Day 2 Barra to North Uwist
Cycling 79k Elevation 247m
Having woken up to the campsite in beautiful sunshine – we left the campsite in a torrential shower to work our way around island (which isn’t too large), heading in the direction of the airport before targeting the 11.10 ferry from Barra to South Uist. The reason behind going to the airport at Barra was food driven, it comes as a highly recommended cafe, with great scenery and the only airport with whose tag line is “the only scheduled landing on a beach”! Perfect.
With breakfast in mind and having crossed the island, we cycled behind the turn off for the harbour and headed off to the airport. The scenery was incredible, beautiful white sands, the airsocks and warning signs in abundance reminding the casual tourist not to venture onto the beach if the windsock is flying as aircraft were in the vicinity….Being slightly naive and on makes and models of aircraft and not knowing exactly which type would be brave enough to land on the beach we (I) approached the cafe with caution. In fact it was only when we were on the ferry heading across the Sound of Barra to Eriskay that we were actually fortunate enough to see plan landing in the distance. I need not have worried – this was nothing someone who lives too close to Heathrow would be used to seeing. However the opportunity to legitimately land on a beach must be on every pilots tick list.
The Cafe by the way is a must visit – not least for the great menu and equally great opportunity to purchase “Barra Memorabilia”. Having eaten (best veggie sausages ever) we sprinted back to the harbour turn off for the ferry…..
Watching the ferry load was an exercise in logistical precision….hence we were slightly late in leaving. The trip itself was a mere 40 mins, we sat up outside on deck and were able to watch colonies of seals basking on small islands in the unusually warm weather as we went by on some of the many islands that populate the Sound of Barra.
The arrival on Eriskay, the the little island beneath South Uist, was spectacular, probably made all the more so by the unseasonal beautiful weather. Eriskay is tiny and linked to South Euist by a causeway which was opened only in 2001. The island is famous primarily (I don’t think I am doing it a disservice here), for being Bonnie Prince Charlies first landing in Scotland in 1745. It is a mere 2.5 miles by 1.5 miles in length and width hence you are through it and onto the the causeway leading north before you realise it! As in Barra – the riding is easy – undulations aplenty but nothing too challenging and much to look at.
Each of the islands has its own distinct personality. South Uist as the second largest island in the outer Hebridean group has plenty going on by comparison to its northern Euist neighbour). The island has beautiful beaches and cycling along the main road (there aren’t that many route options), there are many historical remains to stop and view. For anyone who has been to Orkney, standing stones and the general landscape are very similar. Like Orkney, the first thing you do notice is a general lack of trees, standing stones and causeways, however unlike Orkney the housing is both innovative and varied, (thatch on stone and clapper boarding), not at all the typical Scottish style of housing you get used to seeing on the mainland. There is very much a community type feel….not altogether unsurprising given it was the subject of a community buy-out in 2006, you can really feel a buzz about the place as people pull together. The key industries, (aside from the arts), are tourism and agriculture and it is most definitely an island worth visiting and of course, made all the more attractive when you do this in great weather>
We stopped for lunch (late) just at the north of the island at a the Borrowdale Hotel where the landlady could not have been friendlier, – something we found all the way round. We also found that in almost in each and every pub there is an art exhibition i.e. paintings on the walls for sale from local artists. Arts are very much at the forefront of the outer Hebrides – what else would you do through the dark cold wet winters……? Of special interest in this establishment were the sparkly silver toilet seats in the ladies – I stopped short of taking a photo for obvious reasons. However worth a look ladies, – sorry boys, I have it on good authority that yours are “regular”seats.
After lunch we continued our trip north, past the army missile test range and across another causeway onto the next island up; – Benbecula. Why this is sandwiched between South and North Euist is bizarre. It is small, industrial and possibly as a slight disservice, not as exciting as the name!Relatively small it is @ 12k across & in length. To be nest we didn’t stop here, given there wast much to see, aside from views to the west but also we were conscious time was pressing on and we needed to get to our overnight accommodation.
Another causeway linked Benbecula to the isle of Norther Euist which for some reason feels slightly less attractive than its southern neighbour. Sure it still has standing stones and burial cairns but it just doesn’t have the same community feel and buzz, – possibly harsh but we were on a mission to get to our accommodation. 
One of the key things we found was that despite having best intentions of camping throughout, it is very hard to find shops near to a camp site, so moral of the story is buy food when you find a store and take it with you. On this occasion we couldn’t find a campsite near where we needed to be….so had booked a bunkhouse at Moorcroft (fantastic site and facility), at the south of the north island. The light that evening, as most evenings in fairness when its not raining in the outer Hebrides was amazing……as an added bonus we need up with a bunkhouse to ourselves. The views from the bunkhouse, especially in the morning, were again something special. The light in the Hebrides is really spectacular and seems to highlight the natural colours of the scenery.
Day done, we headed for food and a substantial sleep!
There and Back: 