The Timeless Way, from Carinish, North Uist to Howmore, South Uist

Day 8, 30 June 2015

I felt much better after a long sleep and a lazy morning at the bunk barn.  Setting off from the bunk after noon I decided not to hitch back to the junction where I could cover the off road stretch described by Peter.  I wasn't sure I had enough time to make it to the end of the Timeless Way, and having come this far I was keen to make it to the end.

I walked along the road and knew that I was missing out some exciting off road sections.  In particular in his book Peter explains about the North Ford and South Ford stretches of sand he crossed as he did with Tong Sands at Stornoway.

I did not have the Stornoway Gazette for the tidal charts, nor did I have the benefit of the guidance of the local guide Mr Ewen Nicholson of Grimsay, which Peter had had before he attempted this on his own, and I did not have anyone to wonder where I was if I encountered problems.  I would love to cross these fords but today was not the day, Peter's description of the crossings and of finding the waymarkers is fascinating to read.

I headed west as directed by the highlighted line on my map, west of Ruabhal.  I found myself on a very boggy section to Church Hill and could not find a path to the township, for quite a while.  When I did reach the houses, I had a chat with some locals and then headed south along a track through fields to Torlum, from there another track south to Lionacleit and came across a.... hotel!  I had a baked potato with chili and a pint and set off feeling totally refreshed and refuelled.

At the Coop at Gramsdale I stocked up on food and drink and then turned off the main road, following the line which headed for the coast.  The road came to an end, so I followed a rough track through fields.  I could see the MoD buildings ahead and made my way round the MoD base, worried about cows but bravely made progress.  Boggy and muddy fields gave way to sandy fields.

The day was coming to an end; it was now around 8 pm and didn't get dark till around 10 pm, those last two hours of daylight in the Outer Hebrides are usually quite special, the sky is often bright.  At last I was running, with mountains to my left, the sea to my right, a luminescent sky and thirty birds accompanying me above, a surreal last few miles to the Gatliff hostel at Howmore and hours of my life I will never forget.

I arrived at the Gatliff hostel at Howmore after 10 pm, chattered to some Dutch cycle tourists, pitched my tent and slept well.

The hostel is in a black house with thatched roof and again, in such a splendid location.