This is part of the travel journal I wrote while walking the Hebridean Way in 2022. If you want to see all the Hebridean Way posts, you can find them here.

Day 13 – Balallan to Stornoway and an Unexpected End

Photos of the Day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ndf7tr15vpUN8pAc8

Done, over, accomplished, the Hebridean Way is behind me. What? How? Today was supposed to be just the penultimate day, right? Well, a lucky combination of circumstances brought me to the end of the trail a day early: a small error in the hiking documents, good weather, and good company. But let’s start from the beginning.

I set off from Clearview B&B, consoled over the lost night at Kinloch House by an excellent breakfast. For the first hour, the route follows the road, but at least partly on paths parallel to it, not directly on the asphalt. I pass Kinloch House and reach Laxay, where the trail veers off for the last stretch over open moorland. 16km to Achmore (or Achadh Mòr), says my itinerary. Shortly after, I see something yellow-green emerging from the woods (yes, there are a few more of those here) onto the path ahead. Could that be Janna’s rain cover on her backpack? Indeed, she camped here and is just setting off. This is welcome company to stave off the end-of-hike blues, and together we trudge into the moor.

This is part of the travel journal I wrote while walking the Hebridean Way in 2022. If you want to see all the Hebridean Way posts, you can find them here.

Day 11 – Tarbert to Kinloch in Sun and Wind

Photos of the day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RK1gLcHEZWadKR4w7

Today, I have a short day ahead of me, only 15 km to the Scaladale Center in Ardvourlie, and it’s supposed to be really sunny in the afternoon. That feels a bit silly, so I look at the route and think that the taxi can probably pick me up a bit further along the way since the path runs along the route to my next B&B. Let’s see how that works out.

I say goodbye to Hotel Hebrides and Tarbert – a very nice place. The dinner at the hotel wasn’t the best, nor was the beer, but the breakfast and the room were really good. It’s still cloudy, and the occasional shower threatens, but I don’t feel like hanging around Tarbert for another hour, so I set off at 10 am, heading east out of town towards North Harris. Lewis and Harris are a strange combination of islands. You’d think the narrow point at Tarbert would be the border between Lewis and Harris, but that’s not the case. The peninsula south of Tarbert is South Harris, the hills north of it are North Harris, and only beyond that does Lewis begin.