After breakfast, we made our way north. The weather was not very
kind today and was misty and foggy for most of the morning, although it
was patchy in places. Before we headed up towards Stornoway, we went
east to an island called Scalpay where we went for a walk to the
lighthouse. The terrain was bouncy and spongey, very boggy in places,
but this was a proper trail which people had walked on before so we
managed to find our way. Wooden markers guided us although we must
have strayed off to one side as we went from 1 to 2 to 6 to 8 and kept
skipping numbers out, despite following the smaller, un-numbered
markers! It was an interesting walk underfoot as the route was very
undulating, more so than either of us thought it would be. Half way in
the mist and drizzle began to roll in, and by the time we eventually
reached the lighthouse . . . . well . . . . what lighthouse? We could
no longer see the top of it!
We turned back the way we
came, although it was very foggy now we could see the markers and
finally made our way back to the car. I hoped I had walked off those
extra oatcakes I'd had at breakfast...! Moving on, we made our way
north to Stornoway and reached it around lunchtime. We ate at a small
cafe called "Cambies" where I had chicken soup and Mathew had a panini.
We strolled around Stornoway and ended up comparing it to Kirkwall in
Orkney, where it is much more touristy and there seems to be much more
diversity with crafts - here in Stornoway most of the crafts seem to be
restricted to paintings and photography, although there are some potters
and jewellers, there isn't much in the way of choice. I I thought
perhaps we were missing out on a few streets but Mathew didn't think so.
After visiting the arts centre, I picked up a booklet on the arts and
crafts of the Outer Hebrides and there really wasn't much more for us to
see although I swear I saw a map not long ago with Hebridean Handmade
Chocolates.....! Maybe I'll see some different handmade chocolates later on somewhere...
Back in the car we made our way
further north towards our next B&B in a place called Upper
Shader. It was a shame earlier in the day as we were leaving Harris
that the fog was so incredibly thick, as I'm pretty sure we drove
through the mountains but we really didn't see anything at all. Now the
fog had lifted and we were on the main, straight road north west and
the landscape really wasn't what I had expected it to be. I don't know
why but I had expected mountains all over the place, not just in Harris.
Lewis has rolling hills but also has wide expanses of flat bogs.
There was one moment where it just seemed totally flat both sides of
the road, like a desert or salt-flat, only it was more like a heath -
bog. It really was an epic amount of flat ground which I think I have
only really ever experienced in America. The terrain became more
rolling as we came closer to our destination, and the fog crept in again
so there wasn't a great deal to see. We booked a table at the Borve
House Hotel restaurant for dinner and booked in to The White House
B&B which was a really nice little place. One thing we've
noticed on this holiday is the blinds or curtains in each place we stay -
they don't seem to shut out much light, and being way up north in the
middle of summer, it doesn't actually start getting seriously dark until
just after 11pm. Until then, it's twilight for about 5 hours when it
still relatively light. I was just happy I had my eye mask with me...!
We ate out at the Borve House Hotel this evening where I had a beef
salad and Mathew had fish and chips.
Back at the B&B we thought our DVD player was making strange sounds but it turned out to be a Corncrake, and it was rather close - it actually sounded like it was sitting just above our window! Fortunately it didn't go on all night, but it's a rather noisy bird!
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