From Berneray to Leverburgh on Harris is about 5 miles, if you manage to hitch a lift on a passing crow. By ferry, it is much further and for your money you get an hour of wonderful cruising. It is rather like a ski slalom as the boat weaves between the red and green buoys and around the innumerable islands and islets between Berneray and Harris.
We set off and Harris looks to be delightfully ahead.
But watch out helmsman. We need to avoid these rocks.
And these, as well. We can also see here the two islands of Killegray and Ensay – the Carminish Islands. They are on the straight line between Berneray and Leverburgh.
That’s mountainous Harris.
And we are getting closer to Leverburgh where the ferry terminal is sited.
But still there are slalom buoys to get round.
The view straight ahead with Leverburgh now on our starboard side.
But after a really lovely cruise we do head in to the Harris terminal.
We are in the protected waters of Leverburgh Harbour on Harris.
Harris! Actually the hills in the background might be on neighbouring Taransay.
And there we definitely see Taransay.
A photographer lines things up.
At this point it is confession time. I’d had enough and was desperate to get a tent up and get a cup of tea inside me. So, as fast as slow moving traffic allowed, we went over the mountains to Tarbert, the main place on Harris and continued generally northwards. The mountains, bleak and gaunt, gave way to gentler countryside and we had moved seamlessly from Harris to Lewis. Yes, the two are one island but in times past, the mountains were a blockage and boat transport was used to travel down to Tarbert giving rise to the idea of two islands.
We passed Loch Seaforth, which brought back memories of a 1970 trip to Scotland when a boat we used from Mallaig to Kyle of Lochalsh had carried the name, ‘Loch Seaforth’.
Eventually, we arrived at Stornoway, capital of the Outer Hebrides and found the camp site. It was not a particularly lovely one but it was to be home for three days.
