Time to contemplate returning to reality, unfortunately.
No, there aren't any birds in that first picture: it was just a test to see if you were paying attention! I also included it to give a sense of the craggy cliffs (yet more Lewisian Gneiss) and the vegetation which grows on them.
Looking closer it was possible to see fulmars nesting in the cliffs opposite. The constant bickering and guano-streaked surroundings were a bit of a give-away.
A few pictures of gannets, gulls (herring and greater black-backed) and fulmars as they flew around the cliffs. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I could have stayed there for hours watching these graceful creatures.
I wasn't the only one, as Harriet was in bird-watchers' heaven.
This is the Butt of Lewis lighthouse. Not especially attractive in itself, but obviously a very welcome site for a string of cyclists as they arrived having completed the Hebridean Way: a scenic ride from Vatersay in the South to the very tip of Lewis in the North. All uphill too...
By lunchtime the West side of Lewis was covered in a blanket of thick fog, so we drove back across the Barvas moor to Stornoway, determined to visit the town while it was open! The two highlights were By Rosie, a shop giving a very modern twist on traditional Harris Tweed, and the Lewis Loom Centre which we'd attempted to visit on Sunday. The home-made signs were a sight to behold, and we're still not quite sure which animal they're supposed to depict. Sheep, presumably, but we didn't spot any mutants like these anywhere on our travels.
The Loom Centre itself looked (slightly) less derelict than it had done a week beforehand, but it was obviously doing a roaring trade. The interior was a veritable Aladdin's Cave of Harris Tweed in all shapes, sizes and colours: a bit like a sweet shop for textile artists like Harriet. The only problem was deciding which bits of cloth to buy, and this took a little while. On the plus side, I now know what a "fat quarter" is.
Since we had a very early start the following morning, it was then time to head back to the house to pack everything up and load the car ready for the journey home. Time to contemplate returning to reality, unfortunately.
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