Hebridean Hop 8: the Bays Road
Saturday 4th August 2018
We were on the move again! To a hotel just 16 miles up the road. Why was this? Well, in February I couldn’t find suitable accommodation in Harris for the five nights we were staying there and had to book it in two blocks. February for an August holiday! How things have changed. On our last island-hop in 1989 we booked the ferries on a Thursday and set off on the Monday, booking our accommodation as we went. Mind you, my standards were lower then. We even spent time in a tent.
Rather than drive 16 miles up the west coast, we took the long way round back down to Rodel and up the east coast on the Bays Road, the C79. Bearing in mind that the main A road was mostly single track, you can imagine how small a C road was.
Unlike the fine sandy beaches of the west coast, the east coast is rocky and strewn with boulders left over by the Ice Age. Parts of the landscape were used to depict Jupiter in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Nevertheless, there were several galleries and cafés along the road so we didn’t go hungry, and we got a few short walks in before the rain became torrential. And we found a lovely, romantic bench.
Our room in Hotel Hebrides in Tarbert, Harris’s largest village, was a modern contrast to the chintz of Scarista House, but just as comfortable.
The next day was Sunday and we were still in Sabbatarian country. Nothing would be open, so we had to hope for good weather. But would we get it? Read on!
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
I have fallen behind in reading on your adventures as we were away for 3 weeks (soon new photos on our own blog) so I am catching up now. Lovely images despite the rain and the cloudy sky. (Suzanne)
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Welcome back! Looking forward to what you will soon reveal …
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It is important that one not go hungry. I would be curious to see that C road.
Jude
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Indeed! The road was narrow and winding – but it was paved all the way.
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We’ve become more particular about where we stay too. In 1999, on our first trip to UK, we stayed at YHA hostels. Some were great and others were not so good. It was an adventure though.
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We never used hostels and our camping days are long over! I think we tried it once more after this holiday.
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The best hostel was one in the Highlands which had originally been a castle belonging to the Duchess of Sutherland. That was a wonderful experience. The worst was in Bath, where they hadn’t cleaned the bathrooms since the Romans were there. 🙂
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Ha ha! I think I know the highland one yo mention, though I can’t remember its name. John stayed there in his youth.
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Carbisdale Castle – it isn’t operating as a hostel any more. It was an amazing place to stay.
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That’s the one!
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I am drawn more to the rocky vistas than I am the pristine beaches. The rocky terrain and cliffs pull at my heartstrings!! This is beautiful 💕
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I love both, and they are so close together. The whole chain of islands is the same: sand on the west, rocks on the east.
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The bench with the inscription is truly romantic..I love it. The one picture with the mini lake looks like it was an ancient volcano that might have blown and left this small crater…I wonder.
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I think it’s more likely to have been gouged out by a glacier.
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That’s crazy the bookings, still a change can be fun and it looks like it was a nice one at least.
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It sent me into a bit of a panic in February! I had two screens open to book both hotels simultaneously. Or we might have ended up in a tent 😟
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Not surprised. I’ve missed a hotel more than once because of dithering on a certain person’s part and so plan carefully these days. Even so would never have thought February for August. A ⛺ would not have been good!
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I wonder who that could possibly be!
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Who knows?!
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I love “bleak”, “stark”, “lonesome”, probably explains myself as well! Did you go to the Harris Distillery? i am just getting ready to order a bottle of gin and their bitters! Have you tried it?
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We did not, nor the Barra Distillery, but we sampled their wares on several evenings!
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I was enjoying the trip with you until you said you were in Sabbatarian country and that is definitely not me! I once spent a similar Sunday in Wales which was dismal. Later I was told that all the locals stock up with jugs of beer from the local pub on Saturday to ease the boredom of the day. Apart from that, I loved the Welsh villages. The landscape looks rather bleak there and the grey skies seem to add to this, but it packs a powerful effect because of this.
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We were lucky in that our hotel bar and restaurant were open so we got fed! It’s fine if you go and do outdoors activities, as long as you remember to buy a picnic the day before. I find bleak very beautiful. Probably says something about me!
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