is also not very helpful for those using the guides. Most likely you are going to be using this guide in conjunction with an Ordnance Survey map, where places and features are nearly always labelled in Gaelic, Norse or some hybrid of the two. Following that convention, I have chosen to use names taken directly from the OS maps throughout the text, making it much easier to follow route descriptions.
However, despite Ordnance Survey’s laudable policy on using Gaelic or Norse places names and the lengths it goes to when updating maps, all of which can be read on the OS website, naming on OS maps is far from consistent. For instance, neighbouring lochs at NB128120 on OS Explorer series 458 are labelled Loch Mòr Sheilabrie and Loch Beag Sheilibridh. There are numerous other inconsistencies, and finding such anomalies can provide yet another diversion for days when bad weather keeps you indoors.
How to use this guide
The walks in this collection have been selected to take in most of the main summits as well as shorter, half-day walks exploring antiquities and places of interest. Each route starts with a box giving the highest point reached during the walk, the total ascent involved, the distance covered and a rough guide of the time it is likely to take. These times are based on covering 4kph on the flat with an additional allowance of an hour for each 600m of ascent. This reflects the difficulty of some of the terrain and in practice it has proved fairly near the mark. However, these timings remain an estimate and you should also take into account the fitness level of the least experienced walker in the party, the conditions underfoot and the visibility on the day. With few paths, it is remarkably easy to get lost in mist. Even with two GPSs between us my party still managed to waste an hour navigating a way off the summit of Uisgneabhal Mòr on a misty April afternoon. So if you are unaccustomed to walking in wild country, start with a low-level walk to assess your own speed over the ground before venturing into the higher hills.
HARRIS
Ceapabhal with the machair in full flower
INTRODUCTION
The hills of North Harris are the highest in the Western Isles, but none exceeds 3000ft so they are hardly a magnet for the committed Munro bagger. At 799m (2622ft) An Cliseam is the highest and the only Corbett – a Scottish peak between 2500ft (761m) and 3000ft (914m). In good weather it is a remarkably straightforward and easy approach, starting from alongside the A859 main road between Tarbert and Stornoway, which already knocks 150m off the ascent. There are three Grahams: mountains between 2000ft (610m) and 2500ft (761m) with a drop of at least 150m (492ft) all around; in descending height they are Uisgneabhal Mòr, 729m (2390ft), Tiorga Mòr, 679m (2228ft) and Oireabhal, 662m (2170ft).
Descending the south ridge of Cleit Ard (Walk 8)
Everything else is 2000ft or less and such a modest collection of summits may lull you into thinking that days spent in the mountains of Harris are carefree and do not warrant serious planning. If anything, it is the exact opposite. Once away from the roads, the North Harris hills are a wilderness with few paths and those there are have a tendency eventually to peter out. Under foot it can be boggy and there are numerous small streams to cross. After a sudden downpour these can quickly become major obstacles that can be tricky and potentially dangerous to cross. To the west are the impassable cliffs of the Atlantic coast and to the north is the difficult terrain of Lewis where endless peat bog is pitted with a maze of lochs and lochans. In addition, the weather can change dramatically in a matter of minutes. All of these factors make it an area where walkers need to pay particular attention to navigation and risk management. But it is worth it. Where else can you walk the hills surrounded by emerald seas and quite so many silver beaches?
An Cliseam from Airidh a Bhruaich on the border of Harris and Lewis (Walk 11)
For many years North Harris was owned by private landlords. Although the area did not suffer unduly under this arrangement, in 2003 the crofters and tenants established the North Harris Trust and secured funding to buy 58,000 acres of land and effectively become their own landlords. Since then, the Trust has grown to include the 7,472-acre Loch Seaforth Estate and the Isle of Scalpay. The Trust has numerous projects for the considered regeneration of North Harris, including providing low-cost housing for rent, tree planting, building a small wind farm to generate electricity for local consumption and restoring the old footpaths and drove roads. Despite stalling at the final hurdle with the first attempt back in 2009, the community still has aspirations of becoming Scotland’s third National Park, and it is difficult to envisage a more worthy contender.
WALK 1
Ceapabhal and Toe Head
| Start/Finish | At the road end in Northton (NF986904) |
| Distance | 14km/9 miles |
| Climb | 612m/2004ft |
| Time | 4½ – 5hrs |
| Highest point | Ceapabhal 368m/1207ft |
| Maps | OS Explorer 455; OS Landranger 18 |
| Refreshments | The Temple Café in Northton opens every day including Sundays |
A cursory glance at the map may suggest that this is a short, half-day route of easy walking and a modest peak. However, the climb is nearly 400m straight up from sea level and other than traversing the machair at the start and end of the walk, the going is difficult all the way. This is ‘yomping’ territory – either striding across knee-high heather or negotiating peat bog. However, do not be put off. The walk includes a mix of history, natural sea arches and stunning views over the Sound of Harris – and possibly out to St Kilda on a clear day. The return route looks out on to the brilliant white sands of Scarista beach and the Northton saltings which are home to many waders, including golden plover during the winter months. All of this makes the walk a miniature gem.
Rather than take up customer spaces at the café, park considerately along the road. Walk north-west to the end of the road then carry straight on along the track for 800m to a gate where paths go off in different directions. These pastures are part of the machair, a low-level coastal plain that runs along much of the Atlantic coast of the Outer Hebrides. It is formed by the wind blowing fine sand that is high in shell content onto the boggier acidic grasslands. This results in a rich fertile pasture able to support livestock and a multitude of wild flowers which clothe the ground during late spring and early summer. The gate that leads out onto the machair has an arrow pointing left to indicate the track that leads to the Teampaill. Follow this track as it heads west through the dunes and behind a series of small sandy bays. The Teampaill soon comes into sight sticking out on the headland.
TEAMPAILL
Standing beside the remains of an older dun, which probably provided much of the materials, the present Teampaill or chapel dates from 1528 when it was built by Alasdair Crotach, Chief of the MacLeods in the same year that he built the church at Roghadal. The roof would have been thatched with reeds from the nearby stream and the interior whitewashed with lime-rich shell sand. Being accessible for those living on the rich western coastal machair and the then populous islands of Pabbay and Berneray to the south, it served as the parish church for the whole of Harris before falling into disuse
