{"id":24198,"date":"2019-07-12T20:36:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T18:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/the-charm-of-the-hebrides\/"},"modified":"2021-01-22T10:06:28","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T09:06:28","slug":"the-charm-of-the-hebrides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/the-charm-of-the-hebrides\/","title":{"rendered":"The charm of the Hebrides"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Today the wind is still here but the sun is back. At least. On the islands the wind is permanent. Accept it. I take two minibuses to reach Carinish where the trail continues. The ruins of the Trinity Temple (Teampull na Trionaid) stand next to the road. This is all that remains of an important monastery and learning place dating from the mid-12th century. The lands around the monastery saw the Battle of Carinish in 1601 dye the ground in red, earning the nickname of \u201cFeith na Fala\u201d (ditch of blood) in a battle between clans. Today only a few tourists and sheep are walking around the site.<\/p>

The path sinks into the plain. In the distance I can see a small silhouette wearing a backpack. Someone else is doing the Hebridean Way. This is the first time I see another hiker on the way. The trail zigzags across the plain to the east coast of North Uist. I catch up with the silhouette that stopped for a meal break. Julie is eating nuts, raisins and a few slices of hams. She is doing the Hebridean Way and seems happy to meet another hiker. I pass an old pier where I stop for lunch. The sea is low and I have lunch sitting against the walls of the pier, partly protected from the wind.<\/p>

The path continues through the plain and climbs to Beinn Langais where an old circle of stones almost disappearing under the ferns and an old half-ruined burial chamber await me. These are the witnesses of an ancient colonization of the Hebrides Islands. Eight kilometers along the road to reach Lochmaddy, a small beachside town but the rain suddenly appears and it is soaked that I hitchhike along the road hoping someone will take me. A good twenty minutes later, a car finally stops and two old local guys take me with them. Learning that I intend to camp overnight next to Lochmaddy, they promise to find me a room in one of the B&B in the village. I do not really want it because it is expensive but they are determined at all costs. Fortunately for me, the B&B in the village are full and I escape\u00a0thanking my drivers gently.<\/p>

An hour later, while it is still raining, I am still turning in the village to find a place to camp. Impossible. No flat place and too much wind. Damn. What do I do? I give up and decide to go to the Gatliff Youth Hostel in Berneray about twenty kilometers away. I was supposed to arrive on Berneray only tomorrow night but it will be for tonight. The last bus of the day takes me while the rain finally decides to stop. In the light of the late evening, I distinguish the plain and the hills where the path connecting Lochmaddy to Berneray passes. I decide that tomorrow, I will leave my big bag in Berneray and then take a bus to return to Lochmaddy to follow the trail back.\u00a0The Gatliff Youth Hostel is the same as the one in Howmore, in a traditional old cottage, at the end of the village of Berneray just by the sea. I meet Marie, a French cyclist in her forties and we spend the evening talking. I am very happy to have changed my plans.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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