Day Six: Barra to North Uist

The last three days of the journey are the ones that fill us with the greatest sense of apprehension. One hundred and six miles to be cycled before we finish with today’s trek the biggest challenge at 42 miles. Setting off from Castlebay at 7am we take the 1hr 40 min crossing north to Lochboisdale on South Uist. From here we cycle through three islands in a northerly direction, firstly South Uist, then across a stone causeway to Benbecula and then across another causeway to North Uist and onwards to our overnight stop in Lochmaddy at the top of the island.

Arriving in Lochboisdale we are tempted to climb aboard a small local bus to Lochmaddy as the driver sagely suggests that it will take us three days to travel through the islands by bike. Ignoring his playful banter we set off determined to prove him wrong, embarrassingly we head of in the wrong direction which brings further unbridled joy to his otherwise mundane life as he highlights the difference between north and south to the displaced townies.

South Uist is the second largest of the islands in the Western Isles, measuring some 22 miles north to south and 7 miles from east to west. The geography is divided into a series of north-south strips, each running the length of the island. The west coast faces onto the Atlantic and comprises around 20 miles of beach, broken only by a headland at the half-way point. Behind the beach is a strip of machair, or grassy duneland. East again is a strip containing a vast number of small fresh water lochans, and a series of dispersed crofting townships.

Heading out of Lochboisdale we find that the skies are clear and the sun is bright but not at a temperature that will induce sweat, perfect cycling weather? Sadly no, as we leave the sheltered port we become increasingly aware of the strong wind blowing down from the north. The wind at differing times is either blowing head on or diagonally across our bow, this is going to be a long day!! It is days like this that a cyclist grows to resent his panniers, as every hill presents a challenge and every turn in the road brings a hope of a change in wind direction.

Thankfully the single track road up the west side of the island is relatively flat with the mountains Beinn Mhor and Hecla to our right and the Atlantic always in view on our left. As we conclude our cycle through South Uist we pass a collection of buildings and domes degrading the summit of a scenic hill. They are part of the Ministry of Defence Missile Range that was built here in the late 1950s and which accounts for the number of "Danger Area" signs around the west coastal route we have just encountered.

Exiting South Uist we cross our first causeway into Benbecula. Nestled between North and South Uist in the Western Isles, Benbecula (Gael: Beinn na Faoghla, meaning 'mountain of the fords') is a low flat windswept island with a solitary hill that rises to 409 feet. It has an area of 20,270 acres comprising machair in the west and peat moorland in the east, and its main settlement is at Balivanich. An army base established here in 1958 was extended in 1971 to house military personnel servicing the South Uist rocket range and to the northeast lies the island's airfield. The total population numbers about 1300.

In 1960, HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, opened a causeway over the North Ford connecting with North Uist and in 1982 another causeway was extended across the sands of South Ford linking the island to South Uist. At 5 miles (8 km) in length, the North Ford Causeway is the longest in the Western Isles. It clips the western end of the island of Grimsay and runs over various smaller islands on route. It is at these causeways that we encounter the relative splendour of a two way road and stunning sandy beaches deposited by the swift tidal streams of the Atlantic as it funnels in and out of the many lochans.

Crossing the final causeway we enter into North Uist and the final part of our marathon. North Uist measures some 18 miles from east to west by 12 miles from north to south, and has one of the most complex topographies you are likely to find anywhere. The eastern two thirds of the island are characterised by freshwater lochans that seem to occupy more of the land than the land itself, plus deeply indenting sea lochs that reduce still further the proportion of green to blue. The sparseness of shops and eating establishments on these islands is beginning to figure prominently in our thoughts as we slog through the relentless wind, so it is a great relief when we reach the crossroads village of Clachan and find a well stocked grocer shop which refuels our energy stores for the final 8 miles to Lochmaddy. This final stretch to our end destination requires that we change direction to a south easterly direction and refreshingly with a tail wind escorting us. The final 8 miles are completed in record time as we find top gear on our bikes and freewheel to Lochmaddy rejuvenated in the knowledge that the longest cycle stage of the tour is complete.

Our stopover for the evening (Uist Outdoor Centre) proves to be a déjà vu experience for us as we find that there is no landlady/owner/warden at this establishment either…trusting lot in this part of the world. Although we have pre-booked we have not paid for our evening stay, so it is surprising to find the backpackers centre empty with its doors open. Following the same process as yesterday we throw our bags on a bunk bed and make our exit. To further add to the feeling of déjà vu we encounter our cycling roommates from the previous evening in Lochmaddy who inform us that they are also staying the evening in the open door establishment.

Lochmaddy is the village capital and main settlement on the island of North Uist, a bustling metropolis this is not. A quiet little fishing village and port we quickly establish that it has one shop and two hotels, one seems to be unnecessarily extravagant and the other, a tad more affordable. We settle for the latter and find the food to be extremely good value for money with a homemade tomato and pepper soup to die for.

Returning to our digs we find that our erstwhile empty premises is now being overrun by a marauding group of teenagers. Our hearts immediately dive bomb to the pits of our tired legs as we anticipate a sleepless night filled with adolescent high jinks. We also find that our roommates from last night have sought sanctuary in our room for another evening; they too have the look of the dammed about them. We needn’t have worried as our cynicism was to be proven unnecessary. The children were firmly marshalled by three teachers who had taken them over from Skye to play a game of Shinty with their local rivals and the teenagers turned out to be fine ambassadors for themselves, their school and their island.

The teenagers, like us and our roommates are quick to extinguish the lights and rest their weary limbs before an early rise the following morning.