Cycling along the machair

We awoke to a wee bit of rain, but that cleared early on and we cycled west. From there we could head to North Uist or down to Eriskay and Barra - we chose the southern path via the coast along a machair path. The beaches were beautifully white and there were flowers all along the machair. We stopped at the Polochar Inn for a delicious lunch and again at the Hebridean Woolshed within a lovely walled garden. The causeway to Eriskay followed and despite a sign alerting us to the presence of otters, we didn't see any. We didn't explore Eriskay at all, but noted the signs to the Whisky Galore pub and saw in the guidebook that Bonnie Prince Charlie landed on the island.

We took the ferry to Barra then debated which campsite to head to. First, we cycled north by the wondrous white beach airstrip of Barra airport, where Fred got a puncture (the only one of the trip). All around us we could hear corncrakes, but we couldn't see them. The campsite to the north was on a hill so not brilliant for camping - we'd roll down to the bottom of the tent.

The next campsite was at Borve to the west of the island so off we cycled. The site was still under construction, but it was operational enough to set up for the night and many campers had done so. It was great to be so near the sea, despite a pair of scolding oystercatchers. We chatted with our fellow campers, one of which was an Irishman with a fiddle, who gave an impromptu concert. Another had lived on the same road as Fred's dad - quite a coincidence!

We ummed and ahhed about cycling into Castlebay for food, but our friend there said that everything shut around 8pm and we were too late. We decided not to impose on our friend since he was up working very early the next morning. Instead, we heated up muesli for dinner. It was surprisingly nice.