23 - Calanais and Gearraidh-na-h-Aibhne

Friday 19th May – Calanais and Gearraidh-na-h-Aibhne

Rising with the cuckoo calls at 4:35 am, I drove up to Tarbert. I was disappointed to find that the toilet block, with shower, was not going to open until 8:30 am; the garage was closed, of course, at 6:10 am, so I continued up to Gearraidh-na-h-Aibhne.

The weather looked ominous - a ‘warm-front’ cloud formation in the west, with wind from the ESE - and I was feeling cold - thermal layer, long-sleeved shirt, fleece, down jacket (hood up), cag (hood up), woolly hat - but the three sites with Standing Stones at Calanais were nearby, and early or rainy is the best time to avoid crowds. 

Calanais 1

Calanais 1

When I parked by the stones I was probably the first visitor of the day, but another car and more people soon arrived. Taking photos while dodging people can be difficult. Then to the visitor centre – nice loo – and to Calanais II and Calanais III about 1.5 km away – smaller in number of stones, scale and height, but the sombre atmosphere of the stones remained undisturbed by having no perimeter fence wrapped around these sites. Their haunting mystery is preserved despite the Information Centre. A lot is conjectured, but little is really known about their purpose, except that they were set up on three sites between 2900 BC and 2600 BC. While I tried to capture the atmosphere, snipe displayed, geese honked, passing overhead, and a skylark sang. 

Calanais 2

Callanais 2

Calanais 3

I visited a stone circle by the Uig road then took a side road for a bit of quiet and maybe some wildlife spotting by a loch. One car passed each way, the wind moaned gently, but no wildlife appeared – it appears when unsought for. I was starting to feel as dismal as the view so I prescribed some ‘cheer-up food’ – cup of tea, mug of porridge with a spoonful of raisins, ryebread and Brie, yogurt and banana – then read and dozed until a little sunshine woke me. 

From Druim Falasgair, looking over Loch Sgaire with the North Harris hills beyond.

I took a short amble onto a small hillock, realised I wasn’t wearing my knee support and decided on avoiding anything steep or long in case of upsetting my knee joint for the next day. A cuckoo was calling, the sky looked better, sunbeams were descending to light some place out of sight beyond a nearby hill, and I fancied going over to the end of the sunbeam. Instead I gazed south at a line of North Harris hills. 25 km away on a 210-degree bearing I could see the gap I intended to walk through the next day – a gap made prominent, not only by the way it divided the hills, but also by the step cliffs and sharp peak on its east – Eagle Rock with the Golden Eagle Observatory below. I wondered about the distance and the terrain. A barrier of hills – steep, inhospitable, forlorn – a bus to Stornaway, another to Tarbert, a 12 km road walk from Tarbert to Loch Mhiabhaig, 9 km of probable track in unknown form to Loch Bhoisimid, a 14 km route through potentially boggy land, mostly without tracks, obstructed by small rivers, large streams, areas of bog with water-filled lochans, to reach the B8011, then 14 km NE along the road. Panic would be an easy response, but I exercised restraint, sat, looked, listened, relaxed and drew in a sense of calm.

I attempted to find a perfect, quiet spot to park the van – suitable for sleeping overnight as well as leaving parked for the next two days and close enough to the A858 bus stop in Gearraidh na h-Aibhne for the 8:05 am morning bus to Stornaway. I didn't find quite what I wanted, however, I did find a convenient place in a large loop of old road (233308), parallel to the B8011, about 1 km from the A858 junction.  An occasional fisherman parked to try the river, without success, five tufted ducks fed and, now and then, a car swept past along the new road. I set about drawing up my kit list, my feeding plan, packing my rucksack and laying out my  clothes - which I would wear and which I would would depend on the morning weather conditions.

Rucksack contents:

lower section – tent - outer and inner.

side pockets – tent pegs and poles, midge repellent, sun-cream, whistle, lip-u.v.-balm, knife, water purifiers, lighter, foot-talc, midge head-net, water-bottle, head-torch, mini-soap, mini-toothbrush, mini-toothpaste, Immodium, loo paper, spare insoles, first-aid (Betadine, plasters, bandage, tweezers, etc.).

main section – Closed-cell mat - loosely rolled then expanded around the inside circumference of the pack; sleeping bag and liner, spare socks, balaclava, food, down jacket - all squeezed inside the closed-cell mat.

To wear – thermal base layer top, shirt, fleece, cag, Meindl Bhutan boots, socks, knee support, trousers, over-trousers, fleece hat with peak, map-case, two O.S. maps, two bus timetables, notebook and pencil, compass and whistle, lightweight towel worn as scarf, camera, spare camera battery, 2 lightweight walking poles.

Food Schedule

This plan proved very helpful, since I ticked off each item as it was eaten, so if I didn’t eat an item at its planned time, I could transfer it forward to another meal, a between meal or a supper snack, if wanted. In the past, I have left something(s) from one meal, wished I’d had more at another meal / snack-time but forgotten about the left-overs and carried them as unnecessary weight.

		Rocky Bar	Rounds of bread (sandwiched)	Boiled egg	Hunks of Cheese	Large ready cooked sausage	Oatcakes	Cookies
Saturday	breakfast								Tea, porridge and raisins
	lunch	1	2	1	1	1/2	4	1	orange, banana, bread roll
	tea	1	2	1	1		4	1	orange,
Sunday	breakfast	1	2		1		4		banana
	lunch	1	2	1	1	1/2	4	1	apple, peanuts + raisins
	tea	1	2	1	1		4	1
	extra		1		1		3		peanuts + raisins, beef jerky