Nuneaton Hill Walking and Mountaineering Club
The Isle of Harris was the destination for the club holiday trip. We took the ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway and had a super smooth crossing with dolphins and other sea birds spotted on the way. We had booked two cottages at Borve, on the west coast south of Tarbert. they were beautifully converted farm buildings, The Stables, with the red roof had three bedrooms whilst The Byre, with the green roof two. They were in a great location with access to a lovely sandy beach only a few minutes’ walk away.
We were very lucky with the weather which although cloudy at times remained predominantly dry throughout the week. There was plenty of good walking within a few miles from the cottages. A couple of hills were climbed, namely Bleabhal and Roineabhalas. Photo shows Colin at the trig of Bleabhal.
As well as some low-level walks, taking in parts of the Hebri
dean Way, and the headland where there is a Victorian lighthouse. Harris is home to 20 pairs of Golden eagles, so we were always on the lookout for these spectacular birds with varying degrees of success.
As well as walking we took the short but very interesting ferry journey to the island of Berneray where there was a lovely restaurant serving local sea foods and other local products, and lots of birds and seals in the harbor. The sun shone and it made for a great day out.
There was a lot of interesting sites to see on this beautiful island, including the traditional Black houses, ancient churches and several standing stone circles like the ones pictured here at Callanish.
Harris is very unspoiled with beautiful white sandy beaches and breathtaking scenery, it is sparsely inhabited, few shops, lots of single-track roads and no bars or restaurants outside of the towns. It is quite mountainous and rocky in contrast to the Isle of Lewis to which it is attached, which is relatively flat with expanses of open moorland, lots of croft and industry.