Barra, Vatersay and Eriskay (yes, yet more islands - sorry)

There is a little ferry that runs from Eriskay (another island, linked to South Uist by a causeway) over to Barra. We felt that we had to visit and it made sense to go with the hire car rather than arriving by boat, anchoring in Castlebay and then just seeing the one little town.

So, we got up at a really stupid time to drive to the terminal to get the 8:10 departure. Actually, terminal is a bit grand, in typical Calmac small ferry style there is a slipway, a hut to sit in for foot passengers, a sign and a parking / waiting area. The ferry is not built for beauty or speed:

This was the first trip from Eriskay over to Barra and it had a fair few "builders" on board who were commuting from the big islands to the little one for work. At least we assume they were builders as they had the regulation miserable faces, hi-viz jackets, bottles of Irn Bru, rucksacks with lunch boxes, work boots, tool belts and iPhones to keep them amused during the 40 minute crossing. We saw the same gang on the last ferry back from Barra - the only worrying bit was that they didn't look any dirtier or particularly puffed out. They were equally dour though.

Our first stop on this delightful island was the famous airport. Famous because it is apparently the only one in the world where the planes land on the beach and the flight timings are worked around high tide. Luckily we were there just before the first of the two flights of the day arrived and the preparation was at fever pitch. Well, maybe we have oversold that - the two Defender fire trucks were driven out onto the beach:

We felt jealous - our Defender only has 4 wheels. An "operations vehicle" drove about on the beach looking for debris for a while, then the little Twin Otter aircraft made its approach and touchdown, taxiing across the beach towards the terminal building, throwing up sand and a bit of spray from the wheels too:

The warning sign on the beach is certainly needed:

As you can see, the disembarkation arrangements are a little primitive but effective:

And the baggage reclaim is interesting too - most folks would recognise it as a bus shelter:

Quite an infrastructure (with a nice big new control tower too) for a tiny island. Luckily maintenance is pretty low as the runway gets resurfaced free of charge twice a day at high tide. The airport is classed as an essential local service - we tried not to think about how much the government subsidy is per year.

Pottering around the island was great. It is kind of a miniature version of Harris but better in a way as there is a road running up the east coast so you get to enjoy the rocky landscape even more. There is another causeway across to Vatersay:

And the Vatersay beaches are typical west coast offerings. Pure white sand, long, empty and well worth a visit. Think our godpuppy and goddog would both have liked this one:

The "capital" is Castlebay which felt more like a little mainland town than the places on the Uists and Benbecula. Several stone houses clustered around the harbour with some shops, restaurants, tea shops and the eponymous Hotel. Being very conscious that we have not shared any lighthouses or lifeboats recently, here is the Castlebay boat tucked up on her mooring:

Bearing in mind the area that she covers (out into the Atlantic) she probably goes out in some conditions that most of us would prefer to avoid. Sometimes being too old to be a crew member volunteer is a good excuse for being extra careful. If we were being picky, we think that the permanently employed engineer should spend less time chatting to his local mates (seems like it took up a lot of his day) and more time cleaning all those streaks off the hull. We are sure that the mechanical bits are fine though, but don't want to bother them to test it out.

We went big and had lunch in the hotel in Castlebay. The steak and ale pie was the biggest we have ever seen with enough meat in it to feed both of us. No risk of going hungry here. The view was pretty good from our window seat too. Here is a stolen version of it from the hotel webcam showing Kisimul castle and the ferry:

Barra is a lovely compact island, great beaches, great rocky coastline, lovely views and friendly folks (apart from the incoming builders that is). Go and experience it for yourself.