We woke early this morning to a perfect sunny, calm day. We left the brilliant Backpackers Hostel, Oban at 6.15am to hand our bags over to Linda/Jillian in their camper van at Oban Pier. Boarding was 6.45am on the Clansman ferry, departure at 7.15am. Our first port of call was the Island of Coll, then Tiree arriving Barra 2.15pm, over 7 hours journey, aaahhhh. We breakfasted and lunched on board. The scenery was absolutely stunning, cruising through the Sound of Mull, we spotted otters, porpoises and basking sharks. The islands were very flat, without trees, houses randomly scattered like flowers, no protection whatsoever from the elements. Folk Musicians came on board at Tiree and played, in the bar, all the way to Barra, what a welcome. Wonderful. The 7 hours seemed to fly by and before we knew it we were landing at Barra to the sound of bagpipes. We had an 1.5 hours to catch our next ferry to Eriskay, thankfully for just 45mins. The Belles were desperate to get on the bikes and set off at a rate of knots over the undulating route ( 9.5 miles) only detouring to view the Beach Airport in North Barra. The Eriskay ferry left on time and again we were spoilt with fantastic views. I got chatting to a guy, Charlie from Surrey who had spent the last 6 weeks travelling through England, Wales and now Scotland, he too was travelling/camping through the OH then continuing in mainland Scotland for the next month. Now on Eriskay we were faced with some very sharp, steep hills. We detoured to The Politician Bar where we were shown the whisky, bottle and machete from the shipwrecked SS Politician of Whisky Galore fame. Of course we had to have a drink. Over a causeway now to South Uist to our accommodation, the Polochur Inn, Linda/Jillian in camper van Cilla 2 in a nearby campsite. We all met up for a fun dinner in the Inn, Jillian reporting on the weather for tomorrow and Carol relating history and points of interest that we will pass. Jillian is also trying to teach us a Gaelic word each day without much success. We have been allocated Gaelic names.. I am Seonaid for Janice, Isla is Ile, Linda is Mali, Fiona C is Sheena, Fiona L is Marie ( the other five in tomorrow's post ).. much hilarity. An absolute brilliant first day in the Outer Hebrides, the weather, scenery, company, people... couldn't have been better. A welcome later start tomorrow, the Belles roll out at 10.00am, watch this space.
Look at that weather Perfect
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