On Tuesday I spent the night at Leverburgh, a small settlement on the southern tip of Harris. The photo above shows some of the locals in Leverburgh going out for the evening.
Yesterday I bused up to Lewis (which is joined to Harris) and visited the Gaerrannan Blackhouse Village, a "collection" of tradional buildings that were preserved when the last residents moved to more modern accommodation in the early 70s. I then visited Dun Carloway Broch, the 2000 year old remains of a defensive tower and residence, which broods quite nicely on the coast. Catching the bus was pleasant, as I could enjoy the views, but I missed the car, especially the flexibility it allows.
It was fascinating hearing gaelic being spoken in the Outer Herbrides. The Outer Hebrides and some other areas on the west and north coasts of mainland Scotland are the last areas where there are significant numbers of native gaelic speakers. Less fascinating was the quite significant number of inebriated older people I bumped into on the Outer Hebrides. And this was not in the evening but the middle of the day! Maybe it is due to the local tipple and free bus travel for over 60s. The locals treated them with resigned patience. I took the ferry back from Tarbert this morning. The Outer Herbides are an amazing place and I would like to visit again to explore more of the islands.
The ferry got into Uig at 1.30 this afternoon. My car was waiting for me, none the worse for our period of enforced separation. I visited the Museum of Island Life on Skye, which was interesting. I drove to Invergarry (quite near the southern end of Loch Ness) in the afternoon.
It's nice the locals had such woolly jumpers on. Baa.
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