Day 16: Ardivacha Point, Lochdar, South Uist - Friday, 13 September 

Weather: 10º - 13º - Cloudy, rain in the afternoon with stronger winds

Accommodation: Hebrides View

This was supposed to be our last day on South Uist but in the early afternoon Henk received an email from Calmac Ferries saying our 10.30am booking for tomorrow to the Isle of Harris was cancelled because of forecast winds exceeding 46MPH. We had to rebook but the later 4.00pm ferry was fully booked. We may be able to get onto it as our host, Isabel, tells us many people book and don’t show so fingers crossed we can get onto the 4.00pm ferry. However, there is no wait-list but a wait-queue which means we have to drive one hour to get to the ferry terminal on the Isle of Berneray and wait and see. If we are unsuccessful then we will return to Hebrides View for another night.

Isabel was very helpful sorting out the situation with Henk and rang the ferry company and booked us on the next available ferry on Sunday morning at 9.30am. So if tomorrow doesn’t work out we’ll be going to the Isle of Harris twenty-four hours later than planned if the ferry is running. Isabel advised us not to notify our next B&B host until things were sorted as things can change quickly. We were scheduled to arrive at the Isle of Harris B&B at 2.00pm tomorrow. The ferry from Stornoway, Isle of Harris to Ullapool on the mainland and a number of other ferries have also been cancelled tomorrow. 

We had a later start to the day. After breakfast we chatted to Isabel for quite some time. We asked for suggestions for dinner and Isabel said she was going to the Dark Island Hotel on the Isle of Benbecula for dinner with her friends and this was going to be followed by Gaelic music. It’s only a short distance from our B&B so we booked in for a six thirty dinner and looked forward to experiencing something different.

The Canadian couple left early this morning and Isabel was keen for us to move into the room they occupied as it is larger and has expansive views over both the beach and the countryside. We could be here for two nights rather than one so it’s a good move. 

We are on “otter alert” and walked to the beautiful beach in front of our accommodation as otters have been spotted on this beach. We didn’t find any otters but we did enjoy walking on the kelp laden beach. We could see why the kelp industry was so huge in times past with so much kelp around.

We then set out for an early lunch at the nearby Hebredian Jewellery Shop and Cafe. We ordered Toasties and the very nice older lady said that they didn’t usually serve Toasties until noon but she’d do it for us. When we paid as we were leaving I thanked her for the special service and she said that we looked like we were very hungry and needed some Toasties. We weren’t that hungry as we had had a great Continental breakfast at the B&B but it was good of her to serve the Toasties early. Toasties are accompanied with crisps, coleslaw and sweet chilli sauce.

We did some more exploring of South Uist after lunch and found a beautiful, isolated and wild part of the island where there were no houses. This was on eastern side of the island where there were many walkers scaling the high mountains. There was a lot of heather and peat bog.

We drove as far as we could and arrived at a place called Loch Skipport on the isolated north east coast of South Uist. We walked through a man-made gorge down to an isolated decayed pier and watched a small ferry come into the harbour. Apparently, it was once a thriving port with steamers carrying cargo and passengers from Glasgow but it is now deserted. 

On the north east coast of the island is also a sculpture by Hew Lorimer, ‘Our Lady of the Isles’ which was constructed in 1957. It has an interesting history as the erection of the sculpture on a hillside was part of a resistance lead by the local priest which thwarted the establishment of a large missile testing range on the island and would have covered much of Uist. It’s hard to believe that such a plan was envisaged for this beautiful isle. 

Our dinner at the Dark Island Hotel was very good. I opted for seafood again and Henk said his pork with whole apples was very tasty. Henk took a photo of me. When I looked at it I thought the guy behind had a blonde ponytail but it belongs to the waitress behind the bar.

We went and listened to the music in a room next to the restaurant. The music was a collaboration  of original songs by four Hebridean musicians and their responses to the pandemic for themselves and their communities. A record has been made and is a part of “Remembering Together”, a Scotland-wide project to create memorials to the Covid pandemic. Henk and I enjoyed it but we couldn’t last the distance so left during the concert. 

We drove home in sheeting rain and blustery winds. It was good to get inside and sit by the fire.

Tomorrow we will see what happens. We’ll go with the flow.