Outer Hebrides; the Shiant Isles to South Uist

Having very much enjoyed the wild and unpredictable Loch Torridon, the end of June saw us making our way West for a second attempt at exploring the Outer Hebrides.  Luck was with us and we enjoyed a fast, close reach from Torridon past the Northern tip of Skye in 15-17 knots from the South West - Contour's best point of sail.  This made the passage an absolute pleasure; fast and comfortable in a gentle swell, with bright sunshine. We arrived at North Harbour on the island of Scalpay, just inside Loch Tarbert which divides North and South Harris. We ambled ashore having found space on the luxurious new community pontoon and were very lucky to get a seat in the most extraordinary bistro on the harbour side serving fresh locally caught fish and seafood.

Scalpay community pontoon

The following day we ran (stumbled through bog) around the island and out to Eilean Glas lighthouse, which marks the Eastern extent of the island. This was the first lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides constructed by Robert Stevenson in 1824; it is still painted exactly how a lighthouse should be with bright red and white stripes!  The buildings and engineering of the place hark back to a time when public works were expected to last forever. Unfortunately, although the light is well preserved with a fresh coat of paint, the keepers house and peripheral buildings have suffered over the years with a small community charity trying hard to maintain and improve them.  Not an easy task when the only access is on foot or by sea on a calm day.

Eilean Glas Lighthouse

Despite being entirely in the wrong direction, we decided to make a diversion to the Shiant islands before heading further south. They're known for abundant wildlife but, being somewhat exposed out in the middle of The Minch, visits are only enjoyable in calm conditions. We sailed North East from Scalpay and were pleased to find the anchorage reassuringly benign.  It is hard to describe a visit to this magical place, which fully lives up to the etymology of the name ("charmed", "holy" or "enchanted isles"); hopefully the photos which follow will give some sense of the magic we were privileged to enjoy. These pictures are the product of the passage to, on shore, and afloat around the islands during our visit. The density of sea birds made it feel a little like being surrounded by a swarm of bees at times with black dots constantly filling the sky above us. The sea was just as busy, with flocks of sea birds covering the surface and black and white shapes rocketing about below the dinghy diving for fish.

Hazel's aged mini-SLR is still remarkable, despite it's many adventures over the years, including a slightly emotional trip in a rigid raider (Byron!) 

Razorbills

Guillemot

Somewhat overwhelmed by the Shiant experience, which had included torrential rain, driving the dinghy through a large natural arch in a cliff face, and many, many puffins, we reluctantly got back underway.  The conditions which enabled the visit also made the subsequent passage to Lochmaddy on North Uist somewhat dull as we motored across the uncharacteristically flat and glassy Little Minch. However, an extended visit from a pod of common dolphins playing around the bow easily made up for the lack of wind.  

We anchored off Lochmaddy in the early hours of the morning then moved to the small village pontoon the following day. Here we benefited from excellent local knowledge; our friend Byron had suggested we visit Langass Lodge, a shooting and sporting lodge close by. Given that Marcus was about to lose the right to describe himself as in his 'early forties' we booked a table and enjoyed another stellar meal - the Outer Hebrides turning out to be something of an unexpected gastronomic destination.  With Scalpay having blown us away with seafood, Langass lodge served up a steak which left Marcus speechless for some time; a very memorable birthday!  The only challenge to the whole affair had been finding transport to get from Lochmaddy to the restaurant as there is no taxi service on North Uist and we were already dragging a taxi driver over from Benbecula to pick us up after the meal. However, the team of volunteers running the marina displayed boundless Hebridean generosity in organising a lift for us (in the form of a kind daughter and her new car). In our limited experience of life in the outer Hebrides, it seems people are extremely adept at finding ways to fix problems by whatever means available. 

The next fixed point on our calendar was the plan to leave Contour for a few days on South Uist, to enable us to visit family, progress some 'life admin' and collect Hektor who would be joining us on breaking up from school. This left us with a couple of days to work our way South from Lochmaddy to explore the extraordinarily varied coast of North and South Uist, a landscape where the sea, loch, hill and dale are so intermingled that it would take months to properly explore. Our first stop was Haunaray Sound, a huge expanse of enclosed water between North Uist and Benbecula, dotted with islands, and accessible through a pair of minute channels, barely 20m wide at points. These require some care, however the pilotage pays off, and we were rewarded by sheltered, serene anchorages surrounded by spectacular landscape.  Inevitably we felt the urge to tuck Contour into the smallest possible crevice, ('Eagles Pool'), accessed via a 10m-wide, S-shaped channel with some associated double-anchor / kedge faffing required to keep us off the rocks on arrival.  As ever, it paid to be adventurous and we landed and climbed to the highest peak in North Uist (Eaval) to look around.

Eagle's Pool

Contour just visible in Eagle's Pool from Eaval

Muddy disaster area after retrieval of the kedge - Marcus looking very pleased with the mayhem of his creation!

The appealing rock-strewn exit from Eagle's Pool

We had a somewhat muddy time weighing anchor, then worked our way slowly South East through the Sound and out through Flodday Sound to continue our exploration.  Time sadly prevented a visit to Benbecular, so after a short lunch stop at 'Wizard's Pool' we picked our way into another of the South Hebridean loch systems - Loch Eynort on South Uist, for the evening. 

The final leg took us South to Lochboisdale, arriving as planned to throw ourselves into a minor logistic frenzy to prepare the boat for our (brief) absence and our return Eastwards.  Fuelling by means of 10 litre cans was somewhat backbreaking, however with some kind help from neighbouring boats we left early on the morning of the 4th July to commence the long journey South.  Ferry to Mallaig, Bus to Fort William, Sleeper to Euston, train to West Sussex.....

Follow our progress here.