-
Eriskay : Whisky, Royalty and Fiction
This photo captures the striking turquoise waters of Caolas Eiriosgaigh, with the curving causeway unfurling across it, linking Eriskay to South Uist. The changing blues of the kyle on either side mark the subtle shifts in depth. Eriskay, though small—only four kilometres long and two and a half wide—is the largest island in the Sound…
-
Benbecula: Island of Fords and Forgotten Classrooms
And so to Benbecula: flat, battered by wind, the Atlantic on one side, soggy peat and bog on the other. In the middle of it all stands a single hill, Rusbhal, soaring to the dizzying height of 124 metres. It qualifies as a landmark largely because nothing else bothers to rise. The island’s name, Benbecula,…
-
Balranald: A Crofted Landscape, Shaped by Struggle
Our final day next to the RSPB Balranald nature reserve in North Uist, extended by two days thanks to Calmac Ferries. No complaints. Balranald has been generous — rich in wildlife, history, and atmosphere. The reserve stretches across rocky headlands and quiet bays, with dunes, machair, grasslands, saltmarshes and inland lochs. It was set up…
-
Eabhal: A Hill in a Sea of Bog
After three days of being battered by westerlies and trudging across wind-scoured machair, dunes, and silvery beaches, we decided we had earned a change. The wind was easing, so we chose to climb a hill. Not just any hill, either. Eabhal is the highest point on North Uist, a towering 347 metres above sea level…
-
The Rainbow over Cille Mhuire
Last night a double rainbow arched cleanly over the burial ground at Kilmuir — Cille Mhuire — which rises, just slightly, out of the flat expanse of the Hougharry machair. This evening we walked there, to the graves and the crumbling kirk. Among the remains is a gneiss cross, still bearing its boss though both…
-
Tràigh Iar and the Shadow of St Maolrubha
A day of fierce wind, restless skies and an early downpour. We turned north again for a circuit of Berneray — once an island, now leashed to North Uist by a causeway built in 1999. The route included two kilometres along Tràigh Iar, or West Beach — a stretch of spotless, deserted sand that lived…
-
Sponish House: Industrial Echoes at Loch Nam Madadh
I faced a choice for today’s photo: a Mesolithic Chambered Cairn or a Neolithic Stone Circle. Both tempting, both suitably mysterious. But they can wait. Instead, here is Sponish House, a 19th-century structure crouched on the shore of Loch Nam Madadh. Built for Lord Macdonald’s chamberlain or sheriff, it later served as a sporting lodge.…
-
Pink on the Rocks
Hugging the coast of North Uist, it feels as though wildlife is everywhere. There is more of it than we saw on Lewis and Harris—though perhaps that is only how it seems. Among the birds we could name: Redshanks, Ringed Plovers, Northern Shovellers, Lapwings, Sanderlings, and the ever-familiar Eider, or Cuddy Duck. Then of course…
-
Dùn an Sticir: Where the Skulker was Captured
New island, new weather. We drove off the ferry at Berneray into sheets of rain, with gales on the way. The forecast promises little joy, so we will be hunkering down until the storm has had its fun. Before the worst of it, I managed to photograph Dùn an Sticir, set on a small islet…
-
Rubh’ an Teampaill
Perched at the edge of this headland, a crumbling medieval chapel stands forlorn. Its gables and walls almost reach full height, but its purpose has long since faded. Believed to date from the 15th or 16th century, the building sits atop a stony mound, hinting that it was merely the last in a long sequence…
Care to comment?