Sunday 21/11/04

Today dawned with most of the snow gone and horizontal rain. In spite of this, I ventured out, heading east with the faint idea of walking round to Cromor and Gravir. Decided against that in view of the very strong easterly I found myself battling into. Diverted onto the moors, initially near the Caverstay junction, then from Garyvard (Gearraidh Bhaird). From the latter village, there is a long road right onto the moors. It was up there that I noticed that something had changed. The wind came from the WEST and the temperature had jumped from +6 to +11C. Strange. The rain was still pouring down, and I did not feel like gallivanting across the moors in that sort of weather. Returned to Kershader early to dry out.

There is one other gentleman staying at the hostel, who has recently returned from Canada after having a divorce. He has some tales to tell. Otherwise, there is the TV to watch. Don't forget, it's dark up here after 4.15.

Saturday 20/11/04

Another shopping jaunt to 'town', which didn't start too well. The minibus was a minute late, but thanks to an observant passenger, we didn't need to wait for the connection at Balallan. He had noticed the Hebridean Transport bus sailing through the village about 5 mintues before we arrived. So he took us right through into Stornoway. Didn't give me ticket though, said the driver would take my word for it. We shall see.

No problems with the bustickets, as I said, people know my face, and know I'm getting off at 'Ravens'. On return to the hostel decided to go for a little jaunt up the road as far as the Caverstay turn. Passed the time by tossing rocks into a frozen lochan. Makes a funny noise; the ice is but thin. On the way back, the light once again failed before I reached the hostel. Temperatures still very low, barely above freezing. It is still beautiful though...

Friday 19/11/04

Friday dawned with a coating of snow over the area. The hills were white, and it was very cold indeed - around freezing. Frequent snow showers swept South Lochs before 10 o'clock, and the wind made it even colder. People taking their kids to the playgroup next door were bent against the wind in one of those squalls. At 10 am, I decided that sitting inside never did anyone any good, so ventured out. The last shower had disappeared to the south, and it all looked quite attractive. I set off along the road in a westerly direction. About 1 mile further on, I located the Abhainn Ealaidh coming down from the hills. Having negotiated a gate, I found myself walking in the snow. It obscured some of the tell-tale features on the ground, such as vegetation, which I use to determine whether it is safe to walk there. But the frost had frozen up some of the bogs and watercourses, so it was not too difficult after a while. Headed up the glen as far as Loch Ealaidh, which I skirted on its eastern shore. It was nice and sunny at this point, with the thermometer going up to 5C. Had to do something tricky with a fence, but fortunately there was a gate overhanging the water. Continued south along the loch shore below two hills, then up another glen to a longer loch. Hugging the contours, i.e. staying at the same height, I went on. It was only about 2C, and had already had one snow shower coming through. But by the time I reached the southern extremity of that lake, at 11.30, it had brightened up. Climbed over a fence, but found I should have stayed on the original (western) side. Finally reached Gleann Ouird, which is traversed by a small river only 7 ft wide. Walked right along this all the way to the large loch at the end, frantically scanning for a point to jump it. Oh, there was a footbridge near the loch, as it turned out. Five deer crossed my path, easily jumping the fences. Sat down at 1pm for lunch, but sitting down straight on the snow gives one a very cold behind. Not long after that, I reached the Eishken Road, which I'd have to follow for some 5 miles up to Balallan. Had a distant hope of catching the 2.50 bus to Kershader. The weather deteriorated again after reaching the end of Loch Seaforth. This is actually connected to the sea, but reaches inland for 22 tortuous miles. The road continued to climb, passing the grand total of 3 houses. About a mile before the junction with the A859, I decided I had time for one final shortcut at 2.40. I went east-northeast across the moors, past a hill and past the northern extremity of a lochan. There was a dodgy piece of fencing here, but I could actually creep through a hole in it. Reached the main road at 4pm, and after a break set off for the final 4 miles to Kershader. Fortunately, someone kindly pulled up to offer me a lift, which I gratefully accepted. Chatted to the lady driver for the duration of the journey, amongst other things about the proposed windturbines. These 140m high monstrosities have sails with a diameter of 100m, would you believe. About 400 of them are proposed, spread over the areas of Pairc, Eishken and Barvas Moor. Thinly populated, but 88% of people are against them going up.

Thursday 18/11/04

Woke up this morning to snow on the hills of Harris and very low temperatures. Oh, went on the bus to Stornoway, from where I'm typing this. Bus driver gave me a handwritten slip of paper, 1 cm wide, saying I had a return Kershader - Stornoway. That's the islands for you.

Well, not that much happened on the shopping trip, except I had to reduce the 4 bags of shopping to just 1. Weather wasn't too bad, a hazy sun trying to poke through the high cloud. Returned to Kershader at 3pm, and decided to go for a wee walk in the general direction of Garyvard, go through the obligatory bogs on the south side of the road, and heading back when light started to fail at 4.15. Thought I'd attend a meeting of the Pairc Trust in Cavarsta, so jumped on the bus at 6.40. Unfortunately, it was pitch black in Cavarsta, it started to snow with a vengeance and I could not find the venue. It was only later that evening that I found out the meeting took place - right next door to the hostel. Groan.

Wednesday 17/11/04

In the entry for 16/11/04 I mentioned a picture. Found that the settings in Stornoway library didn't allow me to transfer the scanned image to the journal. Grrr.

Set off on walk at 10am this morning, walking up the hill towards Garyvard. On the top, an inviting looking track went south, into the moors. As I dislike road walking, I jumped over the gate and headed off. The weather is pretty awful today, frequent showers and a strong westerly wind. The track deteriorated gradually as I encountered lochan after lochan, finally expiring at the southern arm of Loch nan Caor. So I took out the old compass and set a southerly course for Glen Gravir. The ground was wet, but not excessively so, and I made reasonable progress over the moors. Had to take bearings on surrounding hills, but by 11.30 I stood above Loch nan Eilean, a lake of just under a mile long with various promontories and islets in it. Wound my way along its western shore, not literally by the water's edge, but at a little distance. Had lunch at midday by the southern shore, only to run into severe problems on setting off at 12.20. Headed off due south and into long grass and into deep water which sloshed over the tops of my boots. Straight back. Overlooked the outflow of a tiny lochan a little further up, it turned out. With very cold feet proceeded south and finally achieved Glen Gravir at 1.10. I even managed to find the road in the glen, and came to Gravir junction some 10 minutes later. The weather was still changeable, although it seemed to be brightening up a little. Temperatures not very high, 5-8C. Headed up the road towards Lemreway / Leumrabhagh, and when I crested the moor, that was the point where the gale really struck. Had difficulty walking in a straight line, no not because of drink. From the hill above Lemreway, you can see the island off its harbour, Eilean Liubhaird, the Shiant Islands and the Isle of Skye 20 miles to the south. Very pretty, but not in current weather conditions. Walked around the village for about an hour, in that gale. Was actually waiting for a bus - which never turned up. Turns out you have to phone 2 hours in advance, which I didn't know about. Set off north at 3.30, just before sunset. It began to get dark by the time I reached Gravir again, at 4.10. The remaining miles were covered in increasing darkness, and I made my presence known with my torch. Didn't see much after the Cromor turning, except the dazzling main-beam headlights of on-coming cars. The moon rose behind me, as I battled against the gale, the extremely painful hailshowers and the bl**dy cars. Finally reached the hostel at 5.45, some 10 miles and 2 h 15 after leaving Lemreway. Dear me. Nothing on the telly, dinner wasn't much to speak of either.

Tuesday 16/11/04

Woke up to a guy shouting abuse in his sleep, and someone else shooshing him. The two American ladies collected their car at 8.30, declining my overzealous offer of being their guide. I set off downtown sunny Stornoway / Steornabhagh. First to the library for a full hour's worth of Internet use. Had about 40 emails waiting. Then to various bookshops, one of which stocked Soil and Soul, a landmark work by Alistair McIntosh. He is not well known outside this region, but is a staunch campaigner for community ownership. He supported the community buy-out of the Isle of Eigg in 1996/7, and managed to stop the development of the Lingerabay superquarry. This would have seen the demolition of an entire mountain for the sake of acquiring aggregates for the building of houses and roads in the UK and beyond. I also unearthed a compilation CD by Capercaillie, my favourite folk / fusion group from these parts. Went to a gig by them, as some know, back in January. Didn't walk back to my digs, no danced home. Just as well it was 11.30pm. It's no use having a CD without the means of listening to it, so I also acquired a portable CD-player. Then there was the matter of my 3 disposable cameras, all used up, which needed to be developed and printed. I would have preferred the images to be on CD-ROM, but that means you have to wait for 3-4 days, and I don't work that far in advance with regards to planning. One shop could develop & print in 2 hours, but not the CD-ROM. Sod it, I went for the prints. The most important one is attached to this journal entry. Then I went on a walk down the harbourfront as far as the old powerstation. Sat down on the seawall and was duly joined by a nice tortoiseshell cat, a neutered tom. He rubbed against me as I sat nibbling my sandwiches, wanted to be scratched on the head and a general fuss. After that, he went down the steps to the shore, only to bolt back up them a minute later and disappear into the estate behind me. Strange animal. My bus left town at 2.20pm, heading down the road towards Tarbert. I got off at Balallan (Baile Ailean), to join the little bus into South Lochs. Recognized the driver from years ago. A ten minute journey brought me to Cearsiadar - just say KerSHAder. The hostel is part of a community building also encompassing a shop and a cafe. The volunteers in the shop also run the hostel, which is simple but comfortable. Oh, the only uncomfortable thing about the hostel is the chairs. Eugh. After a longish chat, I went inside. A run-down of things not to do:

- don't close the kitchendoor, the handle is broken

- don't switch off the light in the stairwell

- don't use the shower upstairs

- don't use the third bedroom

- don't leave the central heating on if you don't need it

Ah, it's all a laugh, really. There are only two people in the hostel now, a guy called Joe and myself. He is going round the island looking for a job and a place to live. Exchanged some stories over dinner. Joe cooked onions and potatoes with mince and shandy to drink. The television provided some entertainment, but that was about it for the night.

Monday 15/11/04

At 8.10 this morning, the basket-ball team left for their match at Lionacleit, Benbecula. I had barely time to catch my breath, when a new group of people marched in. Seven folk, about to set off by sea-kayak to the Monach Islands. Heard that before. I left for Lochmaddy at 10 o'clock, and headed north by postbus to Berneray one hour later. Spent about half an hour rattling the keyboard in Tigh na Chearsabhagh, the sound of which drove one person mad. Not me! Some of you may be aware I'm a fast typist (70 wpm), and it is quite a noise when I'm in my stride. The postbus lady very kindly dropped me off at the road-end in Berneray, where you can go down to the Burnside B&B (prop. Mrs McKillop) where I stayed in 1995. Memories of being asked to join in the fun at the Berneray week, in which I was nearly drowned in the Knockout. And Mrs McKillop horrified that it was her new guest, all bedraggled, asking for a cup of soup afterwards. Now there was nothing in that field. Only a selection of rams. It's that time of the year when the rams are put to the ewes. Yep, necessary, else you don't get those cute little lambs in spring. The rams have a block of waxy dye bound to their chest. When the ram does his job, the dye rubs on to the ewe's shoulder, and thus the farmer knows that she has been served. The sheep on Berneray do not have horns, they have large black floppy ears, which gives them a funny look. It was quite chilly out there in the field, so I quickly hobbled back to the ferry terminal and waited for the MV Loch Portain to turn up at 1.20 to take me to Leverburgh. There was a fair queue of traffic waiting to go, including a fuel tanker. This led to a complete ban on smoking on board. You are normally allowed to smoke on the outer deck. The ferry made a tortuous and at times slow journey across the Sound of Harris, circumventing reefs and other underwater dangers. It took an hour, arriving at Leverburgh at 2.20. Had to wait for 40 minutes for the bus to depart north to Stornoway. Forgot to mention that at 1pm the sun came out, and it made the crossing quite beautiful. When the bus finally departed it was a picture postcard journey, with the beaches and views of West Harris in a hazy late autumn light. The sands were yellow, not white, due to the light. Arrived in Tarbert at 3.40, left there a few minutes later. The trip through the mountains was quite familiar, from my earlier journey in August of this year. After Balallan darkness began tofall. Arrived in Stornoway at 4.50. There were only a few other people on the bus. The route can be very busy in summer, with the driver giving a running commentary on the scenery. Now he greets every local customer by name. Having done the shopping, I headed for my hostel for the night. Fairhaven, on Francis Street. Easily found, but not exactly a model for organisation. Had to wait for 2 hours for the proprietors to turn up to take payment. Went for a very good meal at the Crown Hotel in the meantime. There were two dorms in the place, one being taken up by Polish workers in the local fish factory. The kitchen was a pokey little place, with dry rot up the walls. Yuk. The kettle was filled with brown water, although the tapwater was clear. Yuk again. Went to bed early, Stornoway is not noteworthy for its nightlife. Oh, gave two USA lassies some advice re. a trip around the island by car