Today it was time to set off on my way
again, northwards, towards Ullapool, then across the sea to the Outer
Hebrides, and my destination of the Isle of Lewis.. I got everything
arranged for the trip, and loaded my kayak and bike onto the van
again ready to move on..
The camp before I left Loch Ewe
I bid farewell to my friends there, and
thanked them for their friendship and all the great times over the
last number of days, then set out on the road north, through Poolewe
and onwards. The first place I stopped to take a look at on the way
was Gruinard bay. It was again a lovely sunny day and the beaches
looked stunning and the sea was calm. I looked down on it from above,
before driving onwards past the location, craning my neck to catch a
glimpse without stopping – I had a good drive ahead of me.
Gruinard Bay
After rounding Loch Broom, I eventually
arrived at the port of Ullapool. It was a small seaside port town
with a few shops selling necessities and curiosities, cafes, and
pubs, and a fish n chips place where I had a good meal before
visiting the ferry terminal to get my ticket to Stornoway on Lewis.
As it turned out, the ferry was fully booked for the day, so I was
given a standby ticket with a good chance of getting onboard just the
same.
I went onto another of those highland
hardware shops that sells absolutely everything, and bought a few
more spinners in the fishing tackle section – they had a good
selection on offer and I was able to replace some I'd lost at a
reasonable cost. Then I was straight down to the harbour to wait for
the departure of the ferry, and see if I'd get on or not. I was waved
on, not long after the rest of the waiting ferry traffic had boarded,
and parked in among big trucks and touring motor bikes from Germany
and Italy. I went straight up to the open rear deck to be ready to
watch as we left port..
It was a really enjoyable crossing and
really exciting to be heading off to unexplored (for me) new lands in
a remote kingdom far out to sea. Leaving Ullapool, we sailed past the
Summer Isles, a collection of small islands on the north coast of the
loch.. I watched as a large gull soared above the stern of the ship,
then skilfully came to land upon the flagpole as the Scottish flag
danced in the sea breeze.. Later I sat near the bow behind huge glass
windows at the bow, and baked in the greenhouse like heat in my
t-shirt, munching a steak pie I'd brought onboard for tea.
Arriving in Stornoway around 8:30pm, I
was already feeling tired from the day, the heat, and the travels
behind me, so I immediately hit the road in a north easterly
direction, towards a destination I had picked out on the map eariler
– Tolsta. It was a t the end of the road (as far as I knew), and
there were beaches visible on the map. Stornoway appeared like a busy
port and a thriving town, with many wealthy looking homes as I drove
northwards, then out into the country there were many small villages
giving the impression that Lewis was quite densely populated.
On reaching Tolsta, and beyond, things
became a lot more isolated, and I began driving through more rugged
coastal scenery. Eventually I came upon the beaches beyond the
headland which I could glimpse when I dared take my eye off the
narrow and winding single track road. I spotted a couple of good
places to camp, but I wanted to see how far the road would go, and
how it would end; would it peter out, or would it end abruptly, or
something else entirely?
What I found was that the tarmac road
eventually ended, then turned into an old cobbled road surface beyond
a huge bridge over a gorge. I continued up the cobbled road for some
distance, but as it was climbing again, I decided that I'd rather
return to the beach and camp by the sea. I later found out that this
old cobbled road was part of an unfinished project started by Lord
Leverhulme when he was making improvements to the infrastructure of
the Isle of Lewis in the 1920's.
Lord Leverhulme's road
I found an excellent location to camp
in a small car park right by Tolsta Bay (there is even a amall toilet
block and bins) and although pretty tired by now immediately went for
a walk through the dunes and onto the beach. There was no one else
there and the beach looked at least ½ mile long with huge dunes
along most of its length, and waves crashing in..
I sat on the dunes for a while –
around 11pm daylight was beginning to fade, and took in the remote
silence of the place I had found myself this evening. Found myself,
may be the perfect phrase, as something I've learned from this trip
is that wherever you find yourself is the centre of the universe,
well beyond the usual ideas of security, familiarity and home..
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