The Outer Hebrides OR Where the f*'#! is my shadow?

After more or less sitting out three days in Ullapool, we finally boarded the ferry to Stornoway, the capital of the Outer Hebrides, on Tuesday afternoon.

Ullapool, as good as it got for us

As you will remember, the weather was all but favorable the last few days and we were full of hope, that it would miraculously be better on the islands.

Well, guess what? It wasn't. We were there for a good five days, none of them was dry, most very wet. We have seen the sun maybe twice, briefly, through blankets of low hanging grey clouds.

And no, I don't expect any sympathy, really. You are right when you say that this is to be expected in Scotland. But come on! Not even one nice day? No, it wasn't meant to be.

                             Like many others, Stornoway used to be a large herring port

Therefore my human couldn't do quite a few of the hikes and walks she had planned. A 60km/h off shore wind just doesn't go well with a cliff walk. And on the way to a three summit tour across the highest peak of the island, she was cut short after just 15 minutes by what normally probably is a little stream you can cross easily.  Not that day, though.

So all in all the mood was slightly subdued and she tried to compensate by visiting a gym and the sauna one morning and treating herself to some very nice food in a fancy restaurant (which left her hungry, as was to be expected).

North Harbor Bistro in Scalpay, there was a lot going on on that plate

Scalpay, all of it (well, almost)

The problem is, this is outdoor territory. There just isn't much along the lines of indoor entertainment. If you are not into galleries and arts & crafts shops, that is. Which there are many of all over the place. Not sure how they survive.

Nevertheless, we explored the islands of Lewis and Harris, which really is only one island, as well as the small island of Scalpay, which is connected by a bridge.

Whalebone Arch, stands in someone's back yard; the whale was washed ashore here many years ago, including the harpoon in it's head, which you see hanging from the top

One nice indoor activity is the museum in Stornoway, which is really nicely done and showcases the lives and history of the islands as well as 6 chess figures, known as the Lewis Chess Men. These are made of walrus ivory and whale teeth and were discovered in the 19th Century on a beach, more or less by a cow. They were most likely carved in Trondheim, Norway, some time in the 12th Century. How they got here and whom they belonged to - we will never know.

Of course, the islands have their fair share of Standing Stones and we visited a few of them. Not sure if it was worth the wet feet for my human. 

The Callanish Standing Stones

The Blackhouse Village was a nice little site, though. Black because of the peat they used to heat with. Which is still very much used out here today. You can see piles of it in many yards and stacked outside houses.

She did get a few walks in, though, and one could see how very beautiful the scenery can be, when you can see it...

Following an old post man's route

Carmelo high above Loch Lacasdial

And they really do have nice beaches

Before returning to Tarbert for the last night out here, we stopped in at the Lighthouse of Scalpay and the Church of St. Clement, where many a MacLeod was buried.

Although I really tried to love it out here, I have to admit that I couldn't quite pull it off. It was made rather hard by the weather and, to be totally honest, many of the small and tiny villages felt really desolate and abandoned. Often you wouldn't see a single person when driving or even walking through.

I'm not sorry we came, because the beauty of the place is undoubted and we had some very cool camping spots. But I am also not sorry at all to be leaving in the direction of the Isle of Skye tomorrow.

One of our cool spots to stay the night

And another one