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<\/a>Across the Boggy Heart of Harris<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I then set off through the morning gloom along the road and then off across the bogs of Harris. Here I was following the remnants of a raised turf path. These would be my companion throughout Harris and Lewis and are created by cutting two parallel trenches into the peat and piling the peat up in the middle to create a raised walkway. It\u2019s a traditional method of making really boggy areas navigable, but they aren\u2019t really up to the heavier traffic of long-distance paths for recreational walkers. Most are somewhat eroded and compacted, and if you happen to stumble off the raised bit, you are at least knee-deep in very wet bog\u2014as the two trenches either side are the boggiest parts around!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nThis section wasn\u2019t the easiest to follow, and soon I had very wet feet. It led me up to a low mountain pass and over the brow, where the sands of Tr\u00e0igh an Taoibh Thuath, backed by the imposing hill of Ceapabhal, came into view ahead. I was now heading down to the sands on the west coast of Harris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nGolden Sands and Lazy-Beds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The sands here were a golden colour in contrast to the silvery-white sands of the Uists. I headed downhill on easier grassy terrain with no real path to follow, then joined the road for a short while before heading across a small patch of machair and onto the sands of Scarista Beach. The golden sands were coarser, softer, and more difficult to walk on as I trudged my way across them with waves breaking on the beach. My shoes also got a little filled with sand too. I was soon headed back through the dunes, through a grazed field, and then back up the hillside.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Again, the climb up was on easy grassy ground, over a few streams and around some rocky outcrops, then across a terraced area\u2014remnants of an agricultural method known as lazy-beds. These are parallel ridges and furrows dug by spades to create raised areas for growing arable crops, with narrow drainage channels between them. They do slow you down somewhat with the constant up and down! Not as much as the next few sections though, as I soon found myself higher up the hill and traversing through thick, pathless bog once again. That was the case for quite a stretch as I left Scarista behind and passed other golden beaches on the coast below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nRemote Bog, Steep Slopes, and the Beaches Below<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Next was the hamlet of Borve with its small sandy inlet, and then Loch Bhuigh with the ruins of a large building next to it. All of these were below me on the hillside\u2014up here there was little more than bog, the occasional hint of a path, and at some points the line of an old turf and drystone dyke that helped keep my feet out of some of the worst sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was tough going, but with some stunning views of the beaches of Harris and the various islands offshore. I also passed Horgabost with its welcoming-looking campsite. This had been an option for an overnight stay, but the day was still young so I pushed on. I was looking over my shoulder quite a bit today, expecting Sam to catch me at any time. Although he would no doubt have started later than me to make the most of the breakfast at his B&B, and although I wasn\u2019t rushing, I do tend to cover ground quite quickly when on my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The going didn\u2019t get any easier as I climbed a little higher and seemed to keep traversing along the hillside for what felt like forever. I stopped for lunch on a rocky knoll and then continued the never-ending slog, eventually coming to a pathless, very steep climb up the side of Carran, a 245 m hill overlooking southern Harris. There were no paths, no marker posts, and at times the ground was almost steep enough to be classed as scrambling. Eventually I did pick up some marker posts across the top and started to get amazing views down over Seilebost and Luskentyre Sands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nDescending to Seilebost and the Coffin Route<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The descent wasn\u2019t any easier\u2014once again pathless and with no marker posts, it was a case of picking my way through the rocky outcrops, avoiding the steeper or vertical sections and trying to stay away from the boggiest parts. The sun was at least coming out now, and having not seen anyone all day, I could now see some people on the paths below. The next part of my walk was also laid out before me as an easy-looking track making its way up the valley from Seilebost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the bottom I joined the track and came across a German girl sitting on the side of it, tending to her feet. She was walking the Hebridean Way too, but had missed out the tough section I\u2019d just done and had walked along the road yesterday instead. She\u2019d camped in Seilebost and had just started walking for the day. After a short chat, I left her taping up her feet and carried on my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next section was much easier as it followed a wide, well-made trail called the Coffin Way\u2014an old coffin road used by islanders from the east to carry their dead to burial grounds in the west. It made for easy walking, first alongside Loch Carran and then up towards a mountain pass with steep-sided cliffs. I saw a golden eagle here being mobbed by a black-backed gull. The gull, which is a large bird itself, looked tiny in comparison! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/figure><\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe path became a little narrower and rockier on the descent towards the eastern side of Harris, but was still pretty easy going. Eventually, it reached a sea inlet and turned left up through some boggier ground once again. This wasn\u2019t a long section, as it took me over a small hill, through some rocky terrain and then down to a sheep fold. Just beyond this I found a flattish area of grass overlooking a sea loch called Loch Stocanais. <\/p>\n\n\n\n