The trip to Uist didn't turn out as planned. It was to be a simple day trip. One of the pre-requisites of a day trip is that it takes place in a day. Our day trip took two days. Therefore it can be demonstrated by the use of a simple syllogism that it was not a day trip. It was a trip. Given that neither of us had even a toothbrush with us (why would one on a day trip?) having to stay in a hotel overnight (thank you David: it was a very good evening with very good food and wine in a very good hotel) was not at the top of the things we wanted to do yesterday. We arrived at the ferry terminal for the journey home just 3 minutes after the ferry left. I am irritated by the fact that I forgot to get a photo of it steaming into the distance - without us. I should add that we thought that we were 17 minutes early.
We eventually arrived home at 1pm today.
There were other ramifications. Pat aka Spesh had very kindly agreed to look after Molly for the day yesterday. Briagha and Molly rub along pretty well in that Molly does her own thing and plays with all Briagha's toys and Briagha is very accepting of it all and tries to follow Molly as she gallops along the beach. Unfortunately Briagha is not built for speed. However when Molly's ball went in the sea at a depth where Molly would have had to take her feet off the ground, it was Briagha who swam out and rescued it. Good teamwork.
For those of you who don't know the Islands of Lewis and Harris here is yesterday's journey from Eagleton on Lewis's Eye Peninsula to Leverburgh in Harris (I had the iPhone app set for New Zealand where kilometres are used).
The ferry sailing across the Sound of Harris from Leverburgh to Berneray and across the causeway to North Uist (I reset the app to miles):
I took enough photos yesterday and today to fill a large album and I'll use some in the future but for now here are some reminders of the journey:
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| View across Sound of Harris from Ferry leaving Leverburgh |
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| West side of North Uist on an indifferent afternoon shooting into the sun from a fast moving car! |
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| West side of North Uist on an indifferent afternoon shooting into the sun from a fast moving car! |
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| The road from Lochmaddy to the Berneray Causeway and Ferry to Leverburgh |
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| Ferry from Uig on Skye arriving in Lochmaddy |
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| West coast of North Uist in the sun this morning |
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| West coast of North Uist in the sun this morning |
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| More of the same |
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| Same again |
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| The Causeway to Berneray |
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| Leaving Berneray |
That looks a good place to spend a few nights.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good place to spend a few nights or even more Adrian. It's better when it is expected though in my experience.
DeleteGlad you made it home safe.
ReplyDeleteDogs are so much more easy going than cats - glad Molly and Briagha were happy in each other's company.
Molly and Briagha were happy Helen. Unfortunately Pat had to spend the night here because Molly tried to kill their cat and the cat wasn't at all amused.
DeleteLove those wide open spaces.
ReplyDeleteIt's a blessing to have someone you trust to look after your pet. Say hey to Pat for me!
I have no idea what I would do without Pat Kay. I'll say hey to her for you Kay although she'll probably read your comment.
DeleteWell, 3 minutes late or 17 min early didn't help in this case....sorry, but I'm laughing here.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, you made the best of the situation and that's what counts. At any rate I'm sure that you enjoyed the two unexpected days away from home.....so did Molly and Briagha.
Love the quiet atmosphere in all the photos, but especially the one of the road that looks like its an unfurling reel of ribbon.
Yes Virginia. I'd have managed a much better photo of that road if I'd been in my own car but we were in a taxi on the way to the ferry at that stage. I used to spend a lot of time in the Uists and Barra but haven't done so since I retired so I shall have to make the effort and have a holiday there one year.
DeleteI don't think it was even clear in my mind until now that Uist was a separate island (or two). (I keep learning!)
ReplyDeleteActually, Monica, the Outer Hebrides are a chain of Islands with the inhabited ones from North to South being Lewis/Harris (including the islands of Scalpay and Bernera), Berneray, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay which five are now joined by causeways and Barra and Vatersay (which are also joined by a causeway). Perhaps I should do a geographical post at some time.
DeleteSorry to hear about missing the ferry, that's utterly frustrating and I hope you stamped on your watch :) Your photos are lovely, as usual. I particularly like the one with the phone box and the white edged road ribboning into the distance...
ReplyDeleteJenny I am fortunate in that I don't get annoyed with situations like that which are totally beyond my control. The problem arose because someone didn't look at the piece of paper in his pocket with the correct ferry time written on it but relied on his (usually excellent) memory. After paying the hotel bill (and it's a very nice hotel!) I don't think the person concerned will do that again.
DeleteGlad you found somewhere to stay and did not have to sleep in the car!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which - I would never have guessed that some of the pictures were taken from a fast-moving car. The place looks so serene, I find it hard to imagine speeding along there.
Meike we were lucky but we didn't even have our own car with us to sleep in because the ferry was fully booked. We were driven round on Friday by David's son-in-law who lives on Benbecula. We used a taxi on Saturday morning to get back to the ferry from Lochmaddy.
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