L2L Day 89 Lochmaddy to Borve (Berneray) - 8.5 miles

A perfect morning over Lochmaddy harbour.


To avoid road walking, we caught the 09:25 bus from Lochmaddy the short distance to Lochportain Rd end to rejoin the Hebridean Way and start our walk.

What a gorgeous day.


Surely there could be an industry in this cotton pickin' bog-cotton pickin'!



The heather was just coming into bloom.


When the guide says.....the route is likely to be boggy, we should have realised that the water table would be high and that the walk would involve some serious bog dodging!!




We stopped for a flask of coffee at a sheltered spot in gorgeous sunshine.


Then a 500ft climb....

 

through Bealach na Beinne where we witnessed how quickly the wind can pick up and the weather close in to reduce visibility.



We soon dropped down the boggy route to Port nan Long 




and crossed the causeway to Berneray.



Nice piece of Gneiss



At John's Bunkhouse, we had a very interestting chat with owner Chris about his move up from London after leaving Art college, 50 years ago



and how he and Mary, who taught at UHI, had rebuilt the existing black house on the same footprint, salvaging all the stonework and brought the building back in to use. 
Chris has done a lot of walking and running in the past and first walked the Pennine Way in the early 1970s in a pair of Doc Martens and a denim jacket into which his sister had sewn a woolen blanket to keep him warm! As Chris said, that was seriously Cool!!


We had an early tea at the Bistro where we caught up with Emma's friend Meg who lives on the island, and then met cyclists Mark and Kris with their support crew (dads) Keith and Jeremy. 


Kris and Keith both hail from Rhuthun though Kris now works with Ford in Essex. Mark was keen to know whether the Welsh contingent would be supporting England in their World Cup game this evening. I suspected that Keith's decision to sport a Wales shirt for the occasion spoke for itself!!

A really good supper and enjoyable chat with the staff at the Bistro before heading back for an early night.




I saw these outside the front door. Not sure what to make of it but I'm sure they work well!!!


My chosen charity this year is Medecins sans Frontieres, here's a link to my JustGiving page which should take you straight there


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