Saturday, June 30, 2007

The East Coast of Harris

Our first day we went all around South Harris and stopped in Leverburgh to visit Malcolm Peters, a retired minister friend from Yorkshire who was supplying the Free Church's pulpit there. Then driving on we were astonished how on a dull day the beaches were still golden and the sea turquoise. This is Northtan. The road is the main spinal route through the islands. Here it has room for two vehicles to pass but in places it is an A class road with single carriageway and passing places. Road signs for place names are bilingual here, Gaelic and English, but no-one has so far translated "passing place". It took us four days on Harris before we heard Gaelic and that was from two ladies employed to promote it in children's nurseries.
The beach at Luskentyre. We drove past one graveyard, now full, and parked by a second one for our walk down to this beautiful big beach. The only problem was the wind. Blowing from the north east it was fine at our backs but facing it walking was difficult and sand was being blown into our faces.
The next day was brighter and West Loch Tarbert looked at its best.
From near Hushinish we saw across to Taransay, the island where in 2000 the BBC but people to see how they would survive a year of isolation on for the programme, Castaway.
The road ends at Hushenish so we walked along a track to see the bay to the north and the island of Scarp which is now inhabited only in the holiday season. The last permanent residents left in 1971.

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