Lewis and Great Berneray

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The wind The wind. I think I have said this before, but I do not think I have ever had a day where we have been almost driven to a standstill. Our departure was one mile of 1 in 6 out on to the main road and then a very blustery ride up into Lewis. Who told me Lewis was flat? As you ride North into Lewis from Harris the terrain is much the same with big longish hills which need plenty of gears. Further North the land is more open but is still very undulating across peat bogs, where peat is still being dug, and open moorland. There are very few trees so the wind is very strong and unrelenting. About 6 miles from Stornoway we turned West and we were confronted with about 9 miles of almost straight road and head on wind, which lasted all the way to Great Berneray. When we saw the bridge across from Lewis I almost jumped for joy. I was exhausted. We had been looking for somewhere to stop for a hot drink after about 15 miles but could find nowhere and still found nothing: all day, even on Berneray. I am sure there is an opening here for someone. Our lunch was had behind a large rock, hiding from the wind, eating the sandwiches prepared by our hosts of last night. We met Steve Lee on the way North as he passed us in his car with his bike on the back, and again later going the other way, still with his bike on the back. What sort of a tour is that? When we arrived over the bridge we met a local who,told us there would be a shop,about 2 miles away. Not another. 2 miles, I thought. We eventually tracked down the local post office and general store at 4 o'clock which serves the population of around 200 on this 8 sq mile island. We had originally planned to return some of the way today to make tomorrow a bit shorter but saw no B&B's on the way and did not want to risk being stranded. The storekeeper told us that the only lady doing it had now retired but she would be up at the Bowling Club and warned us that we risked doubling the population of the island. Bill therefore dashed there and found her and she agreed to let us stay as long as we made our own evening meal. Bill is nearly good at pasta bolognese. Another 2 miles down the road and we found the house overlooking another small island and the mainland with the sea between. Another view to die for, which I include on this blog. Amazingly there is a signal here on Orange for my phone and on '3' for the I Pad on which I transmit this blog.
Countdown now 22 islands, 20 to go.Someone has to do it.

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