Croft No.8

 

Also known as Arinaban Wooodland, this lovely place can be found at the very end of the road at North Loch Eynort on South Uist. It is a favourite of ours regardless of the time of year we visit, but autumn with the heather in flower does make it extra pretty. We start out by heading along the lower track parallel to the shore until we reach the boundary fence for the end of the Croft, then it is a left turn and the start of the climb upwards…

On the lower paths we were absolutely surrounded by beautiful dragon and damsel flies - tricky to photograph at the best of times, and I only had the iPhone with me, but this Sedge Darner did stay still for long enough for me to sneak up on it…

The walking trails were created by the owner of the Croft - Archie MacDonald - and there is around 6km to explore here. He has also planted a huge number of trees - meaning that in addition to the plantation down at the shore there is also a surprising mix of native trees, we even saw some oaks - very probably the only ones of that type we will see here! 

After a brief stop at a picnic table we continued up the hill - not hugely high but the path is plenty steep enough and the views other on the way up and at the top are stunning! I say “the top” but in fact this “seat with a view” which marks the end of the trail is actually below the summit - we have been right up in the past but it tends to be boggy underfoot at best, and after the amount of rain that has fallen here recently it wasn’t for us this time. 

We were sad to see that this lovely bench has finally succumbed to the weather- we have sat on this one so many times, indeed we have a large canvas print on the wall at home of a photo that was taken while sitting on it. I perched carefully on the very right hand end this time but it will be the last time I’ll do so as the left hand side is completely detached - fingers crossed it gets replaced. 

A re-trace of steps part of the way down before turning along the path which runs down through the centre of the Croft, gently meandering its way down before joining the main track at the bottom. Another bench can be found along this route, indeed there are seats and picnic tables all over the place! 

More heather and more stunning views! We rejoined the main track at a junction- turning right would have taken us back to the car but we opted to take the straight across option which continues down the hill to the shore - first past “Heron Woods” - the plantation, nicknamed as that by us because Herons nest there and my word do they make you jump if they take off while you are underneath! This area is also good for Goldcrests too - this time round we could hear them but it was so windy there was little chance of actually seeing them! 

Then back to the path and past a little bay with views out onto the Loch. 

The trail turns right and heads back gently uphill at this pretty little freshwater Loch- it feels as though you are almost on a level with it and always provides beautiful reflections of sky and clouds. 

Finally a left turn back to the main track and a return to the car - always remembering to pop a few pounds in the “donations” tin of course - the sheer amount of time, effort and money that has been spent creating this fantastic place to spend a few hours definitely deserves supporting! There is room for several cars to park in what used to be the turning circle for the bus - sadly no bus services have run out here for a good many years now - and all the family ask is that there is no overnight parking and that nobody blocks their access. 

Robyn. 

Abandoned....

Another on a theme I've explored before, today. It does fascinate me, up here, the way perfectly respectable looking dwellings seem to just get abandoned by folk. Sometimes it's understandable - they are upgrading to a place with better facilities, more often than not right next door to the house they are leaving, but this one is just, well, abandoned. You wonder what has happened to make the people just walk away - perhaps it was someone living alone who died, with nobody who wanted to make use of the property to leave it to.  Some - like this one - appear structurally sound, whilst others are nothing more than the remains of some walls and possibly a chimney still standing defiantly. One not so far from here is the perfect shell of a house - four walls, chimneys, and two dormer windows standing proud, but the roof and interior walls completely missing. Sometimes they are close enough to the road that you can risk a poke around - others, like this, lay some way back off the road and to go any closer would be intrusive, even if to all intents and purposes the house is now unloved by anyone else.

Tomorrow is our annual shopping trip to the bright lights and big city that is Stornoway. The early ferry beckons and a late-ish return here tomorrow may mean no post on here tomorrow. We'll see though.

Robyn