Western Isles Holiday – South Uist – part 3 – Loch Eynort and a day trip to North Uist and Berneray (via Benbecula and Grimsay)

If you missed part 1 and part 2 you may want to see those first.

When we were on the ferry to Barra we were chatting to a guy who recommend we visit Loch Eynort. He told us about a man who has planted a woodland and that it was a good place to spot eagles (golden and white tailed sea eagles). So on Thursday we set off there.

We took the road to Loch Eynort and then there was a fork in the road, we took the left which turned out to be the correct one to find the woods.

There aren’t many trees on any of these islands, the wind I suspect is the reason rather than the peat rich boggy soil.

At the end of that road there was a tiny parking place (so glad we were there out of season) and we followed the paths through the woods and around the edge of this sea loch. We saw a few large birds of prey but weren’t able to identify them.

Once back in the car we sat and had our picnic enjoying the view. When visiting these islands out of season it’s good to always pack a picnic lunch; not many places are open. We looped back to take the other fork in the road and that side does not have parking.

Friday was our last full day and we headed north. There are multiple causeways connecting these islands. As you travel from one island to another you may not even realise which ones you’ve crossed. We crossed from South Uist to Benbecula to Grimsay to North Uist and then on to Berneray. Life must have been a challenge before all these causeways were built.

An area we hadn’t explored before was a small peninsula on North Uist’s north coast (near Sollas). We parked in the small car park and paid our £2 in the honesty box but the beach wasn’t a great one for walking. There were streams of fresh water flowing that meant you had to balance on rocks and bricks left by someone. We were very disappointed. We had our picnic there as the view was still ok from the car and you could see the mountains on Harris.

We then headed north west and crossed another causeway to Berneray. Of course it’s another beach with turquoise waters and white sand. That’s really why we came. The tide was really far out on this beach.

These islands are all pretty rugged looking, miles of peat bogs, few trees, houses dotted about, big grey boulders, it’s not really the inland that makes these islands, it’s the beaches. In the summer there is also the machair, mile upon mile of wild flowers that grow between the beaches and the peat bogs along the west coast of these islands.

Despite it being just above freezing we noticed most houses had washing hung outside to dry. I assume because it’s so windy it dries despite the cold. We also saw two different cottages being thatched.

In holiday season (April to October) there are more cafes and visitor centres open, more things to do, but the downside is more time spent in passing places on the single track roads, less available parking spots and other people on the white sandy beaches. It’s cold and windy no matter what, so we would rather go when there are less tourists and cheaper accommodation.

I have visited all these islands before and saw the machair in bloom when I visited in 2004. I must say though even in late June/early July I was wearing hats, scarves and gloves on these isles. That time I sailed from Oban (mainland) to Barra, Barra to South Uist, Berneray to Harris, Lewis to Ullapool (mainland). It was a flying visit though and in the last 19 years I would say the population and housing has increased significantly. An influx of English people we suspect, but a lot of homes had Ukrainian flags outside and the guy we had spoken to on the Barra ferry was one of the many people on these islands that are giving Ukrainian refugees a home for up to 3 years.

Normally we could have travelled from/to Uig on Skye, but that port is being done up and so the ferry routes have changed. So on Saturday we were up at 4.10am to catch the 5.55am ferry to Oban. It took 5.5 hours and then we had a 3 hour drive home, a significant increase on what it would have been via Uig.

However, we did get to see the sun rising over the Isle of Rum on our journey and some great views of the Isles of Skye, Canna, Rum, Eigg and Mull. We also sailed across the bottom of Loch Linnhe (where we were in December).

I’ve added a video. This is a collection of video chat messages I’d sent to friends that I’ve combined into one. The app uses portrait mode and the quality is lower but it still may be of interest if you want to check it out.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these posts. Our next planned island adventure will be Islay and Jura later this year.