23rd May 2018

Our ferry left one hour late yesterday and the crossing was smooth and uneventful. All the CalMac ferries allow dogs onto the ship. Our ship had a special area inside where passengers and their dogs could sit in comfy seats. Well actually only the humans were allowed to sit in the seats, but you know what I mean.

By the time we arrived in Tarbert, on Harris, the sun had set and it was getting dark. The only campsite I knew about charged £14, but did not have chemical toiled emptying facilities. We were reluctant to pay for no facilities and so our aim was to find a wildcamping spot.

There are several huge sandy beaches on the west side of Harris and so we headed for them, but each wildcamping spot was already taken. The Outer Hebrides is clearly popular for motorhomers. We finally squeezed ourselves onto a roadside layby, with two other motorhomes, just as full night was drawing in (57.834549, -7.029266).

View from our first night spot

In the morning we discovered, that although it was a ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ overnight spot it wasn’t too bad. We had a lovely view over a couple of small beaches and in the sunshine the sea looked a translucent turquoise in colour.

After breakfast we decided we would try to get the ferry to North Uist and head south, before working our way back. We headed for the nearby ferry port of Leverburgh, only to find that the first ferry with spaces was not until 6.30 pm. We tried to get an unbooked place on the 11.40, but although they fitted one non-reserved van on, Basil was just too big.

Sout East harris

So, instead we explored Harris, which is a pretty small island. We took the tiny single track coastal road round it’s South and East coasts. The landscape was unlike anything Sarah and I had seen before. Mostly bare, undulated rock, interspersed with small fresh water pool. We were seeing the land in its best light, because the weather was clear skies and 15 degrees, but still it looked bleak.

Peat Cutting

Clearly the peat which filled in between the exposed rock had been mined by locals for fuel over generation and we could see that this still continued, with fresh new piles of peat stacked in small bricks for drying.

Basil at Luskentyre Beach

After an hour or so we re-emerged on the main road we had taken last night after we got off the ferry. We had now done a complete circle of Harris. We headed for the beaches to see if we could grab a spot in time for lunch and possibly the rest of the day. At Luskentyre beach we found that the West Harris community has established a number of large laybys specifically for motorhomes to park, in exchange for a £5 donation. We pulled onto the second one (57.872191, -6.910817) we found with a fantastic view over the smooth white sand of Luskentyre.

Harris Beach

The dogs immediately set off to scamper on the sand and after lunch we got our comfy chairs out and sat, soaking up the sun and looking over the stunning beach and countryside as the tide slowly came in and covered to the beach and equally slowly reversed the trick.

Harris Beach

I even had time to take my birding lens for a short walk and managed a poor shot of a Stonechat, which is another first for me.

Stonechat

Tomorrow we have booked on the 11.40 ferry to North Uist. 3G coverage is non existent on most of Harris, but I think we will try for a campsite tomorrow, so who knows.

Life at the wild camping spot