3rd
June. We needed cash today and began to
realise it might not be that easy to get! I suspect the cashpoint in Tarbet hasn’t paid
out since Bjorn left with his Viking friends!
Getting cash involved a journey to Stornoway, not a thriving metropolis
on a Sunday, so an 80+ mile round journey was involved.
Harris
Anyway, our
journey allowed us to check out the mountains again en-route and we were not
without some decent bird sightings.
There were no new birds for the list today, but we were happy to see
once again birds such as Red Throated
Diver, Grey Heron, Common Buzzard,
Hen Harrier, Great Skua, Arctic
Tern, Cuckoo, Wheatear, Hooded Crow, Raven,
and Twite, to name but a few. Early morning mist had quickly cleared so we
viewed the mountains again in sunshine and good light.
The bustling
pub where we ate a late lunch in Tarbet didn’t seem to be affected by the
observance of Sunday as a Holy Day! When
we visited Scalpay an island now connected to Harris by a road bridge, we did
see just how seriously religion is taken on the islands as the church car-parks
were full and the narrow twisting roads jammed when all went home. Scalpay retains an appearance of a close
working community and I’d like to explore the area much more in the
future. It has the oldest lighthouse on
Western Isles
We returned
to Spinners Cottage to find that Karen had prepared some treats for us. In my case a plate of strawberries and meringue
which I cleared off rather quickly! We
enjoyed a good chat and views over the bay on what was our last evening on the
Outer Hebrides. We had a very early
start in the morning in order to catch the ferry from Tarbet to Uig, Skye.
Approaching Skye
4th
June. We were off after a very early
breakfast having said goodbye to Karen and Mac.
Of all our accommodation during this trip Spinners Cottage was the most
welcoming and comfortable, so it was hard to say goodbye, especially as we were
now on a homeward path. The ferry
crossing to Uig, Skye was done under a rather murky sky and I thought rain was
on the way. I remember a very good
sighting of a Great Skua in front of
the ferry. As it happens we completed
our trip without seeing a drop of rain.
The sun was back by afternoon, but in truth we were cream crackered and
glad of a rest at the hotel. We did add Mistle Thrush to our trip list today
and had a drive over the Skye Bridge. We
noted the Gavin Maxwell museum, but gave it a miss as neither of us are great
fans of his. We also noted that one of
the small islands used to support the bridge was where Gavin Maxwell’s last
home was. He would not be happy to see
it now! I’m told that there are many
wonderful spots on Skye, but time and tiredness ensured that we did not see
them, although we had good views of the Cuillins.
Approaching the mainland
5th
June. If I remember nothing else of
Skye, I shall remember Grumpy George and his parrot. Grumpy George has a shop at the Armadale
ferry port, Skye, yes you’ve guessed, called Grumpy George’s. We looked inside, spent some cash and met
George (who wasn’t at all grumpy) and his 40 years old parrot. The parrot had broken her leg 20 years ago so
was a bit shaky on it. George was a real
character, swore quite a bit but in a manner that you had to smile at, and had
some stunning photographs of birds taken on Skye. We looked at some of the images on George’s
laptop and had a chat before saying goodbye and making for the ferry. The short crossing to Mallaig brought us
sightings of several Harbour Porpoise and
the odd Bottle-nosed Dolphin. Common
Buzzard flew along the Skye shore.
We were soon
driving away from Mallaig on the ‘Road to the Isles’, only we were driving away
from them. A wonderfully scenic route
was enjoyed as we headed towards Fort William, eventually having great views of
Ben Nevis in the sunshine. We stopped
for a bite to eat at the monument commemorating the Jacobite uprising and took
walk to look at the view of the viaduct on the Fort William to Mallaig steam
railway line. Harry potter fans won’t
need telling about it. Long -tailed Tit was added to our trip
list at some point.
Jacobite monument and Loch Shiel
Ben Nevis
We only
stopped at Fort William for petrol before heading towards the road taking us
through Glencoe and Rannoch Moor which must be one of the most exciting drives
in Britain. We stopped for photos in
what was now real heat. A few clouds
drifted across the area making it for stunning views under great lighting
conditions. I could have photographed
along this route all day. We eventually
arrived at our accommodation at Strachur overlooking Loch Fyne by late
afternoon. I found I could look over the
loch from my bed and even whilst in the shower.
Midges were numerous by evening.
Glencoe
6th
June. We added Sparrowhawk to the trip list on the drive home via Loch Lomond,
Glasgow and Carlisle. Yes, the trip had
ended, but the sun still shone!
Tired and travelled, but still not without our vital spark
On
reflection, I feel this trip to have been one of the best I’ve ever undertaken,
and I now understand why folk are so drawn to the Outer Hebrides. We’d learned much about the islands and their
history. We covered over 1,600 miles by
car and with added boat and ferry journeys circa 2.000 miles in total, visited
13 islands with many more seen in passing and ended with a bird list of 111
species (we didn’t count an uncertain Pomarine Skua sighting) and mammal list
of 10 species. Someone commented to me
whilst on South Uist that we were a bit late for the birds. Not entirely sure what he meant, but perhaps
he thought us ‘twitchers’, we aren’t. Some standout highlights for me were the St
Kilda experience, the visit to Mingulay and evenings at the foot of the
mountains on South Uist. Too many bird
highlights to mention, but the Golden
Eagle experience, the Red-necked Phalaropes and the breeding
plumaged Red-throated Divers and Great Northern Divers are up there
among the best. My thanks go to everyone
we met and talked to, and who helped make this trip such a wonderful
experience. Of course, special thanks to
Sam, my travel companion and great friend.
I hope all who have stayed with the odyssey have
enjoyed it.
