Beehive View

I have always wanted to sleep in one of the beehive cells that are to be found in the remoter parts of Lewis and Harris. They are such beautiful structures, structures that had survived for centuries; and sleeping in one would be like going back in time. Imagine waking to the view below, which is of Loch Bodabhat seen from inside the beehive of Bothan Aird, a mile southeast of Hamanavay.

So far conditions have precluded spending the night in one of these cells. The Bothan Aird cell looked so unstable that I did not feel safe staying inside for long. Another cell I visited would have been good for sleeping - except there was a dead sheep inside. Other cells have had floors of jagged stones fallen from the roof, or the inside was a miazma of mud mixed with loads of sheep poo. In one case the inside of a beautiful cell near Loch a' Sguir was flooded with a foot of accumulated rainwater (next photo). 

There are still quite a few cells I hope to visit. Perhaps one of them will not be too wet, too unstable, or too rocky: a Goldilocks Cell; one just right to lay out a sleeping bag and spend the night.