Blogs from Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

First and foremost this vacation ended on Na h-Eileanan Siar, the Western Isles in the Outer Hebrides, on the Isle of Barra not South Uist, I couldn't work out how to add that to the list of options under Outer Hebrides so there we are. I also can't speak Gaelic so forgive me if I make mistakes in any names I type of this stunning place. This holiday, a year after our amazing vacation in Florida, couldn't have been more different, rugged off grid with no cell service or WiFi, battered by the elements we had an equally, albeit totally different trip this year. Things have been hectic, I gave most of the update in the last blog I just published but I've taken on a new role in my company that involves a lot more ... read more

It is amazing how many place names have been copied here from the ones in Canada .... OK ..... just kidding :-) Oct11 ...Two days...three sleeps in Stornaway.... such a nice neat town. A castle dominates the opposite shore and a comfortable walk thru the park leads to it. In the cafeteria... a Starbucks....Pumpkin Latte. REALLY!?...in Scotland ...off the Mainland. Passed right by. Had been to the Woodland Cafe where many people were enjoying lunch, snack, or tea and I had had lentil soup. The morning of the first day had been spent on the bus riding to Port Ness. What a difference from the landscape inTarbert on Harris. Towards Port Ness at the tip of Lewis, the scene was one of undulating hills covered in rusty grass and interspersed with peat banks. Some of these ... read more

Treated myself to a McDonald's breakfast, it would have been nicer, if the place hadn't been littered with smack rats, but you can't have everything. I made my way over to the Old Town and to the Royal Mile, which was where my tour was departing from. There were quite a few different tours all leaving around similar times, but they got us all sorted on to the right buses with minimum fuss. I was doing the 10 day Compass Buster tour with Haggis Adventures. My trip comprised of people doing the ten day trip, like me, and others who were doing a five day trip to the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Skye. We left about 8:30 am, and had a long day of driving ahead of us, as we would be catching a ... read more

Sunday 22nd June - evening Arrive in Skye with no plans. Drove 13 miles down single lane to Elgol. Gorgeous harbour. Went for walk, climbing over rocks on beach. Dead end road. On way back, parked up by Loch Slapin for our first night of wild camping. Monday 23rd June Woken up at 5am by a sheep using van as a scratch post. Set off planning to stop at Broadford, second largest village on island but nothing really there. At Sligachan we wandered along pretty stream and made statues out of the rocks/stones. Moe had to keep redoing his as his competitive streak meant he had to make the tallest. Carried on to Neist Point, furthest point west on Skye. Unfortunately, the cloud had closed in on us and couldn't see lighthouse. Stayed for lunch but ... read more

It was the cuckoo’s familiar chant that heralded my arrival back to 17 New Tolsta, pitched forward into the wind and perched on a boundary fence post it’s mellow voice striking out the welcome like the hourly chimes of a copiously carved black forest clock. They say it appeared early this year with the dry cold April and now with a delayed spring it still sings as this year’s crop of young rabbits graze on the first sweet grass of the year. The hill escarpment across the valley still sports its winter brunet patchwork of heather against the silver beige dead grass and beyond the inky blue skies tell me to expect heavy showers from the north. The urgency to be out there on the moor cutting peat must hold a while longer but yesterday John ... read more