Harris and Lewis road trip.

 

This week we were in Harris and Lewis with Poppy (obviously), and we took the Morris Minor, as it

seemed a suitable mode of transport for the narrow Hebridean roads. Lewis and Harris, although very seperate in identity and landscapes, are in fact the same island, the largest of the Hebridean islands.. Poppy caused a few second glances as she sat in the window of the ferry, at one point she even edged forward to tickle the shoulder of the elderly passenger in front.. but we stopped her before she managed !

This is the

road to

Rhenigidale. It was only built in 1990 with the assistance of EEC funding, as prior to that ,the only access to the village was via boat, or a 3.5 mile walk from the nearest village of  Tarbert. Quite a walk for the postman each day !! There are 8 or 9 houses there, one of which is now a youth hostel.

What was really amazing though,was the roads Or maybe just the ones we chose to go on. There were signs on single track roads, saying "beware road narrowing", there were waterfalls that almost landed on the road, and hairpin bends, blind corners, and steep gradients seemed to be the norm! Not the place to go to to see how well your handbrake works!!

village of Rhenigidale,Harris.

This is Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, a  hunting and shooting lodge. Surprisingly, the main single track road runs right in front of this castle, so you can peek in . The castle, originally built in 1865 for the Earl of Dunmore, has a now famous link with Harris Tweed. It was the Earls Mother, Lady Catherine, that brought the attention of Harris Tweed to the masses, by initially taking samples of cloth to London.

We then went to Lewis, and travelled to Stornoway, and then on to Uig ,with such heavy rain and winds, we were delighted the roof never blew away... the joys of a  1967 convertible.( really we never doubted "wee Morris", but it was gale force 7 !!!) The beaches at Uig are well worth the long tedious journey to get there,as they are white,and still fabulous in the rain , and go on for miles and miles. Thankfully the wee Morris Minor coped admirably,kept us warm and dry, and 251 miles later, the majority of these miles undertaken at approximately 40 miles per hour, we were back in Skye.

Harris sign at the beach.