Death on the Island

During the Clearances, Harris famlies were sent from the Machair of the West coast (which made splendid grazing for sheep) to the barren rocky coast of the East. It could have been very bad for them indeed but the plucky people carved out a life for themselves, using seaweed and peat to build up lazybeds in which they could grow food.

One thing they couldn't manage was to bury their dead and so bodies had to be carried back across to the West where they could be buried. This is the Coffin Route along which people would carry the coffins of their deceased. It must have been very hard work indeed carrying them through these peat bogs though nowadays a lot of the path is quite dry and make for mostly pleasant walking. Near this spot is Creag an Eoin or Rock of the Bird and we did in fact see one, an eagle of course.