Having had a lovely night’s sleep at Shellbay Campsite on South Uist I awoke to another day of glorious sunshine, blue skies and the fell in the air that it was going to be a scorcher of a day.
Once I had packed up and had a chat and a cup of tea provided by a lovely couple in a motor home (whom I think felt a bit sorry for me as I had been staying in a tiny tent and living out of a car), I waved good bye to Alan, the friendly campsite owner and headed to Lochmaddy. Here I popped into the lovely arts and crafts shop and grabbed a coffee which I drank whilst overlooking the harbour.
I then drove up to Berneray, stopping off at points to get out and have a look around finding a great camping spot for later that evening, and stopped at the ferry point to watch the ferries crossing to the Isle of Harris. I took a look around Berneray and had lunch at the Lobster Pot Inn which consisted of smoked saltar salmon salad whilst I took time to read a book I had bought in the arts and crafts shop earlier.
With the sun shining I went up Borgh (85m) to sit in the sun for a while before continuing on in the car to the north east of Berneray where I ascended Bein Ghainche which led to the north coast where I sat and watched the Gannets and Manx Shearwaters dive bomb into the sea, with views to Harris behind them. Further up I gained more height on Beinn Shieibhe where I was welcomed by a panoramic view of the Outer Hebridean Islands and could even see the ghostly silhouette of St Kilda, the now nature reserve where once people lived.
With the sun shining I went up Borgh (85m) to sit in the sun for a while before continuing on in the car to the north east of Berneray where I ascended Bein Ghainche which led to the north coast where I sat and watched the Gannets and Manx Shearwaters dive bomb into the sea, with views to Harris behind them. Further up I gained more height on Beinn Shieibhe where I was welcomed by a panoramic view of the Outer Hebridean Islands and could even see the ghostly silhouette of St Kilda, the now nature reserve where once people lived.
It was the hottest part of the day by this point so as I was by on an island with the most beautiful beaches it seemed only right to head down to the sea for a swim. I had come prepared as I even had my snorkel and flippers with me and before long I was diving into the waters off the coast of North Uist. Though the sun was hot the water wasn’t but it made for a refreshing experience.
Once I was dried off and dressed got back into the car to drive over to the west coast of North Uist where I stopped by a forested nature reserve and walked around for an hour or so. Before long I spotted a buzzard soaring low above me carrying something in its talons, and so stopped to watch for a while. Suddenly a falcon came into sight and headed straight for the buzzard, and as I looked on wondering what it was planning to do, it took whatever the buzzard was carrying right from it and flew away at a hefty pace. The buzzard didn’t put up a fight but was at this point so close above me that I could almost make out the look of shock and confusion on the poor bird’s face!
Once I was dried off and dressed got back into the car to drive over to the west coast of North Uist where I stopped by a forested nature reserve and walked around for an hour or so. Before long I spotted a buzzard soaring low above me carrying something in its talons, and so stopped to watch for a while. Suddenly a falcon came into sight and headed straight for the buzzard, and as I looked on wondering what it was planning to do, it took whatever the buzzard was carrying right from it and flew away at a hefty pace. The buzzard didn’t put up a fight but was at this point so close above me that I could almost make out the look of shock and confusion on the poor bird’s face!
On my way back through the woodland I came across a young stag grazing which I sat and watched for a while without it seemingly knowing I was there, unlike the buzzard that again was hovering above me, at a fairly low distance again, though I suspected he was either looking for his stolen food or was awaiting answers from me as to where the hell it flew off to.
Having experienced these great wildlife sightings I assumed I was on a roll so headed to another nature reserve ran by the RSPB called Balranald Reserve. This was different to the forest landscape of the other reserve as it involved a walk across farm land passing fields which were alive with lapwings, arctic terns, whoopers and Oyster catchers. I kept my wits about me for arctic Skuas having once had a scary experience with them on the isle of Canna. Here I had a good walk around in the evening sun before thinking about where I was to wild camp that night. I soon remembered the spot by the coast on Berneray so headed back that way. On arrival I came across a couple of camper vans that had camped up, and thought that perhaps my spot had been bagged already. Parking up and walking over to the secluded spot I was pleased to see it was unoccupied and so dropped by bags, pitched up, got the dinner on and enjoyed a cider as, once again, I watches another glorious Hebridean sunset in front of me.
As I sat there looking over to the isle of Boreray and Lingeigh I recalled the day and the things I had seen, from the landscapes, to the views and the huge range of wildlife. And also the culture that features on this island from the evidence of Gaelic days of yore to the current Hebridian arts, crafts and music.
RSS Feed
