Next stop Harris and Lewis!

 Day 23 Wednesday 8th May

Unbelievably the van next door to us is a travel blogger and writer known as wandering bird. We have one of her books! John went over for a chat. She is doing the Hebrides North to South (opposite to us).

Wandering bird

We woke at 6am as we were booked on the early ferry to Harris. We had wanted to stay longer on North Uist but we couldn’t get a ferry which suited. We either stayed one day or one week. We opted for a day and will stay 4 nights on Lewis where we can explore both Harris and Lewis as you can drive between the two islands. John overdid it yesterday so once we arrive we will take things easy. This is meant to be a holiday after all! 🤣

We have been so unbelievably lucky this trip with the weather, the one thing you can’t plan and it’s been so fabulous. I’m not sure how we would feel if we’d just had 3 weeks of rain! I packed all warm clothes and coats, waterproof clothes, boots etc. I only packed 3 t-shirts! Didn’t think I would need them at all! 😆 Luckily I threw my sun cream in at the last minute!

Dex and I went to the beach for a walk. Just us and a solitary oyster catcher.







We left camp at 8 and headed for Bernaray to get the ferry to Leverburgh on the Isle of Harris. We passed Scolpaig Tower. Scolpaig Tower




We saw a beautifully restored traditional cottage.



Another one which looked like a holiday let.





I also saw a curlew on this stretch but unfortunately wasn’t quick enough to photograph it. Lovely to see though. 


We could see the ferry port in the distance. It was much smaller than Lochmaddy. 

We joined the queue but we were very early so Dex and I went to explore. 


The causeway was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1999.


We then found an ancient burial mound although you can’t really see much of it. 




We were pleased to spot a burger van opening and ordered bacon rolls for breakfast. 

Soon after we were able to board. It was a much smaller ferry. The weather had turned and it was really cold and windy. I did get a few pictures on the voyage but most of it was spent in the lounge. It was only an hour crossing. 









We were now on Harris and heading for Lewis as we were staying at a campsite there. 










Harris has some wonderful golden sandy beaches which we could see in the distance. Unfortunately it had started to rain. 





We saw what looked like the remains of a broch.




The beaches got ever more impressive on our journey.







Eventually we came to Sielebost beach which was absolutely breathtaking!









The rain was getting harder and you could see the storm clouds ahead.





We carried on. The scenery changed completely as we left the coast and started climbing. It was very barren and mostly just rock and stone with the occasional small loch. With the rain it was all a bit depressing.


I did like the natural stone crash barriers though!










The driving was pretty awful as a lot of twists and turns and drops which John hated. We were really pleased to arrive at our campsite. We had travelled 70 miles since leaving Leverburgh. It was now blowing a hoolie and lashing with rain so we settled down in the van for the remainder of the afternoon. Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow 🤞





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