Scottish Adventure - Part 2

South Uist

We then travelled over the causeway to South Uist.

Our overnight pitch on South Uist - consulting the map!

Views of South Uist

Viking boat outside the museum (which was sadly closed for the season)

Our Lady of the Isles

Standing stone on South Uist

We then drove over the causeway to Benbecula and then another causeway onto North Uist.

North Uist

We then caught yet another ferry over to Harris.

Harris

We visited a couple of shops selling Harris tweed and saw an exhibition of the weaving.

We then drove onto Lewis - Harris and Lewis are really the same island.

Lewis

The scenery was very similar to Harris.

We then made our way to Stornaway - and actually found somewhere which is much windier than The Lizard!

Carvings of the Lewis Chessmen

More carvings around Stornaway

We then caught our final ferry from Stornaway to Ullapool.

to be continued…….

Scottish Adventure - Part 1

We left home on the Thursday evening after work on our way from Cornwall to the Outer Hebrides.  Our first stop was overnight near Taunton.  We got away around 5.30am on the Friday morning and were at Loch Lomond by 5pm that evening.  We couldn't have asked for a better view from our pitch on the campsite right on the banks of the Loch.

Loch Lomond views:

In the morning the low cloud was hanging over the Loch

After a breakfast of egg on toast we then set off for Oban and spent the rest of the morning looking around the town.

We bought our Hopscotch ferry tickets.  Esmerelda even had her own ticket:

Esmerelda in the ferry queue

We then set sail for the Outer Hebrides and the island of Barra.  The journey was to take us almost 6 hours.  Various photos taken from the ferry until darkness fell.

BARRA

We arrived on Barra around 9pm and found our campsite.  We couldn't see very much from the light of our torches as it was pitch black and we were the only visitors to the site.  We could hear the sea though.  The following morning this is what we woke to:

We spent two days at the campsite and it was brilliant as we were the only visitors.  After our pancake breakfast we then took a walk into Castlebay which is the little town on Barra.

On the way we even passed a field with some emus in

Kisimul Castle after which I assume Castlebay is named.  Unfortunately the boat trips to the castle stop at the end of September.

After a lunch at the pub in Castlebay we made our way back to the campsite.  It was a lovely evening and we cooked and ate our meal outside with the basking seals on the rocks for company.

The following day we drove around Barra and visited the airport in the afternoon.  We watched an aeroplane land on the beach.

VATERSAY

We then drove over the causeway to the island of Vatersay.  We drove around this small island which had wonderful beaches and sadly the wreckage of an aeroplane from WW2.

We then drove back over the Causeway to Barra and caught another ferry to the island of Eriskay.  

ERISKAY

Eriskay is famous for being the location of the events portrayed in the film Whisky Galore.  As we were approaching Eriskay we saw the beach where Bonnie Prince Charlie set foot on Scottish soil.

To be continued…….

The Edge of Dartmoor

 We left home after work on the Friday and arrived at Lydford a pretty (and what I call Midsommer Murders-type) village on the edge of Dartmoor.  Despite its being early October the sun was shining.  We parked up on a lovely pitch on the side of the camp and whipped out the chairs, table and wine!

We walked 10 minutes to the local pub The Castle Inn for an evening meal.  Arthur Conan Doyle is supposed to have stayed here on one of his many visits to the area.

The following day we woke to glorious sunshine and after a breakfast cooked on Jim’s new toy – Cadac Safari Chef we walked the mile or so to Lydford Gorge.  

What a fantastic place this was – despite being members of the National Trust we couldn’t believe that we had not been here before.

We started off from the Devil’s Cauldron end and walked along the top of the gorge towards the Waterfall Tearoom where our morning coffees awaited.  Saw various mushrooms and funghi plus a woodpecker – well I heard him first and then saw him!

From the tearoom we then headed down 200 steps towards the bottom of the White Lady’s Waterfall.

We then headed along the pathway along the bottom of the gorge – this was a fairly challenging walk in places and it was quite narrow, slippery and at times at a height.  I was hanging on to the handrail for grim death.  Was certainly worth it as there were so many beautiful sites.

Halfway along we found a bench and sat here for our packed lunches before heading through the Tunnel Falls

Through Pixie Glen

And onwards to the Devil’s Cauldron.  A set of precarious steps and we were on the viewing gallery for the Cauldron.

We finished off with a reviving tea and shortbread biscuit at the Devil’s Cauldron Tearoom.

We had so enjoyed our meal at the Castle Inn the night before we decided to go back again.  We finished the evening working on a jigsaw puzzle.

The following day we woke to a very overcast sky and a definite drop in the temperature.  Breakfast was pancakes cooked in Esmerelda’s kitchen and we then made tracks for home.