Walking on Harris and Lewis. Richard Barrett

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Looking south from the summit of Cleit Ard (Walk 8)

INTRODUCTION

      Together Harris and Lewis make up the largest island of the 130 mile-long archipelago known as the Outer Hebrides or the Western Isles. They lie at the very edge of Europe and, other than St Kilda and a few other isolated mountain peaks rising from the ocean bed, there is nothing but ocean to the west at a latitude of 58°N until you hit the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. During the dark winter months there are gales every third day; and the other two are simply windy! And with nothing in their way for thousands of miles, the Atlantic winds rattle ill-fitting doors and snatch carelessly pegged clothes from washing lines making the islands seem a desperate place to be.

      Much of Lewis is black peat bog pitted with thousands of lochs and lochans and the interior of South Harris looks so ‘lunar’ that it stood in as the planet Jupiter for the filming of the sci-fi movie 2001: A Space Odyssey back in 1968. It all makes for a seemingly unappealing and hostile place to go walking, especially when getting there will certainly take longer and could cost you more than a budget flight to the guaranteed warmth of southern Europe.

      Taransay – perhaps the best known island in the Outer Hebrides after the televised ‘Castaway’ series

      But if you're a dedicated walker, tired of the crowded hills and mountains of more accessible areas, coming to Harris and Lewis is a must. You will get solitude in abundance and won't have to go far off the few beaten tracks to have a summit or glen to yourself. Although ferries and flights to the mainland are frequent these islands maintain an air of remoteness. Disembark at Uig after a week on the Outer Hebrides and even Skye can seem busy and boisterous, totally geared up for tourism.

СКАЧАТЬ