This short circular walk visits the Cladh Hallan roundhouses, which date back to the late Bronze Age. It then heads down to visit the magnificent beach which runs along the length of South Uist.
Grassy track and sandy beach.
Bus (W19) at Daliburgh.
Cladh Hallan cemetery.
There is parking near Cladh Hallan cemetery, accessed via a minor road from Dalabrog and just past a tall transmitter mast. Begin the walk by heading back to the mast and then turning right along a sandy track across the machair, signposted for the round houses. Keep on the main track as it curves to the right through the dunes.
The roundhouses are on the left after around three quarters of a kilometre. Each of the three has a sunken floor and a few rows of stone wall that have been preserved; they would originally have been roofed using driftwood timbers. Interpretative panels are placed on the ground on the other side of the track by the wooden posts. The middle house was the most important of the three, and was lived in from 1100BC to 200BC, making it one of the longest continuously inhabited prehistoric houses in the world. As well as several burials, a mummified man and woman were found here.
Continue on the track which soon leads down onto the vast sandy beach. Turn left along the fine sands. The island of Barra is visible in the distance.
The one tricky part of this walk is finding the right place to leave the beach. Walk along it for 600m and look out for a wooden post atop the dunes. Head up to this and cross a short stretch of maram grass to reach a track running just behind the dunes and follow this to the right, passing an old army building.
After 300m turn left to follow a faint grassy track directly away from the coast, towards the hills seen ahead. Continue in this direction until you meet the tarmac road that leads to the start of the walk, and turn left along this to follow it back to the mast and cemetery.
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