Island love
a “‘afi‘h:
Former Edinburgh University Students’ Union president Ruth Cameron grew up on Harris, and the sense of community still draws her back.
I Despite the fact that the gates to Tarbert's tiny football pitch get locked on Sundays. and the playpark swings get tied up so that nothing disturbs the silent solemnity of the Sabbath, Harris is a wonderful place for a child to grow up. Hearach children are not mollycoddled; we were sent out to play on the clean sandy beaches and roam through the heathered hills to our wee hearts’ content. We would gather in unlikely spots — at the petrol station. the ferry terminal or the public toilets — to talk kindly about the annual influx of t0urists, and less kindly about our neighbours on Lewis.
Growing up on the edge of the Atlantic, where your lifestyle and livelihood are so dependent on the weather conditions, gives Hearachs a very real sense of their place in the world. In a place where so many of the population still live off the land as fishermen or crofters. there is a growing awareness of our reliance on the natural world. When there were attempts to create a superquarry on Harris ten years ago, the resistance from locals concerned about marine pollution far outweighed the support from those hoping for employment opportunities.
Now in my mid-20s. and based permanently in Edinburgh. I don't go back to visit Harris - home — as often as I would like. When I do. it is always comforting to find that little has changed. There are more mainlanders moving to the island, but the recent land buy-out in North Harris has ensured that a sense of community remains. Willie the Milk. Colin the Fish. and John-Alec the Post are all there to stay.
96 THE LIST 19 Oct—2 Nov 2006
TRAVEL
people. They‘ll say hello and ask how you are when they don’t know you. Strange. eh‘.’ But then it‘s easy to get romantic about a place and its inhabitants when it looks like this.
Driving down through Harris (which. despite often being advertised as such is no more an island than Lewis: they could best be described as conjoined twins). sheep chew grass nonchalantly at the side of the road. occasional sea eagles and other birds of prey glide on the thermals. finger- tipped wings outspread. and peat bogs brim with hungry midge. The Tarbert side of Harris is beachless. with sublime diving opportunities: straight off the rocks and into seal country with the clearest waters this side of Belize. However. it‘s the Atlantic coast you go to for the white stuff.
Coming over the hill and seeing a first glimpse of Luskentyre beach. you may not be able to believe your eyes. It’s still miles
off. but the gleaming white tops of
the towering dunes sit enticingly against the machair. This vast beach bites hard into Harris. When the tide comes in. it becomes the Sound of Taransay (Taransay is an island just off Luskentyre and is the place that the BBC first discovered its love for Ben Fogle on Castaway). ‘Can this really be a beach in the British lsles‘." is a common wondering. You suspect that you are indeed south of the Equator (minus the odd Highland Cow eyeballing you through a ginger fringe as you change into your shorts). That is until you venture into the water. If you wear
a thin wetsuit you can happily splosh for hours. or surf in ample swell. Go without and you will experience a new kind of cold.
()n this road you’ll drive through a village that is now known by its original name. Obbe. ln I920 however. it was renamed Leverburgh. after the soap tycoon Lord Leverhulme who bought the estate on which it stands. He founded a fish-processing unit and built houses for his workers. Huge catches of herring were landed and all seemed well. When he died in 1925. the board of Lever Brothers sold the estate and the area‘s livelihood fell away.
History is everywhere here. from the standing stones at (‘allanish in Lewis which pre-date Stonehenge to the line lbth century church at Rodel. but just sitting on Luskentyre watching the gannets diving for sand eels and porpoises surfing you feel like nothing has changed for thousands of years. Hopefully that’s the way it will stay. with little additions such as saunas taking the bite out of the Hebridean wind.
FACTFILE
Getting there Fly to Stornoway from Glasgow and Edinburgh with Loganair (0345 222 111, www.ba.com). or from Edinburgh with British Midland (0870 60 70 555. www.flybmi.com).
By train. travel from Glasgow to Oban (www.scotrail.co.uk). then a ferry to Barra in the south of the Outer Hebrides. From here you can get a bus up to Harris.
By car from Glasgow, take the A82 to Spean Bridge. where you turn off onto the A87 that ends at Uig. From Edinburgh take the A9. turning off at the A86 to get to Spean Bridge; both journeys take about six hours. From Uig. the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Tarbert takes roughly 90 minutes. depending on the weather. Car places should be booked in advance. (08705 650000. www.calmac.co.uk; a return ticket for a vehicle with four adults costs $146 on a Saturday at the end of October).
Accommodation Croft Cottage sleeps up to six people and costs 93800-531000 per week. but can also be hired for four days in off-peak season for £450 (owner Alice Read: 01859 502338 or 01851 705352. www.croftcottageharris.co.uk).
Getting around the island is easiest by car. but cyclists are a common sight and there are local bus services. What to do For details of guided tours, nature walks and boat trips to bird sanctuary of St Kilda. see www.visithebrides.com. Petrol and food are expensive on the island. so take supplies if self-catering. The local seafood is fantastic. and there are croft businesses selling Harris Tweed cloth. knitwear and clothing all over the islands: just keep a look out for the signposts.