For whatever reason I seem to be drawn to cold, wild, wet, rugged and remote locations and have spent most of my life exploring the mountains, Fjords and Glens of Northern Europe. So after what seemed an eternity of lock downs I was in need of another raw adventure and the Outer Hebrides with its rugged shorelines and big skies had been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. So a plan was hatched, a week off in October to coincide with the wife’s birthday, but would the trip be the adventure fix that I needed, or a birthday treat for Heidi, only time would tell. I had also deliberately left it late in the season for the tourist numbers to subside, but also for the midges to disappear as the little buggers can spoil the hardiest travellers holiday.

Once I had squared it away with head office (Heidi the wife), and booked the days off work the ferry was booked and plans of mountain and coastal walks were made. However 2 days before we were due to travel an old back injury from a car accident years ago flared up and the our plans had to be remade. At least on this occasion I was able to shuffle walk to the van from the house so crippled or not, the trip was on.

Day 1 - So what followed was a long painful overnight drive North in the camper van, a ferry crossing from Ullapool to Stornoway, followed by another 2 hour drive to arrive mid afternoon at the stunning Luskentyre beach. We found a little lay by run by the West Harris Trust, and an online payment of £5 secured our coastal view for the next 24 hours. After a cursory look around, and something to eat, I was that tired that despite the beauty of the place I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and when I finally closed them they stayed closed for the next 15 hours.

Day 2 - After a breakfast of crumpets on our new toaster in the van we headed down to the beach to inspect the sandy vistas. If you have never been to Luskentyre beach, it is simply stunning and a must visit place for anyone visiting these islands. Long white sandy beaches for as far as the eyes can see, with the water the same colour as an advert from the Maldives, but a cold cutting wind reminded us which hemisphere we were in, and even though it was overcast with squally showers the views were breathtaking.

Once we had our fix of one of the UK’s best beaches, we headed North to find our accommodation for the next 3 days. Otter Bothy near to the village of Miavaig overlooking the shores of the Loch Rog, it came up as an obvious choice when searching the internet. A compact little Bothy, just big enough for 2 people but contained everything that a person would need including an excellent hot shower. Prices were comparable with a hotel in Stornoway, but with the Bothy you get a true feeling of wild Scotland. The rain beating against the door and window so loud that we had to turn the volume of the laptop up so we could hear our nightly film. On the flip side it was remarkably quiet and tranquil when the weather was pleasant, with the silence only broken with the occasional sound of an Oystercatcher. Big on charm with lots of character and a highly recommended accommodation for anyone visiting the islands. There is an 8 person bunkhouse next door which we had also come to view for future Boot Route trips. It is owned by the same owners, there’s also a drying shed, canoe hire, an outdoor picnic table, and a fire pit right on the waters edge. You wont get that at a posh hotel in Stornoway. www.otterbunkhouse.com

Day 3 - The owner of the Bothy had promised us Sea Otters and she certainly delivered with a Sea Otter feet away from our front door on our first morning at Otter Bothy. Once I had got my camera settings sorted I just about managed to get a couple of shots before it disappeared. At home, one of neighbours has a dog called Tyson that is always up at the window looking outside, and that was my wife’s nickname for me as I couldn’t keep away from the window. The weather was ‘Dreich’ (Scottish word for dull and gloomy), so we decided to investigate some of the historic locations further North. The Calanaish stones were at the top of our list of places to visit, and after a look around the visitor centre and testing some of the excellent cakes in the cafe, we headed up to have a look at the stones themselves. These stones pre-date the pyramids and Stonehenge, and they certainly get the mind boggling as to their purpose and how they were actually built. We then headed up to the Blackhouse Village, where we watched some Harris tweed being made by a very knowledgeable gentleman, and got an insight into the harsh life of the islanders hundreds of years ago. Then it was back to the Bothy for a stunning evening meal with a full moon rising over the Loch to our East.

Day 4 - If day 3 was a history day, then today was definitely going to be a wildlife day, and an excellent start to the day with the resident otter making an appearance outside our Bothy again. We then headed South to the Eagle observatory where we could see lots of Golden Eagles hovering over the mountain tops in the distance, but too far away to be photographed. There was however plenty of other wildlife about including Cormorant, Great Northern Diver, Black Throated Diver, Stonechat, Gannet, Guillemot, Red Deer and although not strictly wildlife I couldn’t resist grabbing a few photos of the Highland Cows. Feeling slightly chuffed that I had managed to grab some semi decent shots we headed back to our accommodation, stopping at a small stone circle near to our Bothy for a sunset shot and then when an Eagle landed at the side of the road we just had to pull over and grab a few photos which was an excellent finale to our wildlife day.

Day 5 - Time to leave the Otter Bothy, and the resident otter even came to say farewell, but admittedly from a distance. Once we were packed up and the Bothy clean and shipshape we headed South to the Hushnish peninsula, and a night in the van next to a stunning beach. There are some fantastic facilities here for camper vans, with a state of the art toilet and shower block, with its own viewing gallery overlooking the beach. A £10 donation to the local trust allowed us to use these facilities and an overnight parking spot overlooking the gorgeous beach. I went for a short walk around the headland where I could see numerous Golden Eagles over the mountains. On the shore lines there were Oyster Catchers, Stonechat, a Grey Seal and a beautiful little Wren. Given the location and the setting sun, it seemed only right that Heidi got her birthday present a day early, a Harris Gin set with various tonics which we sampled until the early hours with the whole beach to ourselves; the girl seemed happy.

Day 6 - During the night the wind had picked up to gale force strengths and was buffeting the van that much it kept waking us up. The temperature had also plummeted, so the diesel night heater came into its own and certainly delivered the goods with a nice warm toasty van. The pristine beach which we overlooked was obscured by big white storm waves, and there smack bang in the middle of the beach was the rotting carcass of a seal with a big slice across its torso probably caused by a propeller. Every gull and Skua that was brave enough to fly in these awful conditions were dodging the waves and helping themselves to big chunks of seal blubber. Camera ready I sat in the viewing gallery waiting for the eagles to come and have a feed, but despite all the gull activity they never showed up. Mid afternoon we made our way to Stornoway for a night in a hotel (well it was Heidi's birthday), a pleasant evening meal and then we polished off the bottle of Isle of Harris gin that Heidi had got for her birthday.

Day 7 - After a hearty breakfast we had a few hours to kill before the ferry crossing, so we drove North for a walk around the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis. This is said to be a great location to see Cetaceans and basking sharks, but other than an inquisitive seal we didn’t see anything else. We had a pleasant walk on the cliff tops then returned to Stornoway for a walk to explore the wood carvings in the grounds of Lews Castle, before making our way down to the ferry terminal.

This was where our trip turned upside down; on checking in at the ferry terminal, we were told that there would be a 2 hour delay due to a technical issue with the boat, not a problem, we can live with that. But then when we saw fire engines approaching the boat we knew there was more to it. We were then told that the ferry was cancelled due to a fire on board the ferry. The other ferry terminal on the island at Tarbert was closed following a Covid outbreak on their ferry, and that the remaining ferries for the rest of the week were fully booked. They were unable to say when they could find us a slot, and I heard them tell the woman in front of me that it could be another week before they could get her off the island. It was a Sunday and everything on the Islands is closed on a Sunday, even the petrol stations and supermarkets; so if we were staying for another week we wouldn’t be able to get any supplies until the day after. They did tell us that we could claim back any expenses, so we returned to the hotel for another night in a comfortable bed and an evening meal.

I have no issue with being stuck on this stunning island for a few more days and we would have happily returned to some of the stunning beaches, but what was eating me up was not knowing when we would be leaving, I like to have a plan. So around midnight I had a walk down to the ferry terminal to see if there was any news. The information office was closed but there were about half a dozen cars hanging around waiting to see if they could get onto a night freight ferry. Back to the hotel room, I dragged Heidi out of bed, loaded up the van and drove down to the terminal to join the 6 other waiting cars. Luckily we managed to get the last slot onto the freight ferry, and after a choppy 2 hour ferry crossing we were finally back on the mainland. Another long drive home stopping for a couple of hours kip in the van and we eventually got home around tea time (14 hours later than planned), had we not gambled with the freight ferry then this blog would have been for a 2 week break.

So other than a lack of a contingency plan by Calmac ferries it was a fantastic trip away, and we’re already planning a return trip next year. So was it my adventure fix that I needed, or Heidi’s birthday treat?, Well I think it ticked both boxes, big skies, stunning beaches, lots of history, a nice gin distillery, and plenty of wildlife, what’s not to love.

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