Im not sure that we could have chosen a much wetter weekend
for a long overdue trip to Glencoe, it rained and rained….and rained and so the
latest editions to the cottage, the shower and drying machines, were a very
welcome find. Less so was the new smoke alarm which I only discovered whilst
cremating the dinner.
However, we were not going to let a bit of rain spoil the
weekend but a smaller expedition than the original munro bagging plan was
hurriedly put together on saturday morning after it dawned on us that visibility
wasn’t too great and the rain had no plans to stop. We decided on a walk from
the cottage to the nearby Pap of Glencoe. The walking was actually quite
pleasant despite the rain, if fairly squelchy underfoot however we took a wrong
turn in the woods (my fault, I suspect!) and once we had worked out where we were
supposed to be Nigel’s boot decided to disintegrate making it impossible to
continue. Amidst much hilarity we admitted defeat and our some what less than
intrepid expedition was abandoned in favour of tea and cakes at the Glencoe tea
room. It wasn’t an entirely disappointing end to the walk….
Setting off......in the rain
So which way is it, Kenny? asks Lucy
A slight problem with Nigel's boot...
Nigel's Boot!
On returning to the cottage it was decided that we hadn’t
done enough exercise and so a little run taking in a couple of laps of the
woods around the hospital lochan was the entertainment for the afternoon before
returning to the cottage to add yet more wet clothes to the drying racks
already containing lots of wet clothes from the morning. Definitely time to put
the fire on and start on the whisky before heading to the Clachaig for dinner.
Drying off!
Whisky tasting
By the following morning it appeared to be a bit drier
outside and it looked as though Lucy would have a good day for her race in
Aviemore which she had left very early for so we drove to Mamore
lodge and started a walk from there having found some alternative footwear for Nigel. It was a steady trudge to up to Loch Eilde
Mor, along the side of the loch then up to Coire an Lochan then up to our
target of Sgor Eilde Beag at 956m (no idea if it’s a munro or not?) At the
higher level the wind was very strong and hailstones were blowing through but
the weather cleared long enough for us to take that all important summit photo
before closing in again.
From there it was steady descent back down the hill and
along the wide landrover track back to Mamore Lodge and to finish a lovely
relaxing weekend with tea and cake back at the cottage.
At the
southern tip of the Outer Hebrides lie a group of Islands
called Eileanan an Easbaig, the
Bishops Isles. Today only one of the group of islands is inhabited, Vatersay,
and this is linked by causeway to the isle of Barra. The others are
uninhabited, isolated and reaching them is very weather dependent. Mingulay is
the largest of these islands after Vatersay, its name derived from Mikil-ay meaning “Big Island” in Norse
and as I had really enjoyed my only previous trip here which had involved
kayaking from Vatersay to Sandray I was looking forward to this rarely
available chance to visit such an isolated place.
Leaving Castlebay
Hamish had
arranged a trip with a local lobster fisherman one of only two on Barra who
have a licence to take visitors to Mingulay which owned by the National Trust
for Scotland, and who appeared to run trips to these islands in his spare time.
Approximately an hour after leaving Castlebay and having been served coffee and
biscuits on board we were transferred to a smaller launch. There is no jetty or
pier on the island so after a quick jump and scramble over the rocks we were
ashore. Although this felt like a bit of an adventure to us, in years gone past
this proved to be problem to the islanders, nowhere to land a boat for an
island community that was heavily dependent on fishing is a serious problem and
although to us the weather adds to the islands isolation and therefore its
charm, In 1897 the entire male population of one of the bishops islands,
Pabbay, was lost when a single fishing boat sank. It was a difficult place to
live.
Our transport
The first
view of the island is of a quiet a paradise with its beautiful long stretch of
golden sandy beach but on reaching the ruined village the overwhelming
sensation is of desertion and people forced from their homes as has been the
history of many parts of Scotland
during the periods of absentee landlords and the highland clearances. During
the clearances on Barra the population of the BishopsIslands
rose as some chose to move there rather than join the emigrant ships but this saw
the population of Mingulay grow to beyond what the resources of the island
could sustain.
The landing craft
In 1906
landless men from the other islands settled on Vatersay which was owned by an
absentee landlord who only visited once in the 54 years of her ownership.
Apparently the men referred to an ancient law in Ireland saying that you if you can
build a wooden dwelling and strike a fire in its hearth in the time period of
one day then you take ownership of that land. The landlord took the men, the
Vatersay Raiders, to court and they each received two months in prison despite
the judge’s condemnation of the landlords’ behaviour and despite public support
for the Vatersay Raiders.
In 1909 the
island Vatersay was purchased by the Congested Districts Board (set up in 1897 to improve
the lot of those in “congested districts” of the highlands and islands) and the land was
divided into crofts. In 1912 the last inhabitants of Mingulay left to settle in
Vatersay leaving the village and the island
of Mingulay deserted.
Only one building remains occupied and only then on a temporary or seasonal
basis. When we visited the only occupants were researchers studying sea birds.
The ruins of the village on Mingulay
After
looking around the village we headed up to the huge cliffs and gneiss rock
stacks rising over 150m from the sea, apparently the second highest in Europe. It is home to a wide variety of seabirds
and designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. We sat at the top of the
cliffs and ate lunch whilst the seabirds swooped over head.
We
arrived back to Castlebay after more coffee and biscuits on our return journey
we headed to the Chocolate shop for a cup of tea and chocolate to finish off an
amazing day.
awesome chocolate cake!
Visting Barra
always feels like an adventure. The boat takes about 5 hours to get from Oban
to Catslebay and when you factor in the 4 or so hour drive from Aberdeen to Oban you could probably get to New York in a shorter space
of time. Fortunately this year the weather was a considerable improvement on last year and the only epic journey was made by Michelle who had missed the boat in Oban on Friday and had heroically driven to Skye and through the islands to make it to the start line in time for the race on Saturday.
Kisimul Castle in the evening sun
relaxing and enjoying the view
The weekend
was all the usual great craic, a fabulous half marathon course, buffet and
celidh and then, of course, the Castlebay bar until late in the evening. A
couple of us picked up prizes in the race and I even enjoyed my solo bike ride
across to Vatersay to find Simon when he kidded on that he was away for a long cycle
ride and had actually only gone as far as the the co-op!
Castlebay as seen from the road to Vatersay
Bert approaching the finish line
Simon finishing having spent the entire race chatting up Michelle!
A great effort by little Freya Mowbray
Bert had
been avidly watching “An island Parish” on BBC 2 and was delighted to meet his
hero Father Roddy. Whether Father Roddy was as delighted to meet Bert remains
unrecorded.
The road to the Isles
HBT!
My Heb 3 challenge
this year was comprised of the Barra, Skye and Harris half marathons. Luckily (and unusually) this year the weather was fine for all three races starting
with the Skye half marathon in June. This race saw a lower than usual turnout of HBT
runners for this slightly challenging half marathon course and its hill which
seems to climb for about three miles before the final descent into Portree. This
is race now has the largest number of entrants for any of the Hebridean half
marathons, probably due to it being the most accessible of the islands.
Post race photo
Simon still
holds the course record and on crossing the finish line the local radio station
were keen to interview him. What a legend…
Once we had
recovered, had a dip in the swimming pool, eaten and watched the prize giving
we all headed in different directions to find some entertainment for the
afternoon. Bert, Louisa, Mike and John went on an, as it turned out futile,
expedition to go and look at sea eagles (they weren’t coming out to play that
day), Ali, Ivor and Colin headed down to the fairy pools in Glen Brittle for a swim and Simon
and I headed off to the Talisker distillery.
The
Talisker distllery was opened in 1830 despite the process of whisky distilling
being carried out by the islanders since time immemorial as is the case
throughout Scotland.
The whisky produced has a soft rich peaty character and its latest bottling of
2008, the 57 degrees north, is well worth sampling. Talisker whisky was a
favourite of the author Robert Louis Stevenson and received a mention in his
poem of 1880 “The Scotsman’s return from Abroad”
The king o' drinks, as I conceive it,
Talisker, Isla, or Glenlivet!
Top womens team - HBT!
Talisker Distillery
I found
that it was quite tricky trying to get a table for a large group in Portree on
the evening of the half marathon race but eventually I managed to get a booking
at the seafood restaurant which turned out to be a very good move as the seafood platter was to die for and a very
entertaining evening commenced.
The sea food platter
John! Stop playing with your food!
Well earned food and beer
The evening finished with a tour of the pubs of Portree where Simon seemed to be recognised by numerous locals...what a legend...until finally it was kicking out time and Bert and I shared a miniture of Talisker while wandering down the high street, Bert muttering something about not remembering where his B&B was before going in search of it leaving Hamish, Simon and I to go in search of our respective lodgings all the time wondering if Bert had managed to locate his.
The final
race of the Heb 3 is always the Harris half marathon and although a great event
I always feel a bit sad that its is all over for another year. Hamish, Bert,
Simon and I headed to the youth hostel in Uig on Skye on the Friday night and
were joined there by Maggie, Ivor, Dave and the Mowbray family.
Sgurr nan Gillean in the evening sunshine
Arrival in Tarbert
Dinner was
at the Sligachen hotel before the usual late arrival in Uig and the sunlight
catching the slopes of the Cullin hills made a fantastic sight and filled us
with optimism for the weekend ahead. We met Elaine from the Cosmic hillbashers
running club who was on Skye to run the Glamaig hill race the following day and
who tried to persuade us that it was a better option than the half marathon. We
weren’t convinced. The next morning we got the boat across to Tarbet in time
for race registration and then on to the buses which took us the 13 miles to
the start of the point to point course near Borve. Now, there are two downsides
to getting the bus to the start. The first is that it reminds you just how
hilly the course is and the second is that it takes you past the stunning
scenery of the beaches at Seilibost and by then forgetting about the race and
going for a swim and a picnic on the beach seems like a much better idea.
However
after the famous toilet stop the bus drops everyone off at the start and then
it’s a 13 mile hilly run back to Tarbert.
Hamish relaxing at the Tarbert Hotel
After
finishing at the harbour, a dip in the swimming pool and the prize giving it
was off to the Tarbert hotel for food and beer and to wait for the ferry to
arrive and transport us back to Uig. I took the chance to do a wee bit of
shopping for some Harris tweed too.
Its seldom that
you want a boat to be late in arriving but this is definitely one of those
times…
The bridge to the isle of Scalpay
After a few
beers on the boat, its off the boat in Uig and straight into the pub…for a few
more beers.
The Sunday
saw a slow crawl back to Aberdeen,
the Heb 3 over for another year.
