Heabhal and Vatersay and Verstappen genes 21 May 2025

 

A friendly Madonna looks down on Castlebay from near the top of Heabhal.

I was out at 07.00 to climb the highest mountain on Barra before breakfast. It’s not very high - just 383m - but was a steep enough climb to do before everyone else is even up! Thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly as I heard a couple of Corncrakes on my way.

After breakfast we all headed for Vatersay, a smaller island attached to the south of Barra by a causeway. Susie and Gordon went on their electric bikes, while Mary and I took the bus.  The driver obviously does this route at least 3 times a day, so he knows the road well, and he’s bored.  To cheer himself up he drives manically fast, has music on, and tries to mow cyclists down without actually hitting them.  What fun?!! Verstappen eat your heart out.

The thing that is special about Vatersay are the three beautiful white sand beaches with a large area of machair in between.

Traigh Shiar, the west beach.

Bagh a Deas beach to the south of the island, has cattle
that roam the sands and graze the machair (and a Mary).

Susie and Gordon got a German girl take formal portrait on the south beach.

Overlooking the west beach is the Annie Jane memorial.  
In 1853 the ‘Annie Jane’ set sail from Liverpool heading for Quebec.  On board were 450 Irish, Scottish and English emigrants fleeing poverty and the famine. At nearly midnight on 28th September 1853 the ship was wrecked in a terrible storm and driven ashore in the bay.  350 men, women and children lost their lives. They were buried in the sand dunes at this site.

The ‘Annie Jane’

A few hundred yards back towards the Barra causeway is the site of the crash of a Catalina aircraft on 12 May 1944.  The Catalina JX273 was on a night operational flying exercise out of Oban when it crashed. Three of the nine crew were killed, the rest being injured.  Substantial  remains of the plane are still lying beside the road.

A wing of the crashed Catalina JX273

Flowers of the machair
Machair is a unique coastal habitat characterised by a flat or gently undulating landscape of fertile, lime-rich sands and shell fragments. It is a blend of natural and human influences, resulting in a rich biodiversity.


Gneiss boulders on the west beach (Gneiss is a metamorphic rock characterised by the separation of its constituent minerals into coloured bands).

The Fish Box Kitchen is a trailer located just at the top of the marina gangway. Very busy and well recommended.  We ordered two specials and two fish of the day (with monkfish rather than whiting).

Probably not Michelin quality, but pretty good, filled a gap and we thoroughly enjoyed it all.


Our Barra and Vatersay bird list is a respectable 34 species (with at least 3 Corncrakes, and 1 Bonxie).

Our route: look up the Formula One records!








































































































































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hebridean Adventure 2025 15 May 2025

Image
  Our anchorage among the Ardmore Islands on the SE corner of the Island of Islay Come with us on holiday amongst the Inner and Outer Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland.  Three weeks (ish) of pockling about, guided by the weather, tides and our whims.  What could be better?!  And if day one is anything to go by, it’s going to be a belter?! After 3 or 4 weeks of brilliant weather we can’t really believe that it’s still fabulous, and that it’s forecast to last for another week.  We left Bangor at 12.00 midday, and headed north.  A little bit breezy for the first couple of hours, but then it became calmer and calmer, until it was glassy calm at 18.00 as we arrived at the south corner of Islay. Blackhead lighthouse at we passed at about 13.00 A string of Gannets pass with Islay on the left in the distance and the Paps of Jura on the right. We’ve pulled into an anchorage amongst a group of very small islands on the south east corner of Islay.  Normally ...
Read more

Wildlife, Whisky and Wonderment Ardmore Isles to Oronsay 16 May 25

Image
  A portly Harbour Seal (along with it’s many family and friends) kept us company all morning at our sheltered anchorage amongst the Ardmore Isles. The time of the tide north through the Sound of Islay (between Islay and Jura) meant that we did not have to leave our anchorage until midday - thus a wonderful morning surrounded by the beauty and wildlife of the Ardmore Islands.  Common and Arctic Terns foraging and calling, Red-breasted Mergansers in courtship flights, Harbour Seals loafing and playing (one youngster did a circuit of the bay leaping right out of the water 20+ times - ooh to be so full of life!), a Sea Eagle upset all the other birds as it cruised past, and Great Northern Divers hunted near the boat.  Red Deer along the shoreline and Cuckoos singing to left and right.  Idyllic. Great Northern Divers hunted near the boat. A Sea Eagle cruised past then settled on the rocks at the entrance to the anchorage. Meanwhile we had a long breakfast quickly followe...
Read more

Better than the Caribbean! Oronsay to Tobermory 17 May 2025

Image
  Entering David Balfour Bay - it’s been on Susie’s to-do list for a long time.  And for good reason.  It was stunning, better than the Caribbean! Oronsay was as lovely as yesterday, though there was more of a breeze than forecast and it was cool enough.  However that didn’t stop the Great Northern Divers diving all around us, and a family of Shelducks with 9 tiny young feeding along the waters edge, a Bonxie flew over, and the Lapwings displayed above the nearby fields.  As we lifted the anchor at 08.30 a herd of cattle crossed the field knowingly heading for the tastiest grazing. The sun was shining. We headed north up past Colonsay and an hour and a half beyond to the southwest corner of Mull, to visit David Balfour Bay.  Susie has long wanted to visit it, so a coffee stop seemed a good excuse.  It is named after the main character in Robert Louis Stevenson’s book ‘Kidnapped’ which was partially filmed here.   This panorama only marginally port...
Read more