The Timeless Way through the Outer Hebrides, Berneray to Carinish, North Uist

Day 7 Monday 29 June 2015

I set off from the Gatliff hostel on Berneray with a Dutch traveller called Myka who was hoping the weather would permit a trip to St Kilda.  We had breakfast at the Ardmaree Stores and Lobster Pot tea room .

I stocked up on food and set off on my travels, following the road back to the causeway, I was now on North Uist.  With a bit of mapwork, and checking what Peter said about his route here, I made my way across fields and came to the machair, climbed to the top and on the other side miles and miles of golden beach were beauty to behold.  I ran down and along the beach to Hornais.

I sat down on a rock for a quick picnic, and my map blew away, sprinting I eventually caught it but it was wet and torn in places. I picked my way through fields and some boggy terrain, missing out the crossing of sands at Traigh Athmor.

By the time I arrived at the memorial at Grenitote it was nearly 3 pm, I had a picnic in a memorial garden commemorating the crofters who had lived and worked the land there.

I dried the map out and checked it was legible enough to get me through the next stretch.

I wondered if I had enough to get me through the next off road section, confidence, equipment, ability.  I decided I did and set off along the track to Loch Geireann.  I went as far as to where I could see the old manmade peat boundary between two lochs, but did not go right up to it, as the weather was turning and I thought it best to make progress.  The views of distant mountains were amazing, and changed as I progressed.

I climbed up Marrogh and saw the shieling below but missed the barpa.

By the time I got to the top of Marrival there was no visibility, so I followed a bearing to take me to the road.  By the time I reached the road it was after 6 pm, darkening and miserable rain.  I decided to miss out Peter's route which headed for the coast at Cladhach Chnoc a Lin.  

I turned down a few offers of lifts, as I walked along the road, a few hours later I arrived at a junction at Clachan, where Peter's route went left and then took a right towards Loch Euphort and there followed a moorland off road section.

At this point it was around 8 pm and I didn't feel up to a wild camp, having seen a sign for a campsite 3 miles away along the road.  I decided that I would camp on the site and could get a bus back here in the morning to cover this off road stretch.

By the time I got to the campsite which was past Carinish I was tired, and pleased to see there was a bunk barn, so I gladly paid £20 for that luxury.  The bunk barn turned out to be a house with a lounge, TV, kitchen, rooms and two bathrooms.

I ate some tea, exchanged some incomprehensible words with another occupant and slept through howling winds and driving rains, in an attic room looking out into a wild North Uist sky and coast I was so pleased I was in a bunk barn and not on a moor.  I also dried my tent out.

When I went to bed I was thinking I would call it  a day, this was a long journey and I kept missing out off road sections due to concerns about the weather or time of day I reached more remote sections.  It was an elemental night, the wind and rain battered down onto the roof of the attic room all night long.