Outer Hebrides 6 - Harris

 31 May – 5 June

Any road will take you there 

Due to the pain in my foot and some rapid swelling I had decided to call the surgery at Tarbert, which we would pass, to see if there was a nurse or doctor I could consult. There was not, but the receptionist suggested calling the Leverburgh practice, as they had a surgery next morning, Saturday. There was an answerphone message giving a number to call if a doctor was needed urgently. Before we had had time to consider if this was necessary, the doctor had called me back, even though I had not left a message. He offered an appointment next day so we drove the 18 slow miles south. He was concerned I might have fractured the metatarsal bone so suggested we went to Stornoway Hospital (56 miles north) for an x-ray, which gave no definitive diagnosis but I was issued with a boot and crutches as a precautionary measure, pending a telephone call from the orthopaedic consultant early next week. At last, we could head off to Horgabost campsite (46 miles south) and on the way the GP called to see how I got on! He also said he would WhatsApp the x-ray to me. So not an ideal way to spend the day, (120 miles round trip) but thank you NHS Scotland for your excellent service.

Sunday was misty (or was it low cloud?) with rain and wind later. We drove to Temple Cafe, the only place we have found open on a Sunday but didn't undertake the walk from there we had planned due to my limited mobility and the weather. Then on to St Clement's Church in Rodel aka Eaglais Roghadail or Rodal Church. It dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, was built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris and is dedicated to Pope Clement I.

We parked overlooking a beach for lunch and watched black headed gulls battling against the wind and oystercatchers wading in the receding tide, before heading back to the site for a relaxing remainder of the afternoon.

The weather is so changeable here; as they say, you can have four seasons in one day. So not surprising then that we woke up to a brilliant blue sky next morning and we made the most of it by driving to beautiful Luskentyre Beach. 

The sky soon clouded over though so after lunch at Talla Na Mara there was more driving towards Huisinis.  Along this road there is a 2 mile walk to an eagle observatory, but that was no longer possible for me and parking was also difficult. We did stop to look at the remains of the old whaling station. 

Later in the day I was relieved to hear from the hospital that I hadn't sustained a fracture. Phew!

The last few days of our visit to the Outer Hebrides had definitely gone a bit to pot and the weather was not playing ball either. We woke to wind and rain, progressing to hail, on Tuesday and drove to the Seillam! exhibition about Harris and the island of St Kilda which was very interesting. Then on to the Harris Brewery near Leverburgh Ferry Terminal which made a pleasant coffee and lunch stop. Sadly, they had sold out of their own brand of beer. After that we drove along the Golden Road, so called because of the exorbitant cost of construction through the very rocky terrain and you really had to ask why on earth anyone would want to live in such a remote area. 

View along the Golden Road

Fortunately, there were more sunny intervals than showers which enhanced the journey and had given us the opportunity to rephotograph Rodal Church with a bit of blue sky.

On the final day on Harris we wanted to revisit the Waterside cafe for lunch and do a book swap for the second book in the Lewis series by Peter May. Alas, we had failed to notice it was closed on a Wednesday! Never mind, the Hebrides Hotel came to the rescue and we may have made purchases at the Loomshed Hebridean Brewery and Essence of Harris (candles, diffusers and the like)! After using the aire we found the other day to dump waste, we spent the rest of a sunny afternoon overlooking Luskentyre Beach, watching the tide come in. Very restful.

The next morning, we caught the ferry back to Skye, then on to the Morvich Caravan and Motorhome Club Site before driving down to Edinburgh to see Louise and family for a couple of days.