Day 36: Tarbert , Isle of Harris to Melbost Borve, Isle of Lewis

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

9th February 2021: 131.18km walked today taking the total to 3678.72/8854km. 12.5% of 138 entries submitting 1049.43km.

Today we walk round some of the Isles of Harris and the Isle of Lewis.

Route 11: Isles of Lewis & Harris

As we near the Isle of Harris we pass Eilean Glas Lighthouse on Scalpay, once an island but now connected by a bridge to Harris. Let me explain the geography of these islands: Harris is one of a group of islands called the Western Isles, also called the Outer Hebrides. The main islands which we will be visiting are Harris and Lewis (one island with separate names), Berneray, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay and last, but not least, Barra! Some are linked by bridges but there will also be a few more ferry journeys involved. Sundays are still looked upon as a ‘day of rest’ so shops, for the most part, are closed and public bus services do not run throughout the Western Isles (just as well we are walking!). As we sail, look out for the mystical creatures said to inhabit these waters and offer a drop of ale to the ‘Blue Man’ for safe passage!

On our approach into Tarbert Harbour, there is one building which dominates the village skyline, not far from where we’ll dock. This is the Isle of Harris Distillery which opened its doors in 2015, home to the award-winning Isle of Harris Gin, capturing the ‘essence’ of the island; sugar kelp being the key botanical along with 8 others. The distillery is also in the process of producing a single malt whisky called the ‘The Hearach’ meaning Harris islander; a release date has yet to be announced. The origin of the name comes from Norse, ‘Haerri’ meaning higher; most names on the island are Gaelicized from Old Norse. Its name is a nod to the hills on North Harris as the Isle of Lewis is flatter in comparison; the highest mountain is a Corbett called An Cliseam (799m).

On arrival in Tarbert, its name again meaning ‘isthmus’, we start our journey north by picking up the Harris Walkway, ‘Frith-Rathaid-na-Hearraidh’ in Gaelic. We follow the coast for a few kilometres before heading inland past Lochannan Lacasdail on hilly terrain and crossing several streams. We join the A859, the main single carriageway running through the island, and continue our journey past Loch Seaforth, ’Shiphoirt’, crossing Harris/Lewis boundary as we walk along to Loch Erisort, ‘Eireasort’.

The landscape of Harris is that of hills and mountains, islands more mountainous in the north than in the south and less populated than Lewis. Lewis is flatter, more fertile with peaty moorland, ablaze with heather in late summer. Both have sea and inland lochs of all sizes, plus stunning Caribbean-like white sand beaches and bays. You never really feel you have left the coast in places. Nature, birds, and wildlife are at their finest in one of the most untouched landscapes in Europe. Sheep and cattle wander everywhere. One thing you will also notice, Gaelic is widely spoken here, and most places are still labelled with their Gaelic place names.

The name Lewis, Scottish Gaelic ‘Leòdhas’, has several suggested origins; possibly derived from Norse meaning song house, another Gaelic, ‘leogach’, meaning marshy. Earliest human archeological remains have been dated to 5,000 years ago. There aren’t many trees here, in fact, after the Vikings settled from the 9th century, Lewis’s trees were for the most part destroyed by a scorched earth policy carried out at the request of Viking King Magnus III. After the Battle of Largs in 1263, these islands were returned to Scotland in 1266. The Western Isles (indeed many other areas of western Scotland) were ruled under the Lordship of the Isles until 1597 when rule was passed to the Scottish Crown.

Peat cutting is practiced on Lewis, as it is in several areas of Scotland, a vital fuel source and an island life tradition. In recent years consultation on management and sustainability of peat for future generations has become a hot topic across Scotland, after all a resource which takes thousands of years to create can cause irreversible damage when extinguished from the landscape forever! It is summertime but, you never know, we may still get a waft of peat smoke from the odd chimney as we pass through.

Wandering past several lochs and lochans we reach a single-track road turning east along the shores of Loch Leurbost, ‘Liurboist’, to the settlement of Crosbost which formed in the 1840s after the clearances. We take the B897 north to return to the A859 heading for Stornoway through heather hills, passing lochs enjoying the scenery. On the outskirts of Stornoway, we turn right onto a single-track road cutting through rough moorland to Arnish Point, where we find a lighthouse in a small industrial area overlooking the Bay. ‘ Arnish Light’ began life in 1852, making history as the Northern Lighthouse Boards’ first prefabricated tower. It was automated in 1963 but the beacon was destroyed in a gale in 1971 so a buoy now gives a warning in the area. We retrace our steps and head into town.

Stornoway, ‘Steòrnabhagh’ in Gaelic, or ‘Stjórnavágr’ in Old Norse, meaning steering bay, is the largest town in the Hebrides. It was settled by the Vikings in the 9th century when they took control of the Isle of Lewis. They converted to Christianity and the first Stornoway Castle was built by the MacNicols in the area around 1100. The castle was seized by the Viking called Leod, whose family went on to become the MacLeods of Lewis. A little more will be explained when we visit the current castle. Today Stornoway has a bustling marina and harbour for its fishing fleet and is also where the ferry comes in from Ullapool on the mainland. In 1919, a boat returning from World War I, the HMY Iolaire, struck ‘The Beasts of Holm’ rocks in bad weather and sank at the entrance to the harbour. It took the lives of over 200 men and is one of the worst maritime disasters in Scottish or UK waters; a pillar stands proud of the water marking the spot. We wander along the front to explore the harbour area before heading northwest out of town to visit Lews Castle.

We approach the castle through its woodland, passing an innocent-looking small hill, ‘Cnoc na Croich’, or Gallows Hill, previously a place of execution for the town and there is chambered cairn nearby. We reach Lews Castle built between 1844-51, a Victorian baronial mansion, designed by Glasgow architect, Charles Wilson, for Sir James Matheson who had made his money from the Chinese opium trade and purchased Lewis. Lews Castle was built on the site of Seaforth Lodge, built by the Mackenzies of Kintail in the 17th century, who had been granted Lewis in 1610 by James VI. Stornoway Castle was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1653; in fact, Cromwell built a fort on Stornoway’s peninsula, now occupied by the ferry terminal. In 1800 the last remnants of the castle were used as foundations for Stornoway’s new pier. In 1844 the MacKenzies of Kintail then sold Lewis to Sir James Matheson.

In 1918 Lord Leverhulme, who had made his money expanding Unilever, bought the island from the Mathesons and gave the castle and parish to the Stornoway people, forming The Stornoway Trust. Lews Castle served as a naval hospital during World War 2 and then as Lews Castle College before being abandoned in 1997. In 2016 The Stornoway Trust reopened the castle after restoration and refurbishment using a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a museum, cafe, and luxurious self-catering apartments. The Castle Grounds are undergoing changes too through the Lews Castle Grounds Regeneration Project which is funding and overseeing the restoration of paths and bridges, removal of invasive species and tree replanting.

The Museum nan Eilean, ‘Museum of the Isles’, along with a cafe and cultural centre are definitely worth a visit; part of the Seaforth Lodge was incorporated into the castle and it can be seen in the mezzanine section at the castle’s rear. There are pieces of the famous Viking Lewis (or Uig) chessmen on display in the museum. They were revealed on a beach in Uig, Lewis, after their c800 year old burial place was exposed by a storm (though some say they were found by a cow!). Most of the 78 pieces are made of walrus ivory, a few from whale teeth, from a yet to be determined Viking country (but most probably Norway). Although we refer to them as chess pieces, they may also have been used in an ancient Scandinavian game called ‘hnefatafl’, pronounced ‘neffa-taffle’, which means ‘King’s Table’. Harry and Ron play chess using a set based on the Lewis hoard in the film ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ (2001).

We re-join the main road and head northwest out of town, through the settlements of Laxdale and Newmarket, crossing peaty, boggy moorland to reach Lower Barvas. We turn right and head north along the wave-beaten North Atlantic west coast, through more moorland settlements of Baile an Truiseil then Siadar Uruach to Lower Shader. Passing through these areas we pass ancient standing stones; the Trussel Stone in Baile an Truisel, the largest standing stone in Scotland at 6 metres tall and Steinacleit Stone Circle near Loch an Duin at Lower Shader. We continue through other settlements including Borve, Higher Borve, South Dell, Cross and Harbost to arrive in Port of Ness, a total of just over 24 kilometres from Lower Barvas.

In Port of Ness, we wander down to see its pretty harbour, the most northerly parish on the Western Isles. Its harbour features in ‘The Blackhouse’ and ‘The Lewis Man’ novels by Peter May. From here we access the Butt of Lewis and its lighthouse, the most northern point of the Isles. The lighthouse was built in the 1860s of red brick and was left unpainted. It feels like we are at the edge of the world here. Very remote and a great place for seabird spotting.

The whole community in this northern area of Lewis is called Ness and the people are known as Niseachs. There is a controversial tradition, a rite of passage, which has happened each year here since the mid-16th century called the guga hunt, guga being Gaelic for young gannet. 10 young men are chosen to sail 40 miles out to the desolate North Atlantic island of Sula Sgeir, which has the largest colony of gannets in Scotland, to spend 2 weeks hunting these protected birds. Since a ban was introduced in 1954, Ness on Lewis are the only community allowed a special exemption to hunt the young gannet chicks, which are killed and preserved in salt. This is a rare delicacy loved by the Ness community and which, once upon a time, sustained them through the hard winter months.

We return to the A857 and head south again along the coastal road for 30 kilometres - our next destination, Arnol Blackhouse.