Beach Walking paradise

Monday 30th April
Yet again woke up to bright sunshine although there was some cloud about and the wind had picked up over night.
Today we travelled to Barra which will be the farthest south we camp on the islands.
It was a nice drive from North Uist, through Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay. Each of these islands is joined to the next by a course way. Eriskay is famous for the event which gave Sir Compton MacKenzie his plot for the film Whisky Galore. In 1941 the ship Am Politician went ashore carrying 20,000 cases of whisky.
Before catching the ferry to Barra we enjoyed a walk on one of the lovely shell sand beaches of Eriskay.
The lunch time crossing to Barra took 40 mins, on arrival we drove to Barra airport where the plane lands and take off from the beach. We had arranged to meet the campsite owner at the airport so that he could show us where the campsite was. If you have ever watched the BBC TV programme "Island Parish" you may have seen Angus the owner of the campsite, he is the crofter featured on the programme.
Having checked out the campsite we then had a drive to Vatersay, another island connected by a course way. On the way we had our second beach walk of the day, white sand and crystal clear water. Heading back to the campsite we had a quick visit to Castlebay the main "town" on the island. We have just finished the day off with yet another truly lovely beach walk right next to the campsite. Lots of seabirds feeding at low tide and we even spotted a sea urchin.



The beach near Scurrival Campsite

Phil & Tina

North Uist

Stopped last night at the Uig campsite, right next to the ferry terminal. It's a ok little campsite but they pipe music into the toilet block, may be it's to stop people sleeping in there when the weather is bad and the wind is blowing. Last night we listened to "Take To The Floor" on BBC Radio Scotland. It's a show of Scottish music and it's a bit of a tradition for us to listen to when um the highlands.
Woke this morning to bright warm sunshine, it was that warm we even eat our breakfast sitting outside. Our ferry was early afternoon so we spent a lovely lazy morning sitting in the sun, Tina read her book and I practiced the banjo.
In the afternoon we caught the ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy on North Uist, the ferry took 1 3/4 hours and the sea was flat calm.
Once off the ferry we had a little leg stretch and now we are camped a Carinish with a lovely little beach for Bonnie to play on.

Phil

Uig

Travelled up to Fort William yesterday, arrived at the site around tea time so missed any Friday traffic. Set up the van, the camp site is on the shore of Loch Linnhe. We watched a Herron fishing on the shore of the Loch and another in the river near by. Today we drove to Uig on Skye, lovely sunny day although the breeze is a little cool. We had a picnic lunch at Lower Breakish, I had a play on the banjo while Tina played with Bonnie on the beach. Tomorrow afternoon we catch the ferry to Lochmaddy on North Uist.

Phil

Outer Hebrides Odyssey

Heading off tomorrow on a Outer Hebrides Odyssey. Two weeks in our little camper van for Tina, me, Bonnie (the dog) and my banjo. I only know three songs on the banjo so I'm not sure how long that will last before I have to have it surgically removed!

Friday night will see us stopping at the Caravan Club site at Bunree, near Fort William. Saturday we head off for a night on Skye and then the ferry to the Outer Hebrides. Tina has been busy planning the stops and route while on the islands, so it will all be a nice surprise for me. The Outer Hebrides is a place we have both wanted to visit for a while, in fact we had a holiday cottage booked on one of the islands a few years ago. Unfortunately a blocked toilet and the fact the equipment to unblock it was stuck on one of the other islands meant the owners of the cottage had to cancel.

Lets hope the sea is calm for all the ferry crossings that we have planned to hop between the islands.