A Walk to Cravadale - 1

Last June I hiked from Hushinish to Loch Cravadale; something I'd wanted to do for many years. Loch Cravadale lies at the remote northwest corner of Harris, and although the walk is only four miles round trip, it requires a long drive to the end of the road at Hushinish.

On the day I walked to Cravadale I had planned to climb The Clisham, the highest mountain on Harris. But the weather was not great, and the summit of Clisham was shrouded by clouds. A walk to the top would not be very scenic, so I decided to stay low and visit Cravadale instead. So after making the long, but very interesting drive to Hushinish, I parked my car in the small sandy car park above the beach. From there I walked across the machair to Hushinish jetty (first photo). Due to the fog I could barely see the island of Scarp (off in the distance to the left).

The well-built path quickly ascended the hillside above the Kyles of Scarp. From there I had a good view over to Scarp Village, which you can see in the next photo. The renovated church is in the centre, and the derelict schoolhouse can be seen to the right of it.

The path then rounded the shoulder of Husival Beg. The next photo was my last look back to Hushinish before the path turned east around the hill.

The path remained level for a while, and then started climbing very steeply. As I walked along the only wildlife I encountered were a few scraggly sheep.

After an hour or so the trail climbed to a pass completely shrouded in fog (last photo). But the worn path was easy to follow up through the mist. Next time we'll descend the other side of the pass to visit the beautiful beach of Loch Cravadale.