Western Isles, July
2009
On holiday for
one week to the Western Isles, primarily to go to the Hebridean Celtic
Festival, but also to see the islands and to walk where possible...
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Jump to Date | |
| 14th July | Journey Glasgow - Stornoway |
| 15th July | Stornoway |
| 16th July | Heb Celt Fest |
| 17th July | Gig and Heb Celt Fest |
| 18th July | Dail Beag, Dail Mhor, Calanais, Heb Celt Fest |
| 19th July | 1st Sunday Sailing, Harris |
| 20th July | An Cliseam, Carloway, Dalmore, Butt of Lewis |
| 21st July | Journey Stornoway - Glasgow |
14th July: Journey Glasgow - Stornoway
The first day of our holiday in the Western Isles.
Steve and I travelled up with our cousin Andy, from Glasgow to Ullapool. The weather in Glasgow was dreadful, but less so the further north we go. By the time we arrived at Ullapool, it was pretty nice. We'd arrived early, so it gave us time to wander around the town, go for a drink, then take a quick trip on the road leading north out of town to see Stac Pollaidh and co.
Stornoway was much cloudier, and here we met up with the rest of the extended family. It was cool to be in Stornoway with a brother, cousins, aunts and uncles with a week of music and (hopefully) walking ahead. We stayed at the campsite in Guershader, where we would stay until the end of the Hebridean Celtic Festival. Fifteen-twenty minutes walking would get us into the centre of Stornoway.
15th July: Stornoway
We spent this day in and around the centre of Stornoway. The main event of the day was the first night of the Heb Celt Fest at the main stage.
16th July: Heb Celt Fest
Night two of the Hebridean Celtic Festival. It was this day that it had poured with rain during the afternoon, flooding the tents and battering on top of the caravan. Impressive weather, and more so since it was a beautiful day otherwise. The following day I'd be playing a gig, so we crammed ourselves into the caravan with instruments while the rain battered on the roof. The roar was endless, but it was fun to see such wild weather. It later transpired that the sun had been out on the western side of Lewis!
17th July: Gig, Heb Celt Fest
Yet another day of beautiful weather! As part of the Heb Celt Fest, there was a free family concert taking place every afternoon in the town hall. With seven or eight of us playing, I was on the bodhran. Afterwards, an Orcadian Strip the Willow (a Scottish country dance) took place in the street. A beautiful day, though I was beginning to feel restless limited to the confines of Stornoway. I wanted landscapes, beaches, cliffs and mountains while the sun was out.
18th July: Dail Beag, Dail Mor, Calanais, Heb Celt Fest
The final day of the Hebridean Celtic Festival and a good last night in the big tent. And in the morning, we had the free time to see other parts of the islands. It was fantastic to see the place again. The moorland of Lewis was so damn vast. Barren. It was reminiscent of the Campsie plateau, but flatter and almost at sea level. An amazing place, but for different reasons than the coastlines of Harris mountains.
We also stopped by Dail Beag, Dail Mor and the Calanais stones. They were all great to see again, four years since my last visit.
19th July: 1st Sunday Sailing from Stornoway and Isle of Harris
The 19th marked a change in the holiday, but change was a good thing. With the festival now over, Andy, Steve and I had the car booked onto the ferry back to Ullapool for the 21st. We'd have a couple of days to kill but there was plenty to do and see. First of all, this morning marked the first Sunday sail Stornoway-Ullapool. The crowds were gathered to see this historic sailing, but the church-goers were also out with their silly signs. I could understand where they came from, they felt it the end of a tradition and way of life on the island. If the ships sailed on a Sunday, then people would come back and forth from the mainland, shops would open and the quiet Sunday would be no more. But if in conversation you're going to use tradition as your reason, don't hold up a sign that reads Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy. They didn't win me over, but I can understand their point of view anyway. Curiously, the ship had broken down a days before this Sunday, but that was probably coincidence.
Cheers and clapping filled the air as the ship set sail, but it was a poignant event. Would it be for the better? Should they, shouldn't they?
Anyway, I was pretty excited about the thought of heading to the Isle of Harris. We planned to stay at the Horgabost campsite on the edge of the vast sands of Luskentyre, and we'd have about 24 hours to see this magnificent corner of the Western Isles.
To put it simply, Harris was everything I'd remembered and more. The weather wasn't so good and the cloud now capped the mountains, but Harris was unbelievable. It's hard to put it into words, but 'magnificent desolation' feels right. It's a mind blowing place. We visited Leverburgh and the southern tip of Harris first, then went north again to Luskentyre. The sands were Caribbean but the wind was fierce and mountains dark. The clouds were heavy too and it's one of the great contrasts that makes Harris so beautiful.
In the evening, I left my tent door open and it left the door open for the insects. So when it became dark, I was dismayed to discover my problem. I moved into Steve and Andy's tent (that was a two-three man tent, mine was a one-man) but didn't sleep well. I didn't want to bring the sleeping bag in either, so it became cold. The weather was shocking for the middle of the summer. By the morning, Steve's tent had collapsed and I was feeling rough. It had been a bad night...
Stornoway - Isle of Harris
Leverburgh
Luskentyre
20th July: An Cliseam, Carloway Broch, Dail Mor, Butt of Lewis
The 20th was one of the highlights of the holiday, but it didn't feel that way in the morning. I'd got little sleep the previous night and knew that if I was to do any walking on the holiday, it would be today. We were going home early the following morning. We constructed the day to head progressively north from Harris towards the Butt of Lewis. I didn't want to walk today, but I knew I should. I was torn down the middle and in the end I bought food in Tarbet and got Andy to drive me to the base of An Cliseam, the Outer Hebrides' highest peak and only Corbett.
In the end I went for it and details are covered in my An Cliseam trip report. It was tough and nothing less than. I didn't want to keep everyone waiting so I said I'd be up in down in two hours. Then as I drove off I realised what I'd said. Two hours up and down a trackless mountain in this weather? No way. Then I realised I'd forgotten my trekking poles, and then my water. And food. Oh shit...
This wasn't going well. In retrospect, I'm glad I walked even though it was hell at the time. Adrenaline pushed me up the mountain, scared all the way I'd have to turn my back on it. I set myself the goal of getting to the top within the hour and although I summited five minutes over this target, I'd known I was close so gave myself some flexibility. I walked or ran on the descent, bared the final punishing storms and arrived back at the bottom 1 hour and 45 minutes after I'd left. I'd actually enjoyed the descent, but now I was overjoyed at the entire thing. Steve and Andy arrived ten minutes late, so I'd waited 25 minutes at the bottom. That was fine by me if a bit cold and a great result considering I'd been so scared of being late.
Then we headed north out of Harris, stopping at the Carloway Broch, Dail Mor and finally the Butt of Lewis. It was a great sightseeing day, appreciating everything in the knowledge that it would be our last day. Then back at Stornoway we went and got pished in one of the bars before settling down to a night in Andy's car. It's not a big car, so wasn't a comfortable night. Still, it was only to be endured for a few hours because we'd be up early to catch the boat home.
An Cliseam Images
The images from my An Cliseam trip report.
Carloway Broch/Dun Carloway
Dail Mor (Dalmore)
The Butt of Lewis
21st July: Journey Stornoway - Glasgow
The journey home. I woke up with
a mild hangover which cleared itself on the boat. As the clouds of
Stornoway gave way to sunny skies on the ocean, I had plenty of
photo-opportunities. The main subject was the mountains on the mainland. The
views were extensive and it was a breathtaking morning. Views were also
fantastic on the drive home, (The Munros Beinn Dearg and Cona Mheall SW of
Ullapool especially so) and we headed down the A9 home
Stornoway - Ullapool
Ullapool - Glasgow
