Dear Steemit friends,
I love to travel to new places and see new things. Since I was a very small boy, I have been fascinated by maps, books and pictures of faraway places. I remember having older siblings who were wandering across the then somewhat cloistered former USSR countries in the early 1990's and traveling across Africa by manifold means, and the letters, and photos and the scents on gifts they would bring home to their then baby brother (your humble narrator), and he not ten years old.
But, you know, sometimes there are treasures to be found far closer to home than we might think. So, when I got word from two good friends that they were staying and working on the Isle of Harris, one of the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, I was delighted to be able to jump on a sleeper train from Euston station, London, England and awake in the Scottish highlands, just a bus and ferry ride from where I was to spend the next few days.
I landed in Stornoway on the first ferry of the day, and was able to get a lift from there with a nice family I had met on the ferry boat.They took me south and to the west, and as we traveled the landscape changed drastically to the beautiful green, grey and brown you will see a thousand different hues of as you look at the photographs I took over the next two days. After an hour of slow driving, we crossed an unassuming little bridge which demarcated the border between Skye and Harris, and shortly afterwards I bade them farewell , for I had arrived at Amhuinnsuidhe, nearby where my friends lived and from where we enjoyed this spectacular view.
One of the first things we did was jump in their car and go to visit the beach at Luskentire. As you can see it has some of the most beautiful sand and scenery of any beach in this part of the world. Unfortunately, it was also October, and very, very cold! Harris and Skye and located quite far north, and subject to a stiff prevailing wind which makes for bracing weather. Wonderful, isn't it?
The Callanish Stones were next on our list. These stones were errected almost 3000 years ago, as far as anybody can tell, and used for pagan rituals by druids of the time. Older than all the Abrahamic religions these stones are, and yet they themselves are younger than civilisations on these isles. If that doesn't make one think for a while, then what would?
You can walk freely around the stones, and a passage tomb here. This day, though it looks nice was quite windy and cold, and then it began to get wet, so we returned to our car and headed up the coast to see what we would find next.
And What's this? Looks old.
It turned out to be the Broch of Dun Carloway, and is thought to be up to 2000 years old. A broch was a type of round tower, but unlike round towers found in Ireland from the same period, had a double layered wall, allowing staircases and storage areas.
Nobody there could tell us how hight it was. THough we did find out that it was still occupied/used sporadically until the mid 19th century, when in a dispute over stolen cattle, one local clan kicked the other's ass there and tore down part of the walls.
Still more stones were taken by locals to build on their own properties. This led to it being declared a protected building in the year of 1887. Admission is free, and there are some stunning vistas in all directions.
I bet these hills have seen some things.
The broch overlooks Loch Carloway, pictured.
Beautiful purple heather.
This is the Gearrannan Blackhouse village. These old traditional homes were occupied until 1974 by villagers, but today they are part museum and part unique self-catering village.
Tourists can these and live on wondeful locally produced food from the village shop. It's a fantastic base to explore all the sights nearby from.
A local fisherman very kindly gave us this massive fish, so we tok it to our accommodation and baked it stuffed with onion, bell peppers and made a nice sauce. Delicious and almost free meal for three!
The next morning, my friends who took me around the sights the day previously had work, so I borrowed their car.
I spent a very enjoyable few hours driving the islands many small and twisting roads, pausing occasionally to smoke or take photographs.
Some of the sights I saw from the road.
The light on Harris is simply fantastic and so dramatic.
These three shots were taken within three minutes of each other.
The light makes it almost like three completely different photographs.
Soon, this peak caught my eye. Rocky and distinctive it rose in the distance; An Clisham is the largest peak on these windy isles, at some 800m and is a crag of exposed rock and peat bog, with that blend of Arctic and Mediterranean flora that one only finds on the west of Ireland and Scotland; a reminder of the Ice Ages, and the glaciers that covered the land in this part of the world eons ago.
I decided I should climb it, as there was still a few hour until lunchtime, and I figured I could get some nice shots from up there. So, I set my bearings moving away from this point and mentally marked it, so I could find the car upon my descent.
Now, I wasn't exactly dressed for hillwalking, and it was a cold, windy day, so I initially stuck to the small channel this stream had carved from the hillside over Milena.
After a little while I crested the first of the foothills and found myself in this peaty and rocky plain.
I was wearing a pair of Chuck Taylor's, and the going was quite slippery and my toes were quite wet from the chilly bog water.
As I pressed on, the elevation and incline began to increase. My ears popped.
Soon, I entered the clouds.
It was probably tougher going than was needed, due to my lack of a map, and my desire to proceed in a straight line.
I went up, I went over, I went around.
This was an actual climb now! I began to enjoy myself, but at the same time was aware that a mistake in my converse on this slick mossy and rocky stuff underfoot could cause a nasty injury, and no quick help available
Up, I go
One last bit before a break. . .
Time to sit, make a smoke and take stock.
Your intrepid explorer, feeling the cold and the damp at this stage.
Last push to the top along this rocky spine. Looking constantly through the must to identify the summit.
Fell ion my a$$ here, bruised it a bit. Still, on we push.
The small rock piles tell me I must be close to the summit now.
And make my own small clamp of these flat rocks to mark my trek's success.
Yes! I find the Ordnance Survey benchmark for the highest point.
At this stage I was really feeling the cold now. My non waterproof clothing was drenched and so were my feet. I descended a slightly different path to my ascent, taking care to keep my feet.
I was feeling a little blue that the weather had killed my photo chances, as it's truly spectacular when not shrouded in cloud.
But just then I came to the cloud-line! What a vista!! I sat there enjoying the warmth of the sun again after hours in cold clouds and then carried on down.
I found some nice mushrooms on the way:)
Then back down to the peaty foothills.
These old ewes just looked at me quizzically as if to say "Hey you!, what you 'doin here, laddo"
I found my way back to my start point pretty sharply and headed to my friends to take a long and hot shower and have some food and beer.
Funnily enough, once I got there and looked out the window, I could see the mountain was now totally cloud free and looked like I could have seen for miles from up there if had stayed a little longer! Oh well. Just have to visit again oneday.
Sadly, the next morning, real life beaconed, and I had to tear myself away from Harris and Skye and return to London for some work .
It's a wonderful spot with so much more to offer than I was able to do on this first trip Harris Tweed, traditional music, fine dining options, the pubs of the towns and villages and monastic style retreats.
I hope all my Steemian readers enjoyed this effort.
Feel free to share as you see fit,
Have a lovely trip!
P.Quealy All rights reserved 2018
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Harris
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clisham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dun_Carloway