Western Isles - Lewis

A sublime crossing to Stornoway in calm conditions on a sunny evening gave excellent views across to Assynt and right up Loch Gruinard to the tops surrounding Shenavall scene of last week's successful MBA work party. A YouTube slideshow featuring some of the many highlights can be found at this link which summarises perfectly the spirit of the week.
I stayed in Stornoway a couple of nights and visited a stunning beach at Tolstah where an abandoned road project has left a 'Bridge to Nowhere' reminiscent of a similar venture in New Zealand - it would have been  a wonderful place to spend the night but  I returned to town in order to get the chain and block on my bike sorted out before heading up to the Butt of Lewis and its unusual brick lighthouse. The first heavy and persistent rain of this trip convinced me to park up for the afternoon and catch up on my diary as outside the strong winds reminded me that this point holds the record as Britain's windiest place.
Things settled down though the next day as I headed south along the west coast with a surprising number of crofts and houses, old and new, dotted around - a third of the 27,000 strong  population of these isles live in the Stornoway area - far higher totals than I had realised. 
An example of a very traditional form of housing - the black house at Arnol was fascinating as were the reconstructed Norse mill and kiln at Siabost - modern life is demanding enough in this challenging climate and landscape and in their own way people of old were just as skilled and resourceful as the indigenous people facing very different challenges in Australia.
The island of Berneray is now linked by a bridge over the Atlantic and was a real gem. Down at  Bostadh another perfect beach and bay also featured a large bell mounted off shore which sounded at high tide - part of an inspired art installation also planned for 11 other locations around the UK. This was too good a spot to leave so I enjoyed a memorable night in a very special location. 
The next day I left the bike locked up, drove around the coast and then enjoyed a walk along the  deserted coastal scenery before heading out to remote Uig where a succession of perfect bays and beaches filled the day - the loop round Valtos was a true highlight after which I headed out to lonely but stunning Breanais and Mealasta where I spent a sunny evening in perfect isolation looking out to the islands of St Kilda including Soay providing a nice link with the rare breed sheep I used to keep in another life.
A long rough track south from Carnais took me to a remote property on a dream bay with mountains of almost pure rock rising above the sheltered waters before I dropped in at Timsgearraidh Community Centre to enjoy the small but informative museum and excellent cafe.
Glacial Valtos gorge retuned me to the loop round the Valtos peninsula with the idyllic beaches at Cliff and Reef where I decided to stay on the community run simple camp site overlooking a beach of white sand and blue seas. Good TV reception came as a surprise as did excellent hot showers in a location that very much reminded me of the beaches and bays of Albany in SW Oz.
Crossing over to the East coast I visited the Lochs area and walked from Orasaigh out to an abandoned township - cleared for sheep grazing and a moving reminder of how lives were once completely disrupted by progress. Further progress may well disrupt the landscape in the future as a massive wind farm is being considered for the area.
I stopped at a school fund raising car wash  to get the van cleaned - it still carried mud from  floundering around on Jura  a month ago and I was struck by how similar to the Kiwi sense of community spirit and just getting on with job was the islanders approach to things where a government in Edinburgh or London let alone Brussels must seem worlds away. I suspect that less intrusion from the politicians and the media generally would encourage communities to take responsibility for their own future based on self reliance and resourcefulness rather than legislation and subsidy.
I have now returned to Stornoway to stock up before heading south with a deterioration in the weather predicted for Sunday - the improvements to the van have certainly paid off on this trip with the greatly improved insulation meaning that six tea lights keep the interior warm even on the colder nights and a much streamlined setting up each evening as everything is stowed away in the additional storage space. Other visitors in larger vans are frequently seen on the main roads but rarely venture down the more interesting side roads and tracks which suits me very well!
This weeks pics are here , SPOT continues to track me here and to confirm the similarities the slides return to SW Oz.