At breakfast we met the other co-owner, Pete and they are both great chaps. The hostel used to be an old peoples home and they have run it as a hostel since April this year.
We didn't set out until after 10 when the rain had eased a bit. The wind was still fearsome and stayed that way all day. We first popped into the Co-op for some supplies and were pleasantly surprised to see how well stocked it was considering their reliance on deliveries via the ferry.
South Uist is quite something to see. So remote and rural but also beautiful. Just like in Southern Ireland drivers greet each other with a raise of a finger.
We drove down and across the causeway to Eriskay. Along the way we came across a hairy chap bent into the wind carrying some bags. We stopped and offered a lift which he was very grateful for. He is a fisherman and has been out in the gales last night and was exhausted. He wanted to get home but the ferry wasn't going until the afternoon if at all. He was happy to be dropped at the terminal so he could be on hand if the ferry left. The terminal was just a wooden hut but I expect he still managed to sleep on the benches.
Next stop was Howmore beach and the ruins of ancient ecclesiastical buildings.
Along the way we stopped at a centre where people with learning disabilities repaired furniture and sewed cushions etc to sell. A member of staff recommended us to have a walk at Loch Eynon where a crofter had created paths through his woodland and along the shore so it would be a bit more sheltered from the wind. It was a good walk out.
The crofter had detailed some seats on the footpath plan at the start....one of the seats was this:
It hammered down again just as we got back to the car so we sat and ate our sandwiches for the second time inside the car, again with seals in the water in front of us.
On the drive back to the main road I spotted a large bird on a rock and shouted "eagle, eagle". We stopped and watched it for a while both on the ground and flying. It was a huge Golden Eagle - magnificent.
We went into the museum which was really instructive about the way of life past and present on Uist. The ticket lady was having a conversation with her friend - in Gaelic.
Our last stop of the day was to see some bronze age roundhouse remains. Very strange that there were many dead rabbits dotted around the area.
Our next destination should be over on Harris for 4 nights where we will have no TV, no mobile signal and no wifi. That's if the ferry runs. Plan B will be to find accommodation in Berneray near the terminal so we can be on hand for the next service. Plan C will be to return here to the hostel. Watch this space!
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