Tuesday 29th May
We are incredibly lucky to see this part of Britain in such fantastic weather. Today has been another scorcher.
Our intention had been to leave our campsite at Kilbride and drive and find a wildcamping spot for tonight, either on South or North Uist.
We packed up to leave, which these days takes us all of about 10 minutes and then filled and emptied all Basil’s receptacles. Basil nosed out of the campsite and turned right. We passed the pub after about a mile and then after about another mile saw a sign post to a parking and picnic area. Two miles wasn’t quite as far as we had envisaged driving but we decided to have a look.
Down a narrow lane, past a deserted thatched cottage, which would have been worth millions in the south of England and as the road ran out all we could see was miles of white sandy beach and a large flat grassy area on the Machair, where one motorhome was already parked.
Our wild camping position
Our Beach
We immediately knew that we had found the best wildcamping spot in Britain, maybe even Europe (57.121384, -7.390986). Here we have rested for the whole day. There are three picnic tables where people have come and gone and as a consequence we have met and chatted with visitors and locals alike. Some serious bird spotters, with £1500 binoculars came down for lunch and I did my best to not sound like a complete novice!
I had a conversation with a couple of locals who told me that their first language and the one in which they communicated between each other is Gaelic, but rather interestingly they pronounced the word very much like the English word “Garlic”!
Lapwing
Sarah and Mabel have recreated a story from the Famous Five by walking over to a small island, linked to the beach by a causeway at low tide. I have been for a walk towards the nearest village to get a phone signal to book us back onto the Balranald Campsite and as I walked back, with birding lens to hand, I spotted a corncrake, out in the open!! I think that is pretty unusual, but I will find out at Balranald, which is corncrake central.
Corncrake caught in the open
As the evening draws in we are left with one of Britain’s most magnificent beaches, shared with four other motorhomes, spread out across 100 metres or so of the Machair. It’s not a bad life.
Our Beach at Dusk