L2L Day 85 Dalabrog to Liniclate (Benbecula) - 8 miles

Within minutes of leaving our accommodation, an owl flew across the path in front of us and over the rooftop before I could identify it or get a photograph. It was certainly carrying its breakfast!

We caught the 09:10 bus again in the direction of Balivanich. The route meandered its way along a single rack road and picked up a number of locals all of whom greeted us in Gaelic.

On the way we passed the ruins of Ormacleit castle


and watched a Marsh harrier being mobbed by an Oystercatcher. The castle had been a centre for Jacobite sympathisers but had apparently been destroyed by fire in 1715 when a side of venison, roasting in the kitchen got out of control.

We got off near Loch Driomoir and walked up to the statue of Our Lady of the Isles.


....curiously located, overlooking the MOD and QinetiQ's hangars a mile away.

In contrast with yesterday, it couldn't have been a more pleasant morning - bright, clear and with an almost warm breeze. A lovely day for walking.

We then followed the Hebridean Way Eastwards - picking our way between lochans and bodies of water. On previous days, the paths had been boggy in parts but today was taken up with serious bog-hopping, jumping between tussocks and having to decide quickly on the next step before sinking into the ground. We joked about whether it'd have been a good idea to bring a swimming float.



It was good to have a reminder of how the Hebridean Way had been funded....


At a distance, we watched some beautiful and shy wild Hebridean ponies.




The route was marked with posts - brown and camouflaged. They were easy to pick out but in poor visibility we reckoned we'd only ever see one if you accidentally found one.!!

We did eventually find one... near a rock where we could sit and enjoy a flask of coffee.


The Meadow pippits were really hard to spot.



We sheltered for a sandwich under the wind turbines.



Reinvigorated after lunch we rejoined the route with keener eyes ....


Magpie moth


Sandpipers



South Uist even has its own flag


The final stretch was along the relatively quiet but fast A865 so we decided we'd wait the 40 mins for the late afternoon bus.
I was so knackered after the tussock and tump jumping that I fell off to sleep in the sun. Bliss!

The bus crossed the causeway to Benbecula and dropped us off at the door to our hotel for the next two dys in Liniclate.

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