Uig Sands

There were two beaches recommended for us to visit and we had now ticked off the first, but time was ticking by. Tom had commented back in Stornoway that he could do with some something to eat and we had decided to get something from one of the cafés on the way. Little did we know, however, how hard that would turn out to be. After all, it was a Friday so places would easily be open ... wrong!

Our journey was slowed because we were trying to find somewhere to eat, but each time we turned up at a place advertising to serve food and snacks they were, for some unfathomable reason, all closed. Some were simply just closed and one was closed due to 'family circumstances', presumably because they had one - a family, that is. I had to keep pinching myself to make me realise we were actually on a remote island with a tourist trade because it is hard to believe that to be true - you would think the locals would be doing anything to entice transfers from tourists debit cards. Maybe we were the wrong kind of tourists or maybe July isn't the right kind of month, or the weather not windy enough. Who knows, but in the end we had to settle for a sandwich, crisps and a fizzy drink from a community shop even though a toastie, coffee and a cake would have been nice. Mind you, the tantalising view from the community shop car park of Uig sands was amazing. (Photo 1)

Having eaten our goodies we spotted time had moved further than we imagined and realised there was no longer enough time to actually go to the beach and then get back to visit Tesco to purchase food supplies for the yacht and then be ready to go out for a meal in the evening. We thetefore looked for a closer vantage point where we could at least get a good view of those extensive sands.

Not too far down the road there was a driveway to what looked like a large house with a sign saying it was a salmon smokery where they produce - wait for it - smoked salmon. I was a little reluctant to drive down what seemed to be a private drive but Penny & Tom commented that we could at least see the smokery before we took our photos of the beach. It was closed ... and of course we were no longer phased by this because that appears to be the norm on Lewis.

This therefore didn't stop us, so I parked the van just outside the door with the sign saying 'Closed' and we went to the rear of the building and snapped away - photos 2 and 3. Then, just as we were about to leave Penny spotted someone walking towards us and it turned out to be the owner of the smoke house who promptly sold me £11 worth of smoked salmon. It's in my fridge as I write this and I'm looking forward to tasting it very soon. That does make the photos of Uig sands a bit on the expensive side however.

Having found the two beaches we had a pleasant drive back to Stornoway, completed the supplies shop and then Penny, Tom & I went for a Thai meal in the town. We then we said our goodbyes on the harbourside next to Elixir, with Penny and Tom posing for a photo in front of the boat before I left and headed back to the campsite. Tomorrow morning they would be casting off around 10am to head further north to Orkney. I was looking forward to a day of photography.

The last photo of this footprint is of a new addition to my van and a present from Penny which she gave me during our Hebridean Rendezvous - a small cushion she had found in a craft shop printed with a painting of Glen Coe with three little campervans travelling through. It fits in perfectly and matches my colour scheme too, so how good is that! Yes, I know how sad it is that I have a van which has a colour scheme, so be kind to me! Czytaj więcej