The Outer Hebrides - Lewis and Harris

Back on the Scottish mainland we had a stop at Wick Pets at Home for some more food and treats (Woofbrushes) for Purdy with an overnight stay at Fortrose. The next day we visited Fort George on the other side of the Moray Firth and were lucky enough to spot several large pods of Bottlenose Dolphins just off the shore. The fort is still home to the 'Black Watch' regiment (now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland) so only some of it was accessible.

Suits you Sir!

We travelled to Ullapool for the ferry the next day to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. We had a lovely flat and warm crossing with glimpses of Dolphins and Fin Whales on route.

On entering the Isle of Lewis the weather took a turn for the worse - it had to come! We demounted Muy at a campsite and visited some local sites along the west coast.

Arnol Blackhouse (a traditional dwelling)

Carroway Broch

Callanish Stones (a disappointment!)

A friendly standing stone!

Chessmen everywhere - a hoard of missing pieces from Scandinavian
sets from the 12th century were dug up in Lewis in the 1800s 

Most of Lewis is quite bland, made up from a lot of boggy flat moorland and not very inspiring so with the weather against us as well we quickly moved south to Tarbert in Harris. Harris and Lewis are connected but they are talked about as separate islands. We had a day out driving along a great single track road to Hushinish.

Lovely old building in Tarbert

The road to Hushinish weaves through the grounds of a
castle which is a private residence

Hushinish beach

Lots of rainbows that day!

A walk in search of Eagles togged up in waterproofs!

The Eagle Observatory

We only saw loads of midges - dead luckily but very interesting as they
had all hit the glass whilst in a swarm (and drowned in the condensation).

We did see some young Red deer stags

Lovely Northton beach in South Harris

We liked South Harris better but with the bad weather and nothing to really inspire us we decided to leave earlier than we thought and took our next ferry to North Uist.

Rousay (the Egypt of the North) and leaving Orkney :(

Our last island trip was to Rousay, where there are many important archaeological sites. It is known as the Egypt of the North! The island is quite small and has a road around the outside so we visited each in turn as we went.

Taversoe Tuick - a double decker Chambered Cairn

Blackhammer Chambered Cairn - just let yourself in!

Built as a rectangle rather than the usual circle we have seen. The
protective concrete roof looked a bit weird - like a bunker!

Beautiful heather in bloom

Knowe of Yarso Chambered Cairn with
 Lurcher on high alert!

The main site is Midhowe Chambered Cairn (below) and Broch. The cairn is rectangular as the previous two but absolutely massive - 32.5 metres long! Excavated in the 1930's, the 23 metre passage is divided into 12 stalls, all now protected by a modern hanger with a walkway over the top to get an aerial view.

We do like a Broch - they are always located in a beautiful spot and normally very peaceful places as well as very interesting. This one was no exception and adjacent to the cairn.

Dee trying out the Neolithic shelving!

A nice spot for a picnic

Is Dee trying to tell me something?

This turbine was on a high hill which had a
meandering boardwalk to admire the view from

All over Orkney there are lots of Fushia
hedgerows which are very cheerful :)

We are still surrounded by lovely wild flowers, here are some more that we haven't seen before.

Our last night at Orkney was spent at Birsay with a walk at low tide over to the Brough via a causeway for a second time. On our last day, we went on a snorkelling trip organised by the Stromness Museum to study Sea Grass and wildlife living in it, which we recorded. We first put on a dry suit - a first for both of us - strange to be dressed in normal clothes underneath and stay dry! Well for Dee anyway....

Our last Orkney sunset

Dee with info on what to look out for

Not quite sure what the valves were for but mine (Phil) leaked!

A last walk around the Ring of Brodgar - a lovely place!

We had booked on the B&B service on the MV Hamnavoe. This means that although the ship doesn't leave until the morning, we get on the evening before and stay the night in a cabin with exclusive use of The Magnus Lounge (normally an extra with breakfast included in the morning. A bit like a mini cruise! Free drinks (not alcoholic) free pastries, fruit and biscuits and reading material. We had a great time in Orkney and were a bit sad to be leaving!

Purdy settled into our dog friendly cabin - as long as she
has her own blanket she is happy anywhere!

The Magnus Lounge

After a flat crossing we reached Scrabster and the Scottish mainland again. After 3 months away we arrived with a fair bit of trepidation! We had planned a 1 nighter at Fortrose before visiting Fort George and then taking the ferry to the Outer Hebrides. How busy could that be...