Mealista to Uig - 29/03/05

Today I am heading for Uig. F&H offer to drive me all the way to Mealista, the very end of the road. From there, I shall walk back to Timsgarry, a distance of about 9 miles. F&H will make their own route back to Stornoway in the car. Hedwig drives today, but nearly collides with a Galson Motors bus outside the Manor Filling Station. Before that, they dropped off a film for processing at Kenny Froggatt’s. I direct Hedwig down the A859 to Cameron Terrace, rather than via the Pentland Road. After Garynahine, things get decidedly interesting. Two sheep fight out an argument in the middle of the road at the Grimersta bridge by headbutting each other. Quite funny. The banging jumpers. A car races out of the Bernera road and disappears into the distance. A police car, lights flashing, follows in hot pursuit. The single track road after the Morsgail roadend proves to be quite a challenge to poor Hedwig. She makes repeated visits to verges and drives a little too fast. Glen Valtos captures their attention, as does Traigh Uige at Timsgarry. Things get nailbiting again after Carnish. Coastal scenery is good, but we gingerly feel our way down the road to Islibhig and Breanais. The latter village sports a brand new wooden house. Nothing moves, and even less so on the last mile and a half to Mealista. The mountain scenery here is quite spectacular, very rough and rocky. Mealista is a derelict township, with just a few old concrete structures and ruins. The road ends at a slipway. Next roadend is at Huisinis, just 7 miles away across the sea, but (again) 70 miles by road. Mealista Island, Scarp and the coastline to Loch Tamnabhaigh are clearly visible. The coast looks walkable, but is very remote. I leave F&H to climb a nearby low ridge at 11.55, and start on the long road back to Timsgarry. Reach Breanais again at 12.30 which has Loch Greabhat to its north. The occasional ugly concrete building rears up on the way out to Islibhig. Finally sit down for lunch at 1pm, 4 miles north of Mealista, at Rubh’an Taroin. Coastline looks very eroded. Facing west, the cold easterly wind doesn’t bother me. F&H come past at 1.45, just before I set off myself. I go down to Mangurstadh beach, and walk up an inlet, covered in sand. Some of it shifts. Climb up the hillside to the road and carry on past Loch Scaslabhat. At about 2.40, I head out south on the moor along the track to Loch Tamnabhaig, only for a kilometer or so. It’s 13 km from here (just outside Carnish) to Tamnabhaig. After a teabreak, I return to the main road to the Carnish bridge. There, I take a shortcut along the beach. Route by road is 3 miles to Timsgarry, but along Traigh Uige it’s two. Head north at first, then northeast. Take bearing on a succession of headlands. Cradhlastadh [Crowlista] stands out to the north, as does Carnish Machair. The masts on Gallan Head are another reference point. Sink into the sand (about an inch) initially, but it firms up further up the beach. At length, I catch sight of the beach bridge, and head straight for it. Once there at 4pm, it’s fairly easy along the shore and up to the road. The bus come after a 40 minute wait at 5 o’clock. On arrival in SY, I forget to take my bonnet and gloves out, so have to phone the driver. He promises to leave them at the busstation for me to collect tomorrow. It was cloudy and cold today, with a piercing easterly wind. Not many new lambs, but oystercatchers and other waterfowl can be heard. F&H returned quite late, having attended a meeting on environmental issues at the Woodlands Centre, in the Castle grounds.