Day 3 - Albert Rules

 Day 3 - Albert Rules

As mentioned in our previous post, Our near neighbour, Albert, told us we would likely see Seals, Eagles and Otter in the vicinity of the cottage.  Today, in a nod to his predications, we give him a score of two out of three for sightings, and a blog heading in his honour. 

The weather forecast for today was dry for the morning but for torrential rain after lunch. Consequently we decided to do a local walk this morning, have lunch at the cottage and then go out for a drive to try and find the Harris Tweed Visitor Centre.  

Another village inhabitant that we met on our earlier local walk had told us how to reach the pebble beach Albert had mentioned without going up and along the ridge behind us.  As there are no, or very few, signposted walks in Scotland, he had given us instructions and shown us on a map roughly where to head off-piste. 

We have to walk along the road through Marbhig, turn towards Calbost and then, after the small pool, but before the larger loch and the cattle grid, strike out to the left into the moorland/heathland/boggy bits that make up the common grazing ground, following that sort of direction until we reach the other side.  The same gentleman also gave us a bit of history of the bay, which is called, Mol nam Bràithrean – The Brothers’ Beach. Apparently two brothers drowned in the bay, were washed ashore and are buried just above the beach, this was probably back in the 1700s mind.  Here’s a link to read a bit more about the history. You may need to cut and paste into your browser to see it.

http://www.angusmacleodarchive.org.uk/view/index.php?path=%2F5.+Calbost+-+Places+and+Place-names%2F11.+Mol+nam+Bràithrean+-+The+Brothers%27+Beach.pdf

We set off (with walking poles) and, following some debate, find roughly the area to head into (we think/hope).  After a short while we see some slight indentations that look like wheel tracks. The ground is quite undulating, with some steep parts and we wonder how on earth someone drove a quad bike or 4WD over the area, if that’s what the marks were.  Intensely boggy in places - our footprints may be here for thousands of years, preserved in the peat. 

More of those marsh plants we saw the other day too, plus some Milkworts (Polygala), and some fairy fungi. Eric did wonder where the fairies they belonged to were though. 

The Two Brothers’ Beach.

As we are admiring the scenery...suddenly, overhead, we see Eagles!  The binoculars show that they are Sea Eagle, with a white tail.  Built like a barn door is how they are often described. Very exciting stuff.  So exciting that the photographer missed most of the action overhead, but managed some slightly distant shots and blurry images. What was interesting was that there was a large flock of smaller birds that had been on the top of the ridge and they appeared to be mobbing the Eagle (and the Buzzard). 

It flew directly overhead - Eric quickly hid in case it thought he was its next meal.

Also Buzzard (boring!).

One of us suggests that we should return via the ridge route (they have been dying to go up there since we arrived) . Feeling indulgent, although slightly concerned as to whether they would make it, the other party agreed. Zig-zagging steps up the slope followed, with some heavy leaning on the walking poles, as well as some heavy.breathing and stopping ‘to admire the view’.  

Glad to have made it to the top Eric feels he deserves a rest. 

Don’t sit there too long Eric, that Eagle may come back.

We head off along the top for a short while - good views from up here -

Those islands are at the entrance to our Loch 

- before spotting below us where the helpful resident we’d spoken to earlier in the week had emerged from after walking along the ridge.  Heading downwards we can see the lane we need to be on...but it’s the other side of a fence..- that goes back up the hill away from us and does not seem to have an end. It’s a Croft boundary fence and there is someone’s house there too.  We notice that the house looks unoccupied and that there is part of the fence that is lower than the rest (and looks like it’s been jumped over a few times by people who had gone that way before). So we take a chance and hop over into the garden, through a gate and down their steps and front path to the lane. No-one came out and shouted at us so, phew, I think we got away with it.  Last thing we wanted was some irate villager chasing us.  

A well earned lunch was on the cards.  Stonechat on the fence wire outside the window - very nice. 

Some map studying before we set of in a southerly direction for our afternoon jaunt.  

We struggle to find any signs for either the Harris Tweed Visitor Centre or the Harris Gin Distillery around Tarbet, although we didn’t go into the town itself.  They were marked on the map as being outside it.  Ah, here’s a sign that says Harris Tweed Knitwear. Turn down a very narrow road with some stunning landscape of pools interspersed with granite knolls or Cnoc, not able to stop and take picture as road is too narrow. A mile and a half later and, the place was closed!  Ah well, give that up as a bad job and head off towards the ‘best beach in Europe’ - Luskentyre.   

Looks like a good spot for waders too, although the tide is out and most of them are too far away. We did see Curlew and Oystercatcher.  It’s a very popular beach, there were two people going snorkelling.. 

                    

Continuing our journey to the car park close to Luskentyre village from where we saunter over the dunes to the other end of the same beach (or really part of it is a large estuary). 

The footprints in the sand suggest people have been here earlier but pretty deserted now - probably because it’s just started raining! 

Time to go home for dinner. 

Coming back to the car park we spot a flock of birds, look like Bunting, but the (blurry) photograph taken seemed to suggest they were Twite. I’m sure the birders among you can put us right.

There was also a very cute little Highland cow.

We thought we’d try and make another loaf of bread tonight (we brought the flour and yeast with us but lack suitable containers for cooking it in). The last one was reasonably successful, and definitely edible so we’ll give it another go. A bit of a disaster loaf emerges! 

If you squint, it looks a bit like a dog’s head, with one eye and a patch on the other. 

And yet another sunset.