The Gatliff Hostel at Rhenigeadal (Walk 7)
Accommodation is in short supply and in the peak season even campsites can get full, so it is advisable to make a reservation before you arrive on the islands. Whatever your needs, a good place to start looking for accommodation is on the Visit the Outer Hebrides website www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk.
Safety considerations
Much of Harris and Lewis is remote and in a normal day you will encounter few fellow walkers. You are very much on your own. There is a local mountain rescue team but even if you are able to raise the alarm it is likely to be some time before assistance arrives. Therefore preventative measures and good risk assessment are vital. In addition to normal good mountain craft, the tips below may help.
Unless you are entirely confident in your navigation skills, think twice before venturing into the higher hills alone. Going as a pair is better, but being a party of three or more is preferable so that one person can remain with any casualty while the other raises help.
Check the weather forecast before you set out. As the Outer Hebrides are essentially a small landmass in a large maritime environment, it pays to check shipping forecasts and coastal waters forecasts as they will give you the outlook for wind speeds and visibility. These can be heard on BBC Radio 4 at 198 kHz on long wave at 0048, 0520, 1201 and 1754, accessed through the BBC Weather pages on the Web or obtained from the local tourist information offices in Tarbert and Stornoway. If you do you will lessen the risk of getting caught out in a gale or having to test your navigation skills in the mist. The wind deserves respect in the Western Isles. In January 2005 the islands experienced the worst gales for 50 years with a lorry driver in Lewis reporting a sheep being blown across his windscreen! Sadly a family of five was killed during the same storm when their car was blown off the South Ford causeway that links Benbecula and South Uist. If in doubt, put the walk off until the next day and find something else to do!
A whistle, watch, torch, survival shelter, first-aid kit and emergency food rations are all essential when venturing into high or remote terrain.
With a scale of 1:25,000 the Ordnance Survey Explorer series gives much more information than the 1:50,000 Landranger series and will make it easier to navigate this potentially difficult terrain. Purists will be happy to navigate with a map and compass, but having a hand-held GPS (global positioning system) will be an added safeguard and will certainly help you move more confidently, and therefore faster, over the often bleak moorland. Whatever you chose, it pays to be diligent, frequently checking your exact location and looking backwards so as to familiarise yourself with what may become a much-needed exit route.
Being exposed to wind and sun, the effects of which are intensified by the surrounding sea, it is always worthwhile during the summer months to include lip balm, sun hat and a high-factor suncream in your pack. Since the weather can change rapidly, and what starts out as a warm sunny day can quickly deteriorate into an unpleasant squall, it is always worth carrying a warm hat and gloves at any time of year.
Although some of the mobile phone networks give remarkably good reception in parts of the Outer Hebrides, it would be foolhardy to rely on a mobile to raise a distress call in the mountains. It is far better to leave your itinerary and estimated time of return with someone before you set out into the hills – remembering to let them know of your safe return lest they alert the support services.
Aurora borealis – the northern lights – are sometimes visible after violent bursts of solar activity
Midges
The peat bogs of Lewis and Harris provide the ideal breeding ground for a midge, Culicoides impunctatus, which despite being less than 2mm long has the infinite capacity to deter people from visiting the Hebrides. The midges swarm in the early morning and evening from May through to September and, once bitten, most people come out in red itchy blotches. The odd bite is tolerable, but being feasted on by a swarm results in a mass of irritable and inflamed lumps and bumps that will take a few days to disappear. Prevention is better than cure and there is a choice of repellents ranging from natural substances such as citronella through to chemically-based creams, sprays and wipes available at pharmacies. Bumps can be treated with antihistamine creams which can also be found at the pharmacy.
Ceapabhal and Taransay from Losgantir
There are other things you can do to minimise being bitten.
Stay indoors in the early morning and evening and even then keep the windows closed.
If you are camping and have little choice about being outdoors, choose a location which is not damp or shaded. Try to pitch somewhere that is sunny and subject to a steady breeze, such as on a west-facing coast or on higher ground, as a light wind tends to blow the midges away. They certainly never show during a gale – perhaps they never venture out, or perhaps they do and just get blasted across The Minch to the mainland!
Keep arms and legs covered up with light clothing and get a hat with a midge net to protect the face and neck.
Try the Marmite diet! Eating two pieces of bread or toast with a thick layer of Marmite for two weeks prior to your trip is reputed to make you unattractive to midges, as are additional quantities of Vitamin B1.
If you can, stick close to those who are prone to bites in the hope that the midges will overlook you! Reputed to work – although annoyingly the hapless victims tend to keep running off.
Footwear
Lewis and much of Harris consist of peat bog and even the summit plateaus of the highest mountains can be distinctly ‘quaggy’. The wet conditions underfoot might lead you to consider wearing wellingtons for walking but this would be unwise. While they might be a suitable choice for short, low-level walks, wellingtons do not provide the support needed to move safely on steep ground; neither do they have the type of sole needed for a good grip on wet rock. Today most good quality, ankle-height walking boots are totally waterproof and you will only get a wet foot if you go in up to your calf.
In the days when walkers wore knee length breeches gaiters were ubiquitous, but nowadays they are less often seen on the hills. They will provide protection when moving through wet grass and heather and will certainly help keep your trousers clean, but they cannot be expected to keep your feet completely dry.
Abandoned blackhouses around Ob Leasaid in South East Harris
Walking in the more remote parts of the islands is inevitably going to involve fording streams; carrying a pair of chunky plastic beach shoes and a towel in your pack may be advisable, especially if you do not have overnight access to drying facilities. However, if you cannot see the bottom of a stream or if it is in spate, you should either venture upstream to find a narrower and easier place to cross or turn back.
Access
In Scotland there has long been a general presumption of access to all land unless there is a very good reason for the public to be excluded. The Land Reform Act 2003 confirmed this presumption, and walkers in Scotland now have a statutory right of access to all land, except for areas such as railway