Wednesday 09/03/05

Today I’ll be heading for an infamous part of the island: the Morsgail Estate. This is a shooting estate, until recently off-limits to all but the owners and guests. One crofter remains on estate land, his house is on the other side of the bridge at the end of the public road off the B8011. He claims that his family has worked the land for more than 80 years. Successive owners on Morsgail have been trying to evict him, by all means fair and foul. I’d recommend the website supporting the crofter www.morsgail.co.uk. Be aware that landownership is a politically sensitive subject in Lewis (and the entire west and north of Scotland). Finlay MacDonald claimed harassment at the hands of the previous owner, who died after falling off a ladder at the end of 2004. The aforementioned website was closed down out of respect for the bereaved family, but reopened when the new owner took up where the previous one had left off.

Today’s weather is not very nice, at midday it’s peeing down with rain as the postbus leaves Stornoway. After Scaliscro Lodge, Morsgail is the next port of call. The rain has subsided by then, and I merrily walk down the estate road. At 1.15, I am overtaken by a genial man in a Landrover. He says that I do not need to avoid the Lodge at all costs, in contradiction of information given to me by locals on the postbus. So, I head straight for the Lodge on the western shore of the loch. The area is not very spectacular, the hills are low. Morsgail Loch is pretty in its own way. The yellow painted house sits amongst trees on the shore. The wrought iron gate depicts a man aiming a gun with a dog at foot; underneath, a fish and a deer feature. I climb over the stile and quickly walk past, on to the loch shore. The route is a bit tricky, and remains so once I reach Abhainn Loin. I manage to miss the bridge over this river, and continue up its western bank. This route is boggy and waterlogged, at times under inches of water. An absolute pain, with its stepping stones, some of which are submerged. The second bridge over the river, at GR 133212, has been washed away. I retrace my steps to the outflow of the river into the loch, and do find the first bridge. This one is intact and the track beyond it is relatively good. The boggiest parts are reinforced with old tyres sunk into the ground. My aim of today’s trip was to find beehive dwellings at GR 131200, on the shore of a small stream. One of the beehive dwellings is still intact, and it’s possible to go inside. It’s built like an igloo, but stones are used instead of blocks of ice. It has two entrances, about 2 feet high, facing west and south. Pity I don’t have a working torch, it would have been nice to have taken a peep inside. Two bridges span the stream, to provide passage for vehicles heading for Kinloch Resort (3 miles to the south) and the Harris border area north of Glen Miavaig and west of Stuabhal and Loch Langabhat. This southwestern corner of Lewis is a derelict area, where virtually nobody lives. Due to time constraints I cannot proceed further, and I must return to the main road before 5pm. The weather is clearing up, and a fantastic vista opens up to the west. Six miles away, the Uig hills loom up. According to my map, a track leads from Carinish (near Mangurstadh) down to Loch Tamnabhaigh, 8 miles. A major expedition of 14 miles in total. Requires an early start, one that is only possible if based in Uig. I slog through the bog that constitutes a track along the eastern shore of Loch Morsgail and presently return to the metalled road. At 4.40, I am back on the B8011 and slowly amble down to the bridge at Kinlochroag. A little way up the hill from the bridge, the sun shines brightly, and I soak up its warmth, even this late in the day. I can see cars coming at Enaclete, 3 miles away to the northwest. I am waiting for a black people carrier (the Uig bus J) which turns up at 5.35. The mannie lets me off at Leurbost, to change onto the Ranish bus. Return to town at 6pm.