Wednesday 4 July 2012

Isle of Harris: Hike to an Abandoned Lighthouse on Scalpay

I'm back!  Uh...in case anyone wondered why I haven't been posting for the last two weeks, I have been travelling in Scotland and Iceland!


This shot was taken near an abandoned lighthouse in Scalpay.  Scalpay is on the Isle of Harris (or, Harris as the Scots call it) in the Outer Hebrides.  The coastal hike we took to get to the lighthouse is outlined here.  The hike was well marked and explained in a small booklet of Western Isles walking/hiking routes I picked up at a local shop.  It was amazing to see the Isle of Skye across the body of water (its name escapes me) from Harris.  Walking through peat covered hills reminded me I was not close to home.  Oystercatchers and other coastal birds were having a time as we rambled along the trail...and managed to avoid the rain that followed shortly after we returned to the car!


More shots and tales to follow...stay tuned!

3 comments:

Janet said...

Long time lurker from over Pleasantville way...the other side of the river. Couldn't help but comment as I'm off to Scotland at the end of August. Beautiful pic - furthest north I'll get is Inverness to visit relatives, will have to put the Hebrides on my 'next trip' list.

Cheers!

baroing said...

Thanks for the comment Janet! I could gush about Scotland for days...at some point, it seemed redudant after I exclaimed "awesome! amazing! incredible!" for the 100th time. The drive from Glasgow to Fort William was epic, as was the bus ride from there, through the Western Highlands to Isle of Skye.

Enjoy your trip, be sure to pick up some Tunnock's dark chocolate tea cakes while you're there. ^_^

Janet said...

Scotland is beautiful - and my aunt and uncle called Fort William home for many years (love that area). Will be sure to pick up some Tunnock's dark chocolate tea cakes - thanks for the tip :)