A Ferry Ride to Harris and Lewis with a side of Kilts and the Blue House 23rd Dec 2019

Despite going to bed later than has been usual here (about 9.00pm) I was still awake at 2.00am. This is still likely to be due the Prednisolone I’m on for my chest infection rather than anything else - I am so much more relaxed here on the Trotternish Peninsula - it’s so peaceful and tranquil.

Vince and I were up early doing internet stuff and I was practicing building a fire in our log heater so the time soon ticked away.

To relieve some of the stress on our bludging little fridge I organised a cooked breakfast of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, baked beans and toast for our bellies to start the day and we were well set to head of on our Mini-Adventure (as Vince is calling it) to get the boys fitted for their Wedding kilts.

The Ferry Schedule meant we needed to leave Willie McLeod’s by 12.00pm just to be absolutely sure there were no traffic hold ups or anything (Heilan Coos or Shaggy Sheep) on the single lane roads to cause us delay - as we couldn’t afford to miss this one and only ferry crossing today. Our planning was fortuitous as Alan (the local farmer), with his 12 Border Collies, had is tractor stuck on the drive way. Aad and Mike helped move hay bails to move things along and we were soon on our way. Whilst they did this I managed to sneak a couple of left over sausages from my previous day’s breakfast to Darky (an elderly male with cataracts) and Cali (Calamity).

The trip to Uig was about half an hour and we soon found ourselves lined up in the car line to board the “Hebrides” CalMac Ferry. The 1 hour 40min voyage was uneventful, although we all did feel a little sea sick despite taking some Ondansetron. The Captain’s safety announcement was comical, with his “in the case of the boat sinking…..”

Lewis and Harris is a Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, although they sound like to separate Islands they are two parts of the one Island. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and the island of Ireland. As the main island in the Outer Hebrides, it’s a great place to dramatic landscapes, Gaelic culture and historic traditions and attractions.

Today we were headed for Stornoway, on the east coast - the largest town of the Island. As soon as we departed the ferry we were blown away with the ever-changing mix of terrains which included mountains, hills, luna-like rocky plateaus, moors, meadows, rugged coastlines and white sandy beaches.

I am keen to check out the Harris Tweed and Distillery but that will have to wait for later in our trip as today was another tight schedule.

We arrived at 3.40pm on Harris and soon realised that with the already fading light that the 1 hour drive to Lewis, would soon be in the dark - and indeed it was for almost all the way. Travelling on the narrow roads with no streetlights and many sheep on the roads was a real challenge, and pretty stressful for Vince, in fact for us all.

By 4.45pm we had found the Celtic Clothing Shop on Bayhead Street and the lovely Rachel soon had Mike stripping off his outer layers to be fitted for his kilt first. Next was Aad and then Vince. It all went surprisingly smoothly, and given the nuances of fitting we were glad we had made the decision to attend in person and not over the phone. They all looked fabulous in the McLeod of Skye Tartan and it brought a tear to my eye. The addition of a Fly Plaid for Vince was the icing on the cake!. Vince was keen to get into the tradition and asked if he could hire a sword. No swords (claymores) available but Rachel did have a Dirk that people used for cutting the cake - so that was added in too. Rachel, whom I had been liaising with from Celtic Clothing, was very helpful.

We sent Aad and Mike to look for our accommodation at the Blue House (about 200m away at No 34) whilst we paid for the Highland Outfit hire. Not a cheap exercise at almost 600 pounds, but it will be worth it for those photos on the day.

As an aside I had been teasing Aad and Mike about what a Scotsman wears under his kilt, and much to their relief there was a sign in the hire place insisting on underwear being worn.

That done it was around 6.00pm and we were starving. The boys returned claiming they couldn’t find the place but our priority was for some dinner first in any case. Stornaway was pretty busy in the restaurants Rachel had recommended (HS1 and the Crown) so we ended up in a little fish and chip shop instead.

It was cold and raining, but we made our way back to the car and commenced the search for our accommodation around 7.30pm. In fact the Blue House (opposite Lewis Castle) was the place the boys had previously seen, it was the advertising for floor coverings that had confused them. Using the code the owner, Anna, had given us for the lock box we were soon inside.

It was a brilliant place and she had put the central heating on ahead of time, so it was lovely in warm. It went up two flights with a kitchen, lounge, toilet and ensuite bedroom on the first level, and two more ensuite bedrooms on the second level. Aad’s room even had a TV and bath! There was a gift basket of nibbles for us which we enjoyed whilst watching a bit of TV in the lounge with the fire on before retiring to bed around 9.00pm.