The Western Isles

Week Two nearly over. 

After saying goodbye to our daughters last weekend, it was time for us to start our week on our own, and a little adventure, just the two of us. We've been heading to the Scottish Highlands for  almost twenty years, and each time we go we keep saying we must visit the Western Isles as the ferry goes from the village we stay in. So we decided that this year was going to be the year we went, finally, across the sea to the Isle of Lewis. 

Ferry tickets booked, we parked up on Sunday afternoon ready for our 6.30pm ferry across the sea. We've not taken our motor home on a ferry before, or Oscar for that matter. 

Once on, we went up on the deck to watch as we left the mainland behind for a few days ......

The weather was a bit mixed on the journey......

....and I discovered I'm not really cut out for boat journeys without any medication, so I was very pleased to see land approaching as we came in to Stornoway! 

And then it was time to head off and find somewhere to park up for the night. 

Monday, after checking a little book we bought in the ferry, we headed south, down to North Harris, and a walk to an eagle observatory hide. It was a lovely walk - fairly level - but no Eagles in sight when we got to the hide. 

The weather seemed to be brightening up a bit so we opted to carry on walking for a while. We're so glad we did as we spotted an eagle!!! We stood and watched it for a while, soaring its way higher and higher, until it disappeared. Well worth the walk! 

Then back to the van and a mooch down towards South Harris ....

We saw some amazing beaches .....

And then it was time to find somewhere to park up for the night and eat. 

Tuesday morning came complete with sunshine! Woop! Something we haven't had for a while on our travels! 

We'd seen some information about a whisky distillery on Lewis, so we headed there first. What a fabulous place! No modern technology, no huge visitor centre, just a basic distillery and an enthusiastic man to tell us about what they do. 

After a wee dram to taste, and a bottle stored safely in the van, we carried on down the road in glorious sunshine and found a lovely beach to sit and have lunch.....the last of our Lochinver pies. 

Then off to Great Bernera, joined to the mainland by a bridge ......

It's only a tiny island, but well worth a visit as the scenery is fantastic ....

And then back over the bridge to find another spot for the night. 

As it was such a glorious night we decided to use one of our little disposable BBQ's. We called in at a little village shop for some supplies, and had chicken skewers and rice .....delicious! 

Wednesday was another sunny day. We'd stayed overnight just down the road from Callanish, so we went up to visit the Callanish Stones. What a place! Definitely a place to visit if you get to Lewis. 

We spent quite a long time wandering round .... 

.....before heading off towards the Blackhouse village.  

An interesting place, and somewhere with self-catering accommodation if you want to stay there too. 

We parked up for lunch next to a little loch and a path that took us to an old mill and kiln .....

Then time to do the final leg of this side of the island and head up to Butt of Lewis, and the lighthouse .....

The views were amazing - blue sky and blue sea ....

.....and then time to park up for the night. We stopped at a beach on the way to let Oscar have a run, which was lovely. Being a nervous dog, and not really getting on with other dogs, we don't often find places to let him be off his lead. 

We ended up going back to the same spot we stayed at the previous night......with views like this later on as the sun was setting ......

Our last night in Lewis for this trip. 

Yesterday started off nice again, and we headed back to Stornoway to have a look round before getting our ferry back to the mainland. It's a lovely place, and there seemed to lots going on as there was a music festival on in the castle grounds ....

.....a lovely marina ......

.....some fabulous street sculptures ......

.......and colourful artwork .....

......making it a really enjoyable couple of hours, before finally boarding our ferry to leave Lewis. 

The weather was kinder to us on the way back, and having taken some tablets to stop me feeling ill, I quite enjoyed the journey back. 

And then back to the mainland for a couple of nights before we head home tomorrow. 

I'm so glad we decided to get the ferry to Stornoway this year. It's a fabulous place, from the flatter east to the more rugged west, and then down to Harris, it's been an amazing few days. 

I'm sure we will be back one day ....