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Hill at the Edge of the Sea

Hill at the Edge of the Sea


Postby GariochTom » Mon Aug 26, 2013 7:06 am

Route description: Ceapabhal, Taobh Tuath

Sub 2000' hills included on this walk: Ceapabhal (Harris)

Date walked: 14/07/2013

Time taken: 3.5 hours

Distance: 6 km

Ascent: 360m

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We parked at the road end, by the Machair Gate, having been asked not to park at the former MacGillivray Centre (as it is now a very busy, and extremely good, cafe - Temple Cafe).

The first part of the walk was through delightful machair (species-rich coastal grassland established on shell sand, which is apparently confined globally to the northwest of Scotland and the northwest of Ireland).

Image
Machair by GariochT, on Flickr

Image
Machair, Caorach, Traigh, Beinn (Machair, Sheep, Beach, Hill) by GariochT, on Flickr

Whilst walking up the track I stopped frequently to take photographs and admire the view across the beach, Traigh Scarasta.

Image
Machair by GariochT, on Flickr

Image
Traigh Sgarasta by GariochT, on Flickr



We continued up, across rougher ground, and as we gained height we enjoyed excellent views down to the machair; the village of Taobh Tuath; the surrounding hills and beaches; and little islands in the sea.

Image
Taobh Tuath and little islands viewed from the slopes of Ceapabhal by GariochT, on Flickr

Image
Traigh Sgarasta from the slopes of Ceapabhal by GariochT, on Flickr

We could make out Berneray, North Uist and other islands in the distance.

Image
Berneray and North Uist from Ceapabhal by GariochT, on Flickr

Image
Island on the Edge of the Sea by GariochT, on Flickr

The ascent was hard-going and unfortunately, the cloud and rain set in before we reached the summit, as you can see from the next three photographs which were taken on my phone (which is waterproof, luckily!).

IMG_20130714_122101_0.jpg


IMG_20130714_122243_0.jpg


IMG_20130714_130729_0.jpg


We descended the way we had come, then took a detour to Traigh na Cleabhaig, the beach to the south of the isthmus.



Image
Traigh na Cleabhaig by GariochT, on Flickr

Back to the Machair Gate...

Image
Shop by the Machair Gate by GariochT, on Flickr

... then to the Temple Cafe for a well-deserved coffee and cake!


Ceapabhal.GPX Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

User avatar
GariochTom
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Posts: 142
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Location: Aberdeenshire

Re: Hill at the Edge of the Sea

Postby Mountainlove » Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:56 am

Lovely countryside and the beaches look amazing!! The shop on the last picture just looks great :D
Thank you for sharing!! :clap: :clap:
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Mountainlove
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1346
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Re: Hill at the Edge of the Sea

Postby John Doh » Mon Aug 26, 2013 9:26 pm

Fine report and this 3D thingy at the beginning is just :shock:
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John Doh
 
Posts: 259
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Joined: Aug 14, 2013
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