Great Bernera Walk

With shock, we awoke to full sun today. The perfect day to take the 12 km Great Bernera coastal walk to Bostadh and then back along the road. Great Bernera is an island in Loch Roag, a sea loch, just off the west side of the Isle of Lewis. A bridge to Great Bernera was only completed in 1953, this was after the fed-up residents threatened to dynamite the cliffs and build their own bridge.

The walk was fantastic, following the rocky coastline with only the sheep for company. After passing through the tiny village of Tobson, we climbed Beinn an Toib and had lunch on the rocks with the sun shining. After crossing Beinn an Toib we dropped down to Bostadh where there are ruins of an iron age settlement and another gorgeous beach.

On the road back to the car, there is a cairn to commemorate the Bernera Riot of 1874. The crofters had been grazing their sheep on the land until sporting estates were established and the crofters were offered a smaller area of grazing land. The crofters accepted the situation until the land was once again taken and they were forced to a smaller parcel which could not sustain their grazing needs. The crofters rose up and three local men went on trial. It was a pivotal event and eventually led to the Crofters Act which ensured right of tenure to the crofters.

Stone Wall

100 Year Old Footbridge

Peat Bog

Loch Roag

Sea Refuse Washed Ashore

Replica of Iron Age House

Bostadh Beach

Highland cattle are the rock stars of the cattle world with their masses of unruly hair. This pair was lounging right beside the road when we walked by. We could detonate a bomb by their heads and I doubt they would flinch. Cattle and sheep can roam freely all over Lewis, we are forever dodging cattle shit when we walk on the road. Although, the sheep are the ones we encounter the most when driving, they lay on the edge of the road at night.

Ceann Hulavig (Callanais IV)- More of Callanais Tomorrow

Peat Cutting

The people who live on Lewis are very friendly and will stop for a chat when we meet them on the road or in a village. Invariably, they all ask us the same three questions:

1. Where are you from?

2. Do you have family connections here?

3. Where are you staying?

The only person who outwardly said he thought we were Americans was the young guy at the Callanais Café when we went in for tea. This was after I asked him where the majority of the visitors were from, he said they are Dutch and Americans, like you. After we said oh no, we are Canadians, he said, oh, I have just insulted you, hahahahahahahaha.

The locals are such wonderful people, we don’t keep good track of time and blew into the café for tea, our first clue should have been that the young guy was sweeping the floor but we didn’t clue in so we went ahead and ordered tea and some carrot cake. He vanished and then we went into the gift shop where, lo and behold, John went wild and sprang for a Uig Chessmen set, the whole shebang! He got the last one, this led to an hour long conversation with the friendly staff member about Lewis, politics, Scotland, Orkney, the EU and a whole slew of things. Then some people wondered in to find the toilet and I finally asked when do you close and the staff member wouldn’t say, he just said no problem I was just finishing paperwork. I checked my note book after we left, realizing that their closing time was an hour prior, they should have just told us to get the hell out.

There are huge differences between Lewis and Orkney. I really like Lewis because they don’t gear toward tourism, they like tourists but won’t do anything for them, which is hilarious and true when compared to Orkney. The guy we talked to here in Lewis said Orkney is branded and branded very well, the Orkney brand is synonymous with quality and I think that is very true.

There are very few restaurants open in winter on the west side of Lewis, I had to ask the young guy at Callanais where to go, he suggested the Doune Braes Hotel, we were the only people in there and they were only serving the bar menu.

Of course, readers, our whisky research continued. Tonight we had a Macallan from Banffshire and a Talisker from the Isle of Skye, Talisker is very smoky peaty but we both really liked it.

Bar Decor (We Love It)