Walk Abandoned



The ubiquitous Black House
Unfortunately as expected Bert was unable to continue and the walk has been abandoned in favour of a sight seeing tour of shorter duration.

Bert went to Benbecula Hospital on Thursday to get a feel for how seriously injured he was. It would appear that there is muscle and ligament damage which should heal in around six weeks with luck.

Thursday evening was spent on the phone rearranging our itineraries so that we could still visit all of the islands but at a motorised pace. CalMac were very helpful and all of our bookings were rearranged to our satisfaction - both families.



Friday we had a day sight seeing in North Uist with Bert and Susan and then we had dinner together at the Stepping Stones restaurant in Balivanich. It was not what we had hoped to be doing but it was a good day nevertheless




Saturday night saw us pitched in the playground of Seilebost Primary School. We had driven through several "wow" views none better than the beach at Lusckentire which we looked out on at the school.


The school was closed against the wishes of the locals in 2014. It has been bought by West Harris Trust and the motorhome pitches are an attempt to raise money to preserve the school for a possible future reopening. The kids must have loved going to school in these surroundings.
Callanish Standing Stones

Gearrannan Black House Village
Tonight is the first time we have had WiFi since South Uist. Today we have passed through some absolutely spectacular scenery.

The beaches of West Harris gave way to rugged hillsides on the descent to Tarbert.

After Tarbert we passed through rugged wild bleak and desolate landscapes which gradually flattened out as we passed onto Lewis which is more gently rolling.


We went to the West of Lewis to see the Callanish standing stones which were breathtaking in their stature. 5000 year old stones placed by Neolithic farmers. No one knows or can know exactly why but it is quite a sight. The layout of the Callanish Stones is unique.

Next we went to Carloway to see the Broch - another impressive sight. Built about 2000 years ago it is a double skinned dry stone structure.
Dun Carloway Broch

Our last visit of the day was to the black house village at Gearrannan. The black houses have all been restored and turned into holiday accommodation. It is a very impressive piece of work. The houses were occupied until 1974 when the occupants were given council housing nearby.

The black houses were in danger of falling down and being lost (there are ruins of black houses all over the Hebrides) to future generations. A local trust has painstakingly restored the houses externally and turned them into luxury holiday accommodation internally.


Lusckentyre Beach


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