After a 9 hour drive, an overnight stop in Oban, and a 5 hour ferry crossing, we eventually arrived in Barra. We are staying in what is said to be the most Westerly campsite in the UK and are set up 3 m from the sea, 1 m at high tide!

Passage to Barra

Pitch with a view

When we arrived at the campsite we were greeted by Donald the guy that runs the site who had turned up to meet the 3 vans, 2 bikes and 1 caravan that came off the ferry. When we originally booked the site he could only guarantee 2 nights as at the weekend it is the Barrathon! (a half marathon around Barra). At the time Donald said he would try and fit us in and he was good to his word.

It’s a bit of a cliché that everyone does everything in the islands and it’s like those old horror films where the same guy appears running the pub, shop, bus … etc. So it was no surprise when the postman turned up this morning and it was Donald!

The weather is … or shall we say there is weather! Awoke this morning to light rain which then became fog. Decided to head out on the bikes anyway – fog – that means no wind doesn’t it? Must have been low cloud rather than fog because the wind was certainly blowing into our faces not matter what direction we seemed to be heading.

Anyway it cleared / moved to a ceiling of a couple of hundred metres which made our ride to Vatersay, a small island, to the South, joined to Barra by a causeway, enjoyable.

Wreckage of flying boat which crashed on Vatersay during WW2

Our next project?

(Pictures now included)

The following day we again took to our bikes and circumnavigated the island, including a stop at the airport which operates on the beach at the Northern end of the island subject to tides! We also spotted a school of dolphins from the campsite, no pictures I’m afraid as my reflexes were slightly dulled from a visit to the local hotel bar!

Barra “International” Airport

I bet you don’t have to wait like Heathrow!