Around Berneray Hostel
Berneray forms a very interesting detour and stopping-off point on the journey from Barra and South Uist to Harris and Lewis. Many visitors stay much longer than originally planned at the hostel to ‘get-away-from-it-all’ and savour the friendly, peaceful and timeless atmosphere of the island.
For an island of such modest size compared with larger neighbouring places like South Uist and Harris/Lewis, Berneray is known far and wide. Believed to have been originally used by the Vikings as a sacred burial ground and coveted for its kind climate and fertile soil, Berneray is now famous for its long, unspoilt machair-fringed sandy beaches, crofting associations with the Royal Family and birthplace of the 8 feet-tall Scottish giant, Angus MacAskill ! A causeway was built in 1998 connecting it to North Uist and thus making Berneray and the GHHT hostel much more accessible to visitors and an ideal base for exploring the island itself and convenient day-trips across the Sound of Berneray to the numerous attractions and tourist services of North Uist.
The hostel is situated on the northeast edge of the island towards the end of the road, which passes through the main settlement and harbour at Borgh. The hostel comprises two old blackhouse dwellings nestled in the machair dunes above the sea with great views across the Sound of Harris to the golden beaches and lonely mountains of Harris.
Berneray
Walks Around the Island
The island is low-lying and compact (3 miles by 1 mile) and best explored leisurely on foot to gain a real sense of the magic, tranquillity and isolation of the place. This moderate-length walk provides a taste of the islands’ ancient history, diverse sea/landscapes and abundant wildlife habitats.
From the hostel head northwest along the machair to the inhabited crofting settlement at Ruisgearraidh. Beyond the farm buildings a gently rising slope grazed by sheep leads up to the top of Beinn Shleibhe from where there are breathtaking views across to Harris and west to the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean with tantalising glimpses of St Kilda on a clear day. Descend the grassy slopes to the inviting three-mile stretch of shellsand beach overlooking the small island of Boreray. The calm, clear waters provide a great setting for a swim on a warm day followed by a picnic and a snooze.
After walking south along the beach for about one and a half miles turn inland, climbing the imposing frontal sand cliffs which provide access to smaller fossilised sand dunes covered by marram grass. In spring this sheltered, undulating landscape is an ecologist’s paradise with a riot of wildflowers, birdsong and insect life. Eventually you will approach the outer margins of the settlement of Borgh where at the boundary with the machair is situated the remains of the mysterious Chair Stone. A community centre nearby provides refreshments and is the focus for island activities like ceilidhs, games and concerts in summer. It is near here that Prince Charles made a holiday visit between regal duties, staying with a local crofter to harvest potatoes. From the community centre ascend Beinn a Claidh by the waymarked path where the summit reveals more ancient graves and standing stones of archaeological interest. Rough slopes lead down to the east side of the island where the main road is reached and a pleasant walk back to the hostel.
A useful booklet entitled ‘Western Isles Walks – ‘Cuairt Bhearnaidh’ can be purchased for a small fee from tourist information centres across the Outer Hebrides which provides further interesting details about this walk.
Around the Hostel
In the immediate vicinity of the hostel are a number of features that can be visited during a relaxing evening stroll. Behind the hostel is the oldest surviving building on the island called MacLeod’s Gunnery. Dating back to the 16th Century, the gunnery was the seat of the MacLeods of Berneray and was a fortified block of two storeys used for defence in times of feuding with rival clans. Despite its age the basic structural integrity of the building remains and with the narrow splayed windows and lichen covered roof presents a photogenic site in the low evening sunlight. Continuing across the machair behind the hostel is a scattering of old abandoned, decaying crofts providing a melancholy reminder of the harsh times on these islands in the not too distant past. Below the hostel on the beach are the partially submerged remains of an ancient pier or causeway believed to be of Viking origin and later used by the MacLeod family. This can be explored at low tide. Birds and seals can sometimes be seen around the rocks and can be viewed from the conveniently situated park-benches outside the hostel entrance.
North Uist
Despite its considerable size North Uist seems to receive less attention than the more dramatic islands of Harris, Lewis, Barra and South Uist. Nevertheless, a scattering of interesting natural and historical attractions do exist across the watery landscape of the island that can be investigated during easy day trips from Berneray. The features outlined below form part of a circular tour of the island that can be readily undertaken in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction.
Lochmaddy
The main settlement on North Uist with ferry connections to Skye in the Inner Hebrides. A place to stock up on food supplies, petrol, bank and other services. With a café, pub and tourist information and museum/arts centre it provides a useful refuge during inclement weather when other sites normally worth visiting on the island may appear less appealing. The Uist Outdoor Centre also organises activities such as climbing, canoeing, scuba diving and environmental studies.
Barpa Langass
On the A867 halfway down the island towards Benbecula are a couple of prehistoric archaeological sites within easy reach of the road. Situated on the bleak western slopes of Ben Langass, Barpa Langass is a large Neolithic cairn and burial chamber dating from about 3000 BC. The interior can be investigated with caution although a torch is useful. Extensive views from the cairn reveal the desolate, lochan-infested moorland that is characteristic of this island. There are other cairns situated around the island and can be identified on the local OS map but none are so accessible or conveniently well preserved to be of serious interest for the casual visitor.
A 30-minute walk around the southern flanks of the mountain is the ancient and equally well-preserved stone circle of Pobull Fhinn overlooking Loch Langass. In this lonely, isolated location you are even more likely to have the site to yourself. Langass Lodge is well known in the area for its local game and seafood cooking providing a welcome change to the standard frozen food on offer in most local stores and supermarkets on the islands.
West Coast
At Clachan na Luib a crossroads provides a choice of routes south to Benbecula and west (A865) to the sandy beaches of the west coast with views out to sea. Near Carinish are an ancient temple and an overgrown stone circle bisected by the A865. On the peninsula of Baleshare is a three mile long sandy beach with views of the Monach Islands five miles distant. Amazingly, these islands were connected by a shallow land bridge to North Uist unitl the 16th Century when a fierce storm destroyed the natural sand bar necessitating future access by boat. Depopulated early last century, the islands are seldom visited these days and are the haunt of grey seals and nesting seabirds. Trips to the islands can be arranged from the RSPB office in Lochmaddy. Further north along the main road is the small settlement of Houghgarry and the Balranald RSPB Reserve that is host to gannets, skuas, plover, redshank and the occasional corncrake. A warden arranges nature walks through the reserve.
On the northwest tip of the island and seen from the road is the distinctive Scolpaig Tower situated on a small rocky outcrop in the middle of Loch Scolpaig. A walk down towards the sea provides a view of the rocky coast in this portion of the island and an old dwelling occupied by a solitary soul who must be one of the oldest inhabitants of the island. The proximity to St Kilda offers a detail of these spectacular islands rarely seen from other locations. In good visibility the dark, gravity-defying cliffs of Stac Lee and Hirta can be observed conjuring up dreams of epic journeys to this mysterious and romantic island group. On a wild day however, with mountainous seas crashing noisily against the cliffs the visitor may feel somewhat more humbled and content to stay firmly on the more subdued terra firma provided by North Uist!
North Coast
Before reaching Otternish and the Berneray causeway, the sands of Bhalaigh Strand provide another setting for a walk in beautiful surroundings. Nearby is the settlement of Sollas with a local food store. The abandoned crofts that pepper the landscape are further testament to the period of history known as ‘The Clearances’ when tenant crofters were evicted off the land and banished to North America to be replaced by more profitable sheep farming or deer estates. Just beyond the turn-off to Berneray is a site of 3 ‘stone-men’ who by local legend were turned to stone by an angry witch.
Benbecula
Benbecula is often considered merely a stepping-stone between North Uist and South Uist and is dominated by the Ministry of Defence activities in the area. The island provides utilitarian offerings to the visitor rather than rich sightseeing opportunities with a petrol station, supermarket and internet/computer facilities open to the public at the new community school at Liniclate. Along the road are the ruins of Borve Castle.