Monday 11 October 2021

Room for one more.

I carried on driving north. The weather had deteriorated and it wasn't much fun. There was one more beach I wanted to see and that was over on Harris. I made my way to Berneray to see if I could get on a boat. I had a ticket but it was for the following day. There happened to be a boat due in and several vehicles were waiting to get on. I joined the queue for large vehicles, and those not booked. The first two queues were loaded then the attendant came to our queue, there were three in front of me. He waved them on. Was I going to get on. I showed him my ticket, he waved me on. Yippeeee, I made it. A minute later the ramp was going up and off we went. 
 
Driving up the coast road heading for Tarbert I stopped to take this photo. The sea was looking really rough and the wind was getting up. 
Luskentyre Beach is beautiful, even on a cold and windy day. It's at the end of a narrow road, aren't they all, ha ha, with a car park. 
Time for a walk. Not may people about. 

Mist over the mountains and a sea thrashing about on the shore. Too cold for a paddle. I did record a video here, but it was impossible to shield the camera from the wind noise, so I deleted it. 


The solitude is wonderful. Time for daydreaming and getting lost in your own thoughts. Everywhere is so clean. I didn't see any litter anywhere on the islands. 

I still had two days left to fill before getting the boat to Skye. I wondered what to do with them. I could go and find another beach, I could drive down some more narrow roads and look for something of interest, but to be honest I couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to do that. It was cold, it was wet, and I am happy with what I have done up to now. 

I went to Tarbert to check out the boat situation. I might be able to change my ticket and get an earlier crossing back to Skye. As I came down the hill and looked down at the ferry port I saw there was a boat in, and it was almost loaded. I parked outside the distillery and went to the CalMac office. I presented my ticket to the man on the desk and asked what were the chances of getting an earlier boat. I jokingly said, I suppose I am too late to get on that one in now. He said, go and get your car and get on it. 

I legged it back to the car, waving at the crew to wait a minute. I did a u turn and drove straight on. 30 seconds later the ramp went up, and off we went. Phew, that was close. 

Come back later to find out what happened next when I got off at Skye. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

10 comments:

  1. Fabulous beaches up there. When we were on the Road to the Isles we stopped at the Back of Keppoch where the sands were so tempting and the sea so clear - you could see the bottom quite a way out. We loved it so much we went back and camped there on the way home from Skye and our kids LOVED it. Wish we could visit again and stay for a week or so.

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    1. I need to go back up there at some point.

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  2. Calmac are amazing. They have a propensity for being disorganized but will bend over backwards to make your time on the islands a success.

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    1. Yes, CalMac are brilliant, so helpful. There are going to be passengers who need to change the times of their crossings. The islands are the sort of places where you don't know what you are going to do until you get there. CalMac are flexible to accommodate changes of plan.

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  3. Looks like a great and lucky trip. Hope the rest goes as well.

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    1. Everything went really well. Not finding a B & B is ok when I have my bed with me.

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  4. I enjoy reading about your adventures. You were so lucky to get an earlier boat.
    Hazel 🌈🌈

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    1. I always like to leave the end of my holiday to chance. See how it goes, do I leave early or add another day or two to it. I like the flexibility.

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  5. My kind of beaches, hardly anyone around and firm sand to walk on at the water's edge, dodging the waves to your heart's content. As for catching the ferry in the nick of time, to coin a saying of Del Boy's, "She who dares." We make our luck. Great story, and may there be many more. I'm sure there will be. Charlie.

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    1. Thank you KH. Not like Brighton Beach eh! Ha ha. I am keen to go on another adventure.

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