Outer Hebrides

Last few days in Scotland.

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We crossed on the 3 hour ferry from Lochboisidale to Mallaig

Mallaig is a lovely little town with lots of shops and cafes and a railway line that ends right in the centre of town.

The famous Jacobite train runs between here and Fort William and it would be great to fi it. We have trusty black hire car.

The viaduct

The drive to Fort William is magnificent. Seeing so many trees after being on fairly tree less Hebrides.

We stopped to view the viaduct – made quite famous through Harry Potter.

The afternoon light is beautiful.

View from our window

We arrived into Fort William and to our BnB Myrtle Bank. Run by a very friendly Dora the place is beautiful. Opposite the loch it’s a mass of flowers. Quite a standout amongst the other BnBs. Our room on the ground floor is big and beautiful. Dora is a character. During our several emails to secure a booking she said no credit card needed. She just took the booking and when we got there said we could pay by PayPal or cash.

Myrtle Bank BnB

We went for a walk through the town and chose somewhere for dinner.

Breakfast is as good as expected. And then we were away driving alongside the sparkling loch. We stopped at Glencoe which was much smaller than I thought. It has such a reputation for being the centre of the battles.

Continuing on, the area is so stunning. And the gorgeous weather certainly helps.

The land is so distinctive

Arriving at Stirling it is the castle and the William Wallace memorial that dominates the skyline. Sitting a top the hill the castle in imposing.

Stirling Castle

We took the audio guide self guided tour. These are so good these days. They bring history alive as you walk area the rooms of the castle. It is a very special Castle. It was added to over the years but it was the Mary of Guise the French wife of James V who made some significant changes.

Theres got to be an advantage to having a sore knee, and with my crutch which I only use now if we’re doing lots of walking on cobbles, I get special access to lifts to avoid all the stairs. Very helpful.

The William Wallace memorial

William Wallace was a knight and a leader in the first Scottish war of independence. he was nicknamed Braveheart.

We drive to St Andrews. famous for its golf courses and the fact Prince William went yo University there.

It’s a lovely lively student town fairly overrun this week with golfers. There’s a big tournament on.

The students were all wandering around looking handsome and wealthy. And we watched as quite a few headed down to one of the ocean pools for an afternoon dip. Very brave I’d say.

Conditions were beautiful if not a little cool

We continued on along the coast – it’s a great area for holidaying. There are lots of holiday parks. Little cottages all lined up. They do have caravan parks but they also have many little cabin type places.

Our hotel The Waterfront.

We arrived at Anstruther in the late afternoon when the sun was dipping before setting.

The little harbour is a gem.

The theme in these little coastal town is the decorated dog.

And ice cream shops. And after our fish ‘n chips dinner we had our first ice cream.

Outer Hebrides. Out of this World

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We woke in our little attic apartment to wind blowing and rain beating. So a little sleep in !

It’s also Sunday so nothing much happens on a Sunday. We did not think of this too much when planning and booking. We probably should have. Nothing is open. Except our lovely old hotel.

So down time morning. A great Scottish breakfast. Followed by time in the lounge area looking into the garden drinking tea, reading and catching up on emails.

By 11am the conditions improved and we headed off. I love going off the beaten track so directed Steve off the main road as we headed south and went along the little road down near the waters edge.

It was peaceful. Not a car in sight. In fact I was hoping nothing happened to the car as no one was around to help. People were either at church , still in bed or watching the tv. Probably sport!

The water an extraordinary colour.
The landscape is moon like.
The beaches are beautiful

The beaches here are renowned for their beauty, colours, and remoteness. Even on a dull windy day it was a great colour ( hard to capture in a photo) a kind of milky blue. The wind surfers were having a ball

Exciting to watch.
Lots of little cabins for holiday makers.

We wanted coffee. Nothing open. Until….. we saw a sign. Followed it to the cutest little yurt style building. And it was super busy.

Door to the yurt coffee house
Best coffee stop

We had noticed quite a few roadside shops! Honesty cupboards or cabins. With a variety of home baking from the owners of the Croft houses nearby. Our favourite was the chocolate hut.

Jill, this is for you my friend.

We pottered and admired the scenery and eventually got to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to the next island. The Hebrides are a chain of islands. Several need ferry crossings. This one needed an hour to cross.

We crossed from Harris to North Uist and found our accommodation The Fisherman’s Snug . Run by fisherman’s wife Anne it is a perfect little studio place. A separate lounge area. Big bathroom and comfy bed. We could have stayed a week. We keep saying that about places we are visiting.

Anne left the best welcome basket I’ve ever seen.

Help yourself the welcome sign said.

We went for dinner ( lobster!) to a local tavern / pub and met a few other characters. A bike rider from Edinburgh – he was a combination of funny, mad and manic. But entertaining. And a couple from outer London. We had fun!

Another great day.

Outer Hebrides: islands of contrast.

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We caught the ferry at 9.50 after a big breakfast at our hotel. If breakfast is included we eat up and skip lunch.

Beautiful morning for a two hr crossing

The ferry takes 2 hours from Uig in the nothern part of Skye to Tarbert on Harris around the middle part of the Hebrides.

From the top of Skye to the dot – Tarbert

It’s around 11.30when we arrive so after a look at Harris Tweed we head north to Stornaway the capital of the islands.

Arrived in Tarbert for the ladies craft fair. Not much else happens here
Distillery in Tarbert.

The drive up is via the only main road and takes about an hour. Stornaway is much livelier than Tarbert with its harbour, narrow streets, little shops and cafes.

The castle and museum is the draw card in this town. We make our way there and like all museums it’s is free.

The castle is old and the museum extension new but have been sympathetically joined together

The museum tells the history of the Hebrides from the earliest inhabitants to the present and how the land and sea have shaped them.

Entering the very renovated castle
Main staircase

They have a very good screen section with people from different parts of the Hebrides talking about their lives. I learned a lot about island life and by the end felt I knew Sophie, Callum, and some of the other residents. One thing is clear. Living here gets under the skin.

It may look remote ( it is) lonely ( it’s not) but they are definitely a community who pull together. People leave but often come back.

The museum also houses 6 of the 12th century Lewis chess men found here. They are in perfect condition and each piece is constructed to tell a story.

The buildings in Stornaway are old and mostly dark on a grey day they look particularly dark

We drove out of the town towards the Calanais standing stones. they are dated to be 5,000 years old, older than Stonehenge and many stories surround their erection.

You can walk around them and touch them.

I thought if I touched one I might be transported back in time. A bit like Claire in Highlanders.

We continued driving, stopping here and there to admire views or houses. These islands are about absorbing the land.

Our hotel the Harris is an old world one with staircases going up and off in different directions. Creaky floors , doors that stick just a little, hot water that takes 15min to travel up to our attic apartment and of course no wifi in the attic.

So we spent time in the comfortable lounge before a lovely dinner in the lovely dining room . I seem to only eat seafood here. Salmon, cod, scallops or prawns. No haggis for me.

The mix of landscape and waterways.