Exploring the Outer Hebrides for a guidebook, this scenic region revealed its allure, competing with tropical destinations with its captivating waters
Words & photography: Felicity Martin
On our first night, the setting sun was burnishing a wide path across the unusually calm Atlantic Ocean when suddenly people on the campsite began excitedly pointing out to sea. Two bottlenose dolphins were hunting for fish close to the shore with more, further away. We watched them leap clear of the water, sending cascades of sparkling droplets flying. Each time they spouted, the sound of their exhalation reached us through the still air; I could even hear the water rippling as they breached.
We already counted ourselves lucky to have seen porpoises and common dolphins on the five-hour ferry trip from Oban to Barra. Conditions were perfect as we sailed into Castlebay, passing Kisimul Castle on its little island, with Heaval, the highest hill on Barra, as a backdrop.
When Donald had showed us to our pitch at the far end of Borve Camping, it had looked a tight squeeze, but now we felt it was the best spot of all, perched atop the sea wall with a magnificent view. The relatively small campsite was sandwiched between the coast road and the sea, but had a smart new facilities block.
My mission was to research walks for a new Pathfinder guidebook. I was covering Barra and the Uists in the southern half of the Outer Hebrides, whilst a colleague was tackling Harris and Lewis. It had been a juggling act to book consecutive dates for campsites as we progressed north and to match these with ferries; I started the trip feeling frazzled.
The first walk was a short cycle away at Halaman Bay, where I was mobbed by hungry sheep as I started across the machair, flower-rich grassland growing on wind-blown sand.
Skylarks sang overhead and greylag geese grazed on the shore of Loch Tangasdail as I made my way to Dun Ban, an Iron Age fort on a spectacular promontory above a sheer drop into the sea.
On the second day I climbed Heaval, making my way up the hill past Our Lady of the Sea, a famous statue of Madonna and child. Barra and most of the Uists are predominately Roman Catholic and this is one of many religious statues.
It was a tremendous viewpoint, looking over Castlebay to Vatersay and the uninhabited isles to the south. I encountered golden plovers and wheatears on top, while Andrew heard four male corncrakes calling around Borve. From abo
