Wind Assistance

Castlebay - Bernaray
77 miles

Finally we made it to the ferry and at last we were on holiday proper - £29 would get us to Barra, over to Eriskay, from Berneray to Harris and from Lewis to Ullapool. The Lord of the Isles didn't command the harbour as much as I had expected and as soon as we passed Ardnamurchan point and literally hit the Minch, the undersized ferry truly didn't come into its own. The ferry was heaving - in both senses and our place in the bar was fortuitous once we realised that we had fiddles and an accordian in our midst. Unfortunately this didn't stop the sea sickness - I lay down when Chris went for a walk which kept down the lager and pork chop I was struggling with. Others weren't so lucky and as the 6 or so hours passed the toilets were not worth bothering with unless you really had no choice. We later heard some real horror stories about the Friday sailing which by some accounts saw passengers vomiting from smelling the vomit. Not a position you want to find yourself in, especially if you were one of the runners in the 'Barrathon' on Saturday.

Eventually we arrived in the beautiful Castle bay - named after, well...... the castle in the bay. I hadn't appreciated it was actually in the bay though and struggled with the concept for while. We stretched our legs past the fully booked hostel and onto our very comfortable B&B - Laura having felt obliged to explain my relationship with Chris when she booked, perhaps confusing liberal Barra with the staunchly presbyterian Lewis. In fact the hippy Mancunian owners were cheery and good cooks - also finding time to worry about how much time it would take us to reach the ferry which leaves just beside the famous sandy stretch that is Barra airport. We didn't leave a lot of time but we made the 9.25 no problem, both sweating and with slightly burning legs.

The sky over the Uists remained fairly grey and we had scheduled a long ride for our first day so we got as many miles under the wheels before stopping for lunch, the wind helping us, in no uncertain terms on our way. We passed plenty of solitary houses perhaps left after the famine or the subsequent emigrations of the 19th century or the removal of the younger generation in the 20th century. We also passed the beautiful machair and found ourselves in corpse point - written, unsurprisingly in almost every listing as its Gaelic from of Carinish. The owner looked confused at our request for lunch but eventually pointed in the direction of the empty sun lounge, repeating her line, word for word when the next two came in. They didn't fare so well when trying to book dinner though - it was really too much of an anxiety trip for the owner - it wasn't that they were definitely full but more that, just as our friend in Oban had shown, trying a little harder at peak season was just a step too far. The food was good and filling though and having eventually worked for a hint of smile from our host we were fuelled up for our run up to Lochmaddy and finally the blackhouse at Berneray.

A police car with siren blaring came behind us on North Uist and, because of the southernly wind, seemed to last forever - it was a surreal experience. The landscape was becoming hillier and after stocking up on food we reached the Hostel in its wonderful location on a mile long bay of white sand. Unfortunately by now the winds were really gusting (we later found out to 55 miles per hour), and intermittent blast of rain would smash against the windows - it wasn't so much basking in the sun outside as hiding behind the thick walls with the stove on. We had cycled 77 miles and were thankful for the small conveniences of a roof, heat and a bed. The hostel's open lounge and kitchen, big stack of coal as well as a great bunch of guests, made it a warming evening of food, wine, whisky and stories.

Hostelling, we were reminded, is the antithesis of modern life - people looking out for each other, making sure they have a bed (most Western Isles hostels are un-bookable), food, a cup of tea. Most guests have come self propelled and not wanting for much other than to see a bit of nature and get a bit of peace. Even if you've got to put up with all the snoring.