I did a 3 mile run before we left our accommodation on North Uist. It was warm and dry with very little wind and the sun broke through. It promised to be a nice day.
We left our accommodation around 9am and headed south to the ferry port in Eriskay for our penultimate sailing to Barra at 12:20. Shortly after leaving North Uist it started raining and didn't stop until early evening.
Just before we crossed from South Uist to Eriskay, we made a very short detour to see the Polachar Standing Stone, which is on a beach and right next to the Polachar hotel. It is believed to be 4000 years old.
Polachar Standing Stone
Polachar Inn, one of the biggest hotels on the Uists
We then crossed the causeway to Eriskay, a very small rocky island with a population of 134.
A steep climb up the hillside near the causeway was St Michael's Church, the nicest looking church I have seen on the Outer Hebredes.
St Michaels Church, Eriskay
Bell outside St Michael's Church from the German Battle cruiser SMS Derfflinger.
Eriskay is famous for 2 events in history. Firstly it is where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed after defeat in the Battle of Culloden and was helped by Flora MacDonald in 1746. There is a small cairn on the hillside near the spot on the beach where he is thought to have landed. It was raining too hard to walk out to but I was able to take a couple of photos.
Looking from harbour to the beach where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed
Beach where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed
Cairn commemorating Bonnie Price Charlie's landing
Secondly, in February 1941, a ship called the SS Politian, ran aground off Eriskay, during a storm while sailing from Liverpool to New Orleans. Her cargo included 260,000 bottles of scotch whisky. At that time, just after the end of WW2, whisky was scarce and this was seen as a welcome windfall by the islanders. They rowed out to the ship multiple times and retrieved 20,000 bottles and hid them in various places across the island. Customs and Excise then started searching for the missing bottles and raided villages and crofts but found very few. Some were arrested and served short prison sentences. The authorities blew up the hold of the ship to prevent further looting. Bottles continued to wash up on the shore for some time after, the last in 1987. The story was told in a book and then into a comedy film called Whisky Galore. One of the original bottles salvaged is on display at the local pub named after the ship 'An Politician'. At low tide the ships hull can be seen just off nearby Calvey Island. It was high tide when we arrived so didnt see it.
The pub sign for "Am Politician"
The pub "An Politician"
Calvey Island
The ferry left on time and was full. It brightened up a bit by the time we got to Barra. We are booked into a B&B for 2 nights and the owner sent us a message yesterday saying our room was ready and we could come as early as we liked. So we made our way straight there after disembarking the ferry.
Leaving Eriskay
One of the little islands we passed on the way, It has a castle on the highest point
We arrived on time at Airdmhor, the ferry port for the Eriskay to Barra route and drove straight to our B&B in the capital, Castlebay where we checked in and unpacked.
Paul has had a really bad day. It started when we stopped at a supermarket in Benbecula to get some sliced meat for our sandwiches. Paul got a pack of lager (in cans) but at the checkout we were told they couldnt sell alcohol before 10am (it was 9:38). As we got near to Eriskay we saw a Co-op so Paul went in and bought a pack as it was well after 10. So he was happy.
As we were unpacking at the B&B, Paul couldn't find his underpants or socks in his overnight bag that he packed for our 2 nights here. He went out and searched the car with no joy. We drove to a viewpoint for our lunch and suddenly he remembered he had left them in a drawer in the North Uist cabin. I didnt even see any drawers there! He thought all his underpants were there and the only ones he had were those he was wearing. So then the most important thing for him was to find somewhere to buy new pants and socks. But on Barra - no chance. He thought that the co-op might sell them, so we went there, but they only sold food. We really needed a shop like the one we found in Tarbert on Harris which sold everything and that was going to be very unlikely. He then wanted to check whether he had a pair in his bigger bag which was at the back of the boot and best accessed by folding the back seats forward. We did this and he took it to the room and he found a few pairs of socks and one pair of underpants. Phew! It was still raining hard and I was feeling tired so had a sleep. during which Paul went to tidy the car boot. We were parked on a steep slope in front of the B&B. The boot hadnt been opened since he took the bag from behind the seats and much of the stuff in there had become dislodged. When he opened the boot his pack of beer fell out. 3 cans pierced on impact and fell out of the cardboard packaging with lager spraying all over the place. 2 of these cans rolled down the hill to the road and he had to chase after them. He got wet from the contents of the 3rd and he recovered the 4th intact. When I woke up I thought he was in the toilet until he came in and told me what had happened. He is going to have to make do with 2 pairs until we get to Oban where there is a Tesco superstore selling clothes. In the meantime I contacted the owners of the cabin. They have found, packed and will post the contents of the drawer to us.
We had dinner in a hotel near the B&B. It was very expensive and ok but not brilliant. The weather had cleared up and it was much brighter and dry. We went for a walk around Castlebay. There are a lot of very old buildings in the town. It is a lot bigger than Lochmaddy in North Uist and Lochboisdale in South Uist but smaller than Balivanich in Benbecula. It has a castle in the bay which is always in water called Kisimul Castle. It is only reachable by boat but currently closed.
Kisimul Castle
Sign at Ferry Terminal in Castlebay, from where we will be going to Oban in a couple of days
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church
Church on hilltop in Castlebay
Castlebay and Kisimul Castle
The harbour area
Former church in ruins. Roof is very damaged
Building on the main street
Herring walkway and park
Castlebay with Calmac Ferry to Oban in port ready to sail early tomorrow.
Old buildings in the main street.
We had a quick drink at the other big hotel in the town - The Castlebay Hotel. They had good music playing but not too loud but there was a couple with 2 dogs. The woman was vaping and the dogs were walking up and down the bar surface. Not very hygenic at all. So we drank up and left.
Dog on the bar
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