Monday 14/02/05

Tonight I’m having a free night at the B&B at the request of proprietrix Mrs Burns. In the meantime, I’m off to the West Side, Uig to be precise. For those associating Uig with Skye: no, this is a different one. Going on the postbus at 12 noon in the company of David, the other guest at the B&B. It’s £4.70 return. We set off at a good pace down the road to Leurbost. The van is packed with items of mail, even a bunch of flowers. At Leurbost, we branch off to Garynahine, and from there it is down the B8011 towards Timsgearraidh / Timsgarry. We cross the Grimersta River, which carries the waters of Loch Langabhat, the large body of water in the south of the island. We pass the Great Bernera junction and turn off for Scaliscro Lodge. Deliveries of mail start here. The route approaches Loch Roag, to terminate by a shooting lodge. Doubling back the same way, the journey continues southwest to Kinloch Roag, where the track to Morsgail Lodge commences. We stop for a couple of minutes, while the postlady engages in a social duty at a house. On to Gisla, which has a small electricity generator station, and Enaclete along Little Loch Roag. Mail is delivered into all sorts of receptacles, some homemade, some disused items of household goods. Microwave ovens feature. None of these boxes are locked. We stop at the Geshader junction to offload some mail into another postcar. Carrying on to Carishader and Miavaig, we leave the loch behind. Then pass through Glen Valtos on the way to Timsgarry. It is a winding valley, a bit bleak. Finally down the road to Uig Community shop at 1.30. The shop is located on a large, sloping plain, going down towards the distant Uig Sands. The next full hour is taken up with deliveries to Timsgarry, Crowlista and Aird Uig. The latter township is the ugliest village in the Western Isles. It is a former RAF base on Gallan Head, comparable to Balnakiel Craft Village outside Durness, Sutherland. Many of the buildings here are in a poor state or just plain falling down. Hideous! The coastal scenery only compensates partially. We leave Dave to tar his lungs, whilst the postie completes her deliveries. We finish the run at 14.30 at Timsgarry. A people carrier will return the two of us to Stornoway at 17.00. After buying some currant buns, I set off down the road towards Brenish. This is 8 miles away, and I won’t get there. I had asked to go there, but time will not allow. Dodging showers, I proceed towards Ardroil, quite a scenic walk really. I stomp down the road and turn off towards the beach through a former campsite. Once on the sands, you head for the nearest outcrop on the right, which should lead me to a bridge across the river which flows across the beach. The bridge, sitting in the middle of the beach, ends on some tricky rocks and finally the moorland. Return to Timsgarry at 4.15. The weather has improved nicely, quite sunny for the duration of the walk. A dark showercloud approaches ominously from the north. Dave was aghast that the postbus took 2½ hours from S’way – didn’t he read the timetable? The driver of the schoolbus hops into the peoplecarrier and takes us back to Stornoway.