The crossing was uneventful, with mist, murk and rain offering very little in the way of views. On arrival, we headed to the car park where our hire car was waiting \u2014 unlocked, key in ignition, no handover, no fuss. Anna would now be exploring by car, meeting me at points along the way while I walked the route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With waterproofs on, I set off along the Hebridean Way while Anna got acquainted with the car. I soon left the road and dropped onto a stunning beach \u2014 the very one where Bonnie Prince Charlie first set foot on Scottish soil. A cairn in the grass marks the spot. Impressive houses lined the cliffs above the beach, their panoramic glass fronts overlooking the bay.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Eriskay](\"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_4902.jpeg\")
<\/a>Just along the road is The Politician<\/strong> pub, named after the SS Politician<\/em>, which famously ran aground off Eriskay in 1941 with a cargo of 264,000 bottles of whisky \u2014 a tale that inspired the novel Whisky Galore<\/em>. Last time we were here, Eriskay was almost deserted. I remember the pub being alone. Now it sits in a growing village \u2014 no doubt thanks to the causeway connecting Eriskay to South Uist, which opened in 2002, just before we were last here. That explains the new houses, and those grand properties behind the beach \u2014 it would be a lovely place to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I crossed the causeway onto South Uist \u2014 island number four already. I remembered windsurfing from the northern end of the causeway last time we were here. The conditions looked ideal again today.<\/p>\n\n\n I was still following the road when I met Anna just past the small hamlet of Ludag. She drove on to the Kilbride Caf\u00e9, then walked back to meet me so we could walk the final stretch there together. It was the perfect lunch stop \u2014 and just as we arrived, The Germans<\/strong> were leaving. They\u2019d got the boat to Eriskay the night before and had camped on the beach, surprised by the strength of the wind and rain. They\u2019d spent the morning recovering in the caf\u00e9 but seemed in good spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n After lunch, I set off past the Polochar Inn and through the machair<\/strong> to the endless white beaches of South Uist. Machair \u2014 a Gaelic word for low-lying grassy plains \u2014 is one of the rarest habitats in Europe and found only on west-facing shores of Scotland and Ireland. South Uist has some of the best examples. These beaches are wild, windswept, and empty. Oystercatchers are everywhere, lapwings cry overhead, and plovers scurry across the sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The machair itself is rich with colour \u2014 red clover, bird\u2019s-foot trefoil, yarrow, daisies, and rarer orchids like the Hebridean spotted and marsh orchid. In wetter spots, iris beds and ragged robin flourish. Some plots are cultivated with oats and rye; others are left fallow, bright with corn marigold and field pansy. It\u2019s beautiful \u2014 perfect walking and ideal for camping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I was slightly disappointed not to be camping here. Anna and I had booked a B&B for the next few nights instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the tide low, I mostly walked on the beach, though I wandered through the machair now and then. I spotted The Germans ahead and passed them just after South Boisdale, where boats bobbed offshore. It was easy walking along the shore and machair for the rest of the day. I met Anna briefly at Daliburgh, where The Germans passed me again \u2014 but I soon overtook them and finished the day near Loch Eilean an Staoir<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSouth Uist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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