"It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time!"

The title of today's walk came from another walker who, like me, had made a circumnavigation of Berneray and who I met at the Berneray ferry terminal. More later!

We woke up to rain for the second day in a row. But this wasn't the mizzly, drizzly, grizzly sort of the day before but proper lashing rain, driven by strong winds. Not to worry, my waterproofs and boots had dried from yesterday's walk from Tarbert and I was ready for anything that the sky could throw at me! So we started with an excellent breakfast (the umpteenth in a row) and found out that the proprietor of the B&B, Farquar Macleod, was also the local undertaker and he complained about the lack of business, despite there being an old people's home just down the road! Having spoken to him we rather warmed to his B&B and I slightly regretted the critical remarks I'd written in his guest book - oh well!

We left for Leverbergh harbour at about 09:00 and the ferry to the fabled Isle of Berneray, about an hour away. By now we were accomplished island hoppers and, as the ferry approached the island, the weather became even worse, with the rain now horizontal. It was Sunday, lousy weather, everything closed up and I was walking. What was the poor Boss going to do to amuse herself? Sit in the car, read her Kindle and listen to Radio 4 - the world's best radio station, that's what!

So I set off from the Berneray slipway in full wet weather gear facing horizontal rain but determined, despite a "moment of weakness", to walk around the island, cross the sands of Loch Bhuirgh, the small tidal loch at the southern end of Berneray, and also the sands of Tràigh Athmòr. Both depended on the tide being out and, being unsure of how to interpret the tide table in the Stornoway Gazette, I thought I'd just wait until I reached each of these and "make a judgement"!

I walked anticlockwise around Berneray, past the small harbour and the nearby settlement with a beautifully restored black house. At the small road leading to the Hostel I sheltered in the bus stop to have a coffee and met a couple of walkers coming in the other direction. It turned out that they were staying at the black house I'd seen which was now, of course, a holiday cottage. I was unexpectedly to meet them again on South Uist after I'd been "escorted" from the MOD firing range (more about THAT later!).

On the N.W. and W. sides of Berneray I walked along the beach rather than, as Peter Clarke had recommended, along the machair. It was much easier on the feet and, despite the still horizontal rain, more spectacular too. The beach seemed to go on and on but eventually I reached the headland Rubha Bhoisnis. I crossed the grassy area to the cemetery and on to Loch Bhuirgh. There I noticed a wrecked boat beside the shore and the tide seemed to be out. So, using the wreck as my starting point I headed for the opposite side. However, as I crossed, the tide started coming in so I quickly changed direction to the shore. My feet were wet anyway, so what did it matter? From there I walked back to the ferry terminal, met The Boss and shared the remains of my coffee and the butty from last night's B&B. I gave her my camera as there was a good chance it would get wetter than it already was, packed up and set off from the small terminal building for the second time.

Outside I met another walker who had done a clockwise walk around Berneray and was hoping to call a taxi to take him back to where he was staying (on a Sunday on Berneray?!). It was he who said "It seemed like a good idea at the time" and I knew exactly what he meant. However, I continued across the causeway and was now in North Uist, the fifth island of the tour. Eventually, just past Port nan Long, I took a path across fields and down to the beach again (Tràigh Lingeigh) but eventually realised that the tide was coming in and I'd be no more able to cross Tràigh Athmòr than Loch Bhuirgh. So I found the road near Trumisgarry (I just cannot pronounce Trumaisgearraidh - although it's probably the same), which turned out to be not a settlement but a single farm. At the junction of the B893 and the A865 there was the wonderfully familiar red SAAB with it's skinny spare back wheel.

I'd walked 16.8 miles, a little further than planned, had got drowned, not been able to appreciate the beauty of Berneray but do you know what, I loved it!

The Boss drove me to the Traigh Dearg hotel at Lochmaddy where we were staying the night and they let me dry my clothes and boots in their laundry room overnight. I also hung stuff up in our room and festooned the bathroom with the rest of my wet gear. Soon after we arrived the rain stopped and eventually the sun came up, though the wind was still blowing strongly. We ate at the hotel (well it was Sunday evening in the Western Isles!) and the food was good, though not fantastic.

Tomorrow's walk, from Trumisgarry to Bayhead, would be shorter and quicker with hoped for views and even more hoped for better weather!

A Few Photos From Day 08 (just click on them for the BIG versions):
Ferry To Berneray Arriving At Leverburgh	Berneray From Ferry Window!
Berneray (Out There Somewhere!)	Arriving At Berneray
Restored Black House, Berneray	Isolated Burial Ground, N. Berneray
Footprints In The Sand, W. Berneray	Preparing For Tomorrow