An Eriskay walk

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Eriskay ferry terminal

Eriskay has been joined to South Uist by a causeway since 2001. For this walk we drove to Eriskay ferry terminal which is a good place to park. The ferry to Barra was in harbour and we slightly regretted that we weren’t about to jump on board!

We then set off across Eriskay beach, or Cockle Strand, for the first part of our walk. It looks beautiful below, and it was, but what you can’t see is the biting wind and, at times, rain.

Setting off on our walk
Cockle Strand

At the end of the beach we climbed up into the village and our first port of call was the graveyard. A new thing we noticed since our previous visit (2018) was a series of plaques around the island commemorating the life of Father Allan Macdonald who is buried here. He was Eriskay’s priest from 1894-1905 and built St Michael’s Church which is still in use. He was also a renowned poet, bard and Gaelic scholar.

Grave of Father Alan MacDonald
Plaque about Fr MacDonald
Blue decorated headstone
Unknown sailors, Merchant Navy, WW2
Blue decorated headstones
Gold decorated headstone

By now it was lunch time and, what do you know? We were near the pub, Am Politician. A very pleasant interlude followed before we hit the road again, passing Our Lady of Fatima who marks the site of the original church on the island.

Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima

Soon after this, we left the road to climb up over the village, Am Baile, to Loch Cracabhaig. On our last visit we were lucky enough to see some Eriskay ponies up here. Not this time!

Looking back at Am Baile
Looking back at Am Baile
Loch Cracabhaig

We descended to the road again, high above the ferry terminal which was empty this time. We admired some of the modern houses and looked down on Cockle Strand where we had walked earlier. From here we walked back down to the car.

Ferry terminal below
Modern house
Old house with modern addition
Cockle Strand

This was a short but pleasant walk (5km), much extended by our lunch stop. I see on our 2018 visit we combined it with another Eriskay walk – clearly our stamina is failing!

Hebridean Hop 11: Eriskay

Linked to Jo’s Monday Walk.

Next up – our walks on North Uist.

Scotland, UK , , , ,

66 Comments »

  2. So beautiful 😍. Even the gravestones there looks to be picturesque. I have been to Eriskay when we visited the Uists. Remember going to the pub and seeing a bottle of whiskey that was apparently ‘rescued’ from a shipwreck. Still need to see the original Whiskey Galore film.

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  4. Pingback: This week’s small pleasures #416 – Thistles and Kiwis

    • Thanks Ann! However, I’m always surprised when I look back at places we’ve been before and how much more we did. Though I think part of it might be that lately we hire cottages rather than stay in hotels. There’s more scope to lounge about over a leisure breakfast for example.

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  8. Hi Anabel – ha ha about your stamina fading away – yes life catches up … but you two certainly get around and give us great views and news: long may your stamina keep up! I was interested in learning more about the Causeway – I picked up a bit by looking it up … what a great walk across from one island to another. Cheers Hilary

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  9. This walk looks so beautiful. I love the rainbow in your header photo, Cockle Strand and the old house with modern addition. The blue decorated headstones are interesting. I don’t think I’ve seen that blue on headstones before. Living in Canada, I know what windchill means 🙂 Sometimes the sunniest winter day is still bitterly cold when we get the Arctic air.

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  10. Perhaps the lunch slowed you down. I like how the locals acknowledged the unnamed seamen with a plague. It looks a beautiful spot for a walk and the history to exercise the brain.

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  12. It does look very beautiful. I wish I had explored the Outer Hebrides years ago when it was less busy. Island hopping looks fun. Have you ever visited Shetland?

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  15. you walked a fair bit to me. Love the white cemetery with the blue. This looks like a pretty walk but the beach, although inviting, looks cold.

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  16. A new island for me. It’s always unpredictable up there. Been on loads of West Coast outer islands over the decades… cloudless sunshine all the way up in the car then as soon as you get there it’s either thick sea mist, strong winds, heavy drizzle, sudden rain, or some other inexplicable gloom that sweeps in gleefully overhead while the rest of Scotland basks in a three day heat wave. Bob. BSS.

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  18. That is a lovely cemetery. I’m always a bit taken aback at the absence of trees in many of the landscapes. Not that it isn’t pretty, it’s just so different in a way. Of course we have some treeless landscapes here in the southwest US, too. Usually desert. What does “Am” before a name mean?

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  23. Let’s say the stamina is the same but the pub lunch was worth the visit! Love the contrast on those two houses. It looks beautiful but I’ve felt a Scottish wind – they can be wicked!

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  24. Those islands look like a fantasy to me, Anabel. I have absolutely no idea how I would get there from the mainland. You do, of course, have a head start, from Glasgow, and they look gorgeous, albeit cold. Many thanks for the link. I’m consulting my map.

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  27. I can see how exposed that beach is in particular so I believe you about the biting winds! But you’ve managed to capture some beautiful views with a lovely blue sky 🙂 Btw, 5 km isn’t a short walk to me, it’s about my usual limit!

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  29. I think Cockle Strand is a lovely name for a beach, it sounds very pretty. I like the blue and gold headstones, also the red ones in your previous post, and the view over Am Baile. I’ve just had a look at your 2018 post, quite coincidentally Whiskey Galore was on BBC2 yesterday – not a film I’ve ever wanted to watch but now I know what it’s based on I might give it a look when it’s on again.

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