free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
<< previous day: Scalpay Heritage TrailCloudless skies forecast for Saturday... again! Unlike yesterday it was bluebird right from the word go, so it was looking like a bit of a scorcher. Fortunately we had a gentle morning planned, and a strong breeze accompanied us up to Dun Bhuirgh: a hill fort above Borve, with a waymarked route to get to it. More terns nesting around here, and a bit more dive-bombing resulted.
Next we went to explore nearby Traigh Mhor. This is a large beach with no obvious access to it, so we parked at Bagh Steinigidh and clambered along the coast from there. A bit of easy scrambling involved, but lots to see including a few rock pools which are few and far between in this part of Harris. Traigh Mhor:
Sea thrift:
Rock pool life:
Bagh Steinigidh where we parked:
After returning to the car we drove a short distance north to visit Traigh Iar, Traigh Niosaboist and the Macleod Stone on the headland in between them. Here's the route:
Traigh Iar:
It's worth mentioning that this was late morning on a bank holiday weekend with a great weather forecast, and the beaches are right next to the main road. As you can see, they weren't exactly crowded!
Looking back to the beach:
Macleod's Stone:
The headland has a 60 metre-high summit with good views north towards Luskentyre:
Finally we headed down towards Traigh Niosaboist on the other side of the peninsula neck:
After an easy morning, our afternoon plans involved a bit more effort: a hill was on the cards. But first we stopped off at the southern viewpoint for Luskentyre Bay, which looked even more tropical than usual today:
Who needs the Caribbean when we have this in Scotland?
>> afternoon: Beinn Dubh