Holiday Snaps Part Two (WARNING V. PHOTO HEAVY!)

I honestly tried to trim the photos but with an average of 100+ PER DAY, it got very difficult leaving out the incredible landscapes, sifting through them made me realise just how much we saw and did (and quite why it was so gruelling!). The crazy thing is, we were on the move for so many hours of the day, there were so many unique views that I could never capture on camera, only in my memories.

Anyhoo, I ended the last post back in Fort William, where after a somewhat shortened nights sleep, our cases were placed outside the door at some ungodly hour, breakfast was early and we all piled on the coach ready to follow the road to the isles.

Our first stop was just outside Fort William, the Commando Monument at Spean Bridge.


We were on the top of the hill with the mountains all around us, the morning mists still hanging around the mountain tops. The monument comemmorates the amazing work these brave souls did in the second world war but what isn't widely recognised is that it was this region where they were trained, a house not far from this spot (Anachmore house?) which the soldiers have their back to and another down at Kinlochleven? where one of their tasks was to swim the loch to the other side by the little white church and back again in a set time. I believe they also climbed Ben Nevis too!

Next was a photo stop to take this shot.........

When certain low lying areas were flooded to produce reservoirs, this was one of the more interesting ones. Quite naturally, when it was filled, it produced a rather good imitation of a map of Scotland! Thing is, the early start was beginning to tell on me so I just snapped it from the safety of the coach. Lazy, I know!

Next, we stopped at Eilen Donan Castle, by all accounts one of the most photographed sites in Scotland, it's even been a BBC Test card at one point!

It got pretty mean 'n' moody further down the loch, I just had to snap this one!

And this is the castle itself, just a short distance from the bridge over to Skye!

Last time we visited, we just made it a coffee stop, but this time, I thought it really deserved a visit, plus it gave me a chance to show you gratuitous sweater shot 2! It's based on HelloYarn's Cycling aran pattern which I used 2 strands of a DK yarn to get the correct tension.

Next, it was over the bridge and a lunch stop. It's an amazing span and now free to cross for everyone after all the furore over the charges. Interestingly, it was designed high enough in the middle for Queen Elizabeth's yacht to pass underneath which unfortunately was decommissioned just after the bridge opened!

From there, it was a breakneck race north to get to Uig plenty in advance to catch the ferry over to Harris. We got there with plenty of time to spare, unfortunately the ferry was late! Due to bad weather, the ferry from Stornoway had been cancelled so the captain of this ferry waited for the traffic to drive down from Stornoway to Tarbert on Harris (it was the only one that day!).

The delay did mean we lost out on another photo stop but we all preferred to carry on to our hotel instead. The ferry crossing was very quiet, chilly but with patches of sun and the odd shower, I thought the next photo quite atmospheric!

The crossing took 1 hour 45 minutes, it was rather exciting when the island started to come into view in the distance!

It was even more exciting when the houses of Tarbert came into view........

We arrived at our hotel around 6ish, got our cases delivered to our room then went down for a rather sumptuous Carvery Dinner! I had sweet potato soup followed by roast lamb with plenty of veggies and chocolate pudding for afters!

After a reasonable sleep and a substantial breakfast of cereal, toast, fruit and juice, we boarded on the coach for our first stop, a walk across the Atlantic!

Actually, it's a bridge from Lewis to the little Island of Bernera, see?



Being on the west side of Lewis, it really does cross the Atlantic!


While we were there, the local fire engine raced past, it was very old, but somehow very in keeping with the rest of the island! Don't get me wrong, it's far from a hick backwater but somehow there is far more respect for what has gone before and there's plenty of evidence as you travel around of it's past.

Anyway, time for gratuitous Sweater Shot number 3, the Best Friend cardi which, because of it's thickness, became one of my new best friends, it was nippy out there!

Next, as the weather began to turn, we headed for the standing stones at Callanish. It was bitterly cold and the rain began to come down in sheets so we didn't linger long but I have to say, it was extremely atmospheric!

Don't you love the shapes in the rock? I could have taken a whole raft of photos like these on a good day, they're so inspiring.

While we were there, I had to take this one for Mel, this Hebridean feep's just for you!

p.s. the black one's were in short supply!

But our day still wasn't over, (I did tell you they were gruelling, we did all this before lunch!). Next we headed for the Blackhouse museum close by. Blackhouses are the original houses that Hebridean crofters lived in with their animals. The weather was still overcast whan we arrived but it brightened up while we were there. Can you see the waves of the Atlantic in the background?

Because of problems with disease, the health authority declared that changes needed to be made, a wall was built seperating animals from humans and proper fireplaces with flues and chimneys were built to take away the smoke from the peat fires. They were still somewhat impractical and as the council gave incentives for people to move into more modern homes so many were left to decay. This little village was still lived in until the seventies but the tenants were growing older and a decision was made to move them to a council development. After all, there was no running water so it had to be fetched from a local spring and heat came from cutting and drying peat, a very exhausting task.

The village was renovated and one of the houses was recreated exactly as it would have been in the fifties! This was the bedroom on the end. It's all boxed in to keep out the draughts. if memory serves, there were two of these on this wall.

Of course, there was a spinning wheel in the corner! And an old Singer sewing machine.

This is the main room which houses a second bed, kitchen table and chairs and dresser. The Peat fire was lovely, definitely not as smoky as wood and somewhat sweet smelling.

Through the door in the corner, was the other half of the blackhouse, where originally the animals would be stored in the winter. In this house, it contained an old loom used for weaving genuine Harris tweed.





Harris tweed can only be called that if it is produced on the islands of Harris and Lewis and woven entirely by hand, not machine. Infringement of copyright is clamped down of hard as in the case of the Rowan Harris yarn fiasco.

We also had our lunch here, we got through quite a few bowls of soup and sandwiches this holiday! Scotch Broth was unsurprisingly often the choice.

After lunch, we drove a little further on to visit the ruins of Carloway Broch.



This is what it looks like inside, it has a double layer and most of the activity went on there. See the weeny entrance?




It was actually bigger than this one leading to the inner section, they definitely built 'em smaller back then!!



We dodged mini showers but got back on the coach without a second drenching. we had another quick pit stop on the way back, to take a photo of this whalebone arch (again from the coach!).

The story goes that during the whaling times, a charge was attached to the harpoon to "humanely" kill the whale. Only, this one didn't go off, so the whale was only wounded and later ended up on the shoreline nearby to die. A local crofter (being a resourceful species) picked out the harpoon and stored it in his barn- luckily, as in the middle of the night, the charge detonated, taking the barn with it!

Wow, another two days covered and it's only taken me 3 hours to write it! D'you see why it has to be in installments? Hope I haven't bored you all rigid!