Tarbert is nestled in
a valley where North and South Harris come together and can be accessed easily
by hopping on a Calmac ferry at Uig on Skye, with a journey time of just over
an hour and a half. The usual plan when Liz and I plan a trip is for each of us
to come up with a shortlist of 3, chat, debate, um and aaah and then decide on
the best course of action based on the prevailing weather conditions. This time
around we were blessed with a more settled weather system and in comparison to
our Moidart to Morar trip last year thank fully we had no 4 hour portage sessions
over a hill!! We were joined by two of Liz’s friends, Pete and Kate who decided
that our plan was a good one and who brought the kitchen sink with them……!
Liz, Kate and Pete
Starting in Tarbert
(East) is not something to be done at low tide. The mud is thick and mega sucky
despite the allure of a landing jetty and steps and there is a good chance of
you losing one of your limbs down there if you don’t get your technique and
timings right. Liz managed her first unintentional swimming session here too so
be warned! Paddling out towards Loch an Tarbert we skirted our way in and out
of the many “Eilean”(islands) Rubha (headlands), Geodha (coves, inlets) and Mol
Ban (white shingle beaches), sighting 3 otters with an hour of being on the water,
awesome. The morning after our
first nights camp was the morning from hell with the worst midges I think I’ve
ever experienced in a camp spot. Pete’s ankles and legs looked like a dot to
dot and at low tide getting the boats back on the water was agonisingly slow
due to the weight of the boats, slime, rocks and the high risk of ankle
busting. At this stage in the game the total score for falls so far by day 2:
Liz 2, Sonja 2!! Pure relief as we finally escaped to the water and paddled our
way towards our southern most point, Renish Point and up to Leverburgh for a
provisions top up before our crossing to the Isle of Ensay for the night.
Mug of tea and an egg butty please…
Its worth mentioning
at this point that the Outer Hebrides Guide can leave you wanting for more
information about tidal flow at particular points with tidal flow in the Sound
of Harris difficult to predict and subject to only one tide per day. Paddling
out from Ensay back through the Caolas Sromaigh we made the call to land as the
winds picked up and with the swell around decided that Toe Head with wind
against tide didn’t look that inviting! The obvious diversion was a walk to the
coffee shop at Northton and soaking in the amazing views of Scarasta beach
through the isthmus. Proceeding around Toe Head in the morning was the right
decision and a new experience as I’ve never paddled through masses of sea foam
before!
One of those lovely spots ...
En route to Taransay
Saying goodbye to Pete
and Kate, once we’d emptied boats, unpacked and repacked Liz and I headed for
some showers and then headed off down a dead end road to Huisinis, our camp for
the night with a few glasses of wine prior to heading out to go around Scarp
the following morning. Bright and early with a sunny day anticipated we headed
off clockwise around the south west coast of the island. With swell still
rolling around this exposed section of the coastline we couldn’t access things
close up but landed on the beach opposite Eilean Cearstaigh on the north coast
for a pause and to admire and enjoy our surroundings. There are some amazing
examples here of Lewisian Gneiss (very attractive, very old rock, up to 3
billion years old making it the oldest rock in Britain!).
The elusive otter……
Back in our boats we
explored north and back to the small island of Fladaigh before heading back
down the Sound of Scarp and our journey home and what had been a fairly rare
opportunity to paddle in the Outer Hebrides without it howling a hoolie.
Thanks to Liz, Kate
and Pete for their company, sharing their wine and Smidge That Midge!
By Sonja Ezergailis.
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