Wednesday 24 June 2015
I set off from Stornoway having posted my down coat and some clothes home, my rucksack was too heavy the previous day and I was warm enough to manage without the polar expedition coat. My rucksack now weighed 8.25 kg without food, I also carried a small dry bag containing my maps.
I left Stornoway Harbour and went through the grounds of Lews Castle. According to Peter, Disraeli referred to the owner Sir James Matheson as 'McDrug' as he made his fortune from the opium trade, whilst outwardly living a respectable life on the Isle of Lewis.
I left the grounds of the Castle by hopping over a wall, and followed the old Pentland Road which cut through the boggy moors and my feet for about 6 hours.
I spent a few hours reading as I walked along, there was nothing to trip up over. I was offered quite a few lifts by kind people who drove past me wondering why anyone would be walking along such a remote road.
There is little between Stornoway and Garenin other than a couple of junctions and Carloway.
Garenin was the destination, a village of restored black houses with thatched rooves. The hostel there is one of the finest I have stayed in. A friendly couple in the hostel offered me a bowl of soup they had made and gave me some tea bags as there was nowhere to buy any food or drink, by the time I had arrived.
The hostel was luxurious, with comfortable beds with duvets, my room had a skylight in the thatched roof so I slept under that and looked at the sky until I fell asleep thinking this was not really what I had in mind and I would keep an open mind about whether to change the plan. All that tarmac, that can't be right on a long distance path. This section can easily be done by bus and I would recommend that to anyone else.
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