An Island Dun

Sometimes when you're out for an island hike you encounter a surprise. A few years ago I made a circular walk on North Uist to see the souterrain of Taigh Talamhant (see the May 21, 2015 post). On the way back to the road I came across this amazing island fort in Loch na Caigainn, reached by a causeway. 

It was exciting to step across the causeway and enter the dun. It was a well defended in its day, with two flanking wings (walls) protecting the entry to the fort. Erskine Beveridge wrote about the fort in his epic book North Uist (1911). In it he mentions there was a Clach Ghlagain (rattle stone) in the causeway, that clanked loudly when stepped on to warn the dun-dwellers that someone was approaching. It was hard to tell which stone it was, because pretty much every stone clanked when I stepped on it.

Looking back to the mainland

A Taransay Walk

My favorite walk on Taransay begins with the climb to the top of Beinn Ra. From the summit, if the sky is clear, you'll be greeted with a view of St Kilda, 55 miles to the west.

Top of Taransay (1998) - Kilda on the horizon

Of course, the weather does not always cooperate. The above photo was taken the first time I visited Taransay in 1998. The next photo is from a gray and windy day in 2011. Kilda was not visible.

Once at the top the best part of the walk begins; the descent to the southwest toward Loch an Dùin. I love this part because the hard work is behind you, and as you drop down the hillside you are surrounded by stunning views of sea and islands. Navigation is easy, for as you descend you set a course directly towards something amazing; something you can see floating in the loch in the next photo: the fort of Loch an Duin.

Next stop - Loch an Duin

As you near the loch you can tell that the speck of land in it is more than just an island; a small causeway can be seen, one that you hope will allow you to get across to the island.

The causeway stones are a bit slippy, but if you are careful it is easy to cross to the fort.

There is a bit of a gap in the causeway, right after the Clach Ghlagain, the rattle stone. If you step on it, and you have to, it will crash against another stone with a loud clank, alerting the dun-dwellers that someone is calling.

The Rattle Stone (centre)

The fort itself is fairly small, but an impressive structure none the less. For a drawing of what it looked like in 1890 see page 397 of this link.

From the loch it is only a half mile down to the shore, where there awaits another island treasure: St Taran's Cross.

Near the cross is the Uidhe Bothy, a cozy place to hang around for a night or two.

Depending on where you were set ashore you'll either rejoin your boat on the shore below the bothy, or make your way back to the yellow sands of Corran Ra. Taransay is an ideal island for a long loop walk to see historic sites and beautiful beaches; all centered around a 900 foot climb to the top of the island, where you'll be rewarded with views of a beautiful island-studded seascape. Sea Harris offers day trips to Taransay, and many Northern Light trips include a visit to the island.

Corran Ra

Corran Ra beach landing

The Fortress of Rudha an Dùnain

The eight-mile round trip walk to the promontory fort of Rudha an Dùnain on Skye is one of the shorter classic Hebridean walks. It has, as its destination, an historic set of structures: a passage grave, a chambered cairn, a Viking Canal, the fortress of Rudha an Dùnain, and the abandoned village of Dunan.

I was first drawn to this remote corner of Skye by Arthur Gardner’s photo of Rudha an Dùnain (plate 110, The Peaks, Lochs and Coasts of the Western Highlands, 1930). The photo shows a small headland of rock jutting into the sea, with a defensive wall separating a small bit of ground at its very tip. It also shows an odd pinnacle, perhaps an intact bit of wall higher than the rest, that looks like the crow’s nest of a ship, and gives the fort the appearance of a pirate stronghold. Rudha an Dùnain means the headland of the little fort, and it is a small-scale version of the great promontory forts of the Irish west. It was at Rudha an Dùnain that MacLeod of Skye based his coastal watchmen; ready to light a warning beacon should Clanranald, sailing from the isles to the south and west, be on the warpath. 

Rudha an Dùnain

It is a pleasant walk along the coast from Glen Brittle. And just before you reach the north side of Loch na Airde you'll come to a jumbled chambered cairn and a neolithic passage grave. The central chamber of the grave is intact and open to the sky. I hopped down into it and crawled along its passages. But I did not stay long, as the air was thick with hungry midges.

Central Chamber

On the south side of the loch you'll come to an amazing site, the Viking canal, that links the loch to the sea. It is not known for sure who built it, but the MacAskills, MacLeod’s coastal watchmen, are said to have used it to bring their sea-going ships to safe harbour in the loch. For more photos of the canal see the August 30, 2014 post. 

The Viking Canal

Just beyond the canal is the fortress of Rudha an Dùnain. Its defensive promontory wall is built of massive squared stones, the upper ones cloaked in moss. The eighty-foot long wall, some twelve feet thick, once completely sealed off the tip of the headland. The area of land it defended was small, and forty feet beyond the wall is the cliff edge, fifty feet above the sea. If the defenders ever failed to keep out invaders, there was nowhere to run.

At the first sign of an approaching enemy the MacAskills would light a warning beacon, and from the fort a series of lookouts along the coast could quickly relay information that trouble was afoot. 

From the headland it is a short walk north to the ruins of Dunan; a small abandoned township where one large building stands out: Rudha Dùnain House. It is fifty feet long, and twenty wide. One end has a normal gable, but the other end is rounded, and appears to have been a very large chimney. The last MacAskill of Rudha Dunain lived here in the 1860s.

Rudha an Dùnain House

From Dunan it's an hour's walk back to Glen Brittle; completing one of the best hikes in the islands. If you ever make it to Rudha an Dùnain, stand on its 3000 year-old walls and think on this verse from Alasdair Alpin Macgregor's Watchmen of the Sea:

Would that thou to Rudh’ an Dunain

Mightest go at ebbing light,

To review the phantom galleys,

As they steal upon the night;

Listen there with muffled breathing

For the sweep of oars below,

Dear was vengeance to Clan Ranald,

In the nights of long ago.

Thirsty Hugh

Five kilometres south of Uig (Skye) you'll find Caisteal Uisdein (Hugh's Castle). The Hugh it was named for was Uisdein MacGhilleasbug Chleirich, the factor of North Uist in the late 1500s. Income from the factorship must have been good, for around the same time Hugh had this castle built for him on Skye. The stone for the castle was quarried on the nearby Ascribs, a cluster of four little islands (and assorted reefs) that I hope to visit someday.

Caisteal Uisdein

Caisteal Uisdein has been called the castle with no windows or doors; the only access said to be through a high entrance reached by a ladder. But there is a small slit-window at ground level; a tight squeeze, but I managed to get inside.

The only way into the castle

Looking back to the narrow entrance from inside the castle

Hugh was an ambitious man, and hatched a plan to kill his cousin, Donald Gorm Mor, the chief of the Macdonalds of Sleat and North Uist. But his plan was foiled when a letter describing the plot ended up in the hands of Donald Gorm Mor. And so Hugh skulked off to North Uist, where he hid out in Dun an Sticir (the skulker's fort); a fort that is still there today, consisting of two linked islands in Loch an Sticir. This photo of Dun an Sticir was taken from the slopes of Beinn Mhor (the island off in the fog is Pabbay).

Dun an Sticir - Skulker's Fort - North Uist

Hugh was eventually taken prisoner. His fate was to die in the dungeon of Duntulm Castle, sixteen kilometres north of Caisteal Uisdein. The story of his death is well known: given only salty meat to eat, he was denied any water and died of thirst. Otta Swire, in Skye, the Island and its Legends, says that 'his screams and curses are said to echo through the castle today'.

On a visit to Duntulm a few years ago I searched for the dungeon where Hugh ended his days, but the building was such a mess of fallen stone that I could not tell what was what. I'd like to say I heard thirsty Hugh's curses echoing across the centuries, but I didn't.

Duntulm castle

Wanderings on North Uist - Dun Caragarry

A walk on North Uist, one I've wanted to do for a long time, is the circumnavigation of South Lee. About 10 years ago I made a long out-and-back day-trip to see the causewayed duns of Loch Hunder, which lie on the west side of South Lee. But there is another old fort, Dun Caragarry, high up on South Lee, that I did not have time to see. And so I decided next time I was on Uist I'd do a two-day hike around South Lee. I'd revisit the duns of Loch Hunder, see Dun Caragarry, and then walk along the north shore of Loch Euphort to find a campsite on the coast.

It's a long walk from the road to Loch Hunder, about three miles of rolling, soggy bog. With a full pack on, if I wasn't careful, a misstep meant sinking to my knees in muck. It took nearly two hours to reach Loch Hunder.

One of the duns in Loch Hunder

From Loch Hunder I was walking in totally new territory (for me). I reached the shore of Loch Euphort at Aird Bheag, and then followed it east to its narrow entrance from the Minch.

Eaval seen from the north shore of Loch Euphort

The narrow entrance from the Minch to Loch Euphort

Then it was time to climb, some 250 feet, up the shoulder of South Lee. There I came to Dun Caragarry. A dun that, at some point in time, someone built a beehive cell atop from some of the tumbled stones. The CANMORE page on the dun says the dome of the cell is intact, but it has collapsed since they visited it in 1965.

Dun Caragarry

Dun Caragarry - what's left of the beehive

From Dun Caragarry I descended east to the sea, and then followed the coast north looking for a good campsite. The wind was howling from the east, so a few great campsites I found at the beach of Mol Teiltein had to be bypassed, as they were too exposed. Then I came to a narrow inlet by a headland called An t-Aigeach. It was very sheltered, and at its head was a little beach where I decided to pitch the tent.

Home sweet home

Although it had been blowing, there'd not been a drop of rain all day. But just as I set up the tent the rain started to fall. It did not stop for 14 hours, and I spent all evening and night hunkered down in the tent. Fortunately I was so tired from the hike that I managed to sleep through most of it. The rain stopped at 7am, I packed up, and set out to the west to climb the pass between North and South Lee.

The pass was deceptive. From a distance it looked like there was an old peat track that would make for an easy hike (next photo). 

Looking up the east side of the pass

But on closer inspection it was not a track. It was a giant bank of heather covered peat, with swampy ground on either side. I had no choice but to follow it to the top of the pass to Loch Lee. From there a similar peat bank dropped down the west side of the pass to the vast moor I'd crossed the day before. 

The west side of the pass

Although I was a long walk away from 'civilization', the town of Lochmaddy was only a mile away across Loch nam Madadh. I was fortunate, in that the sun was out and there was no rain, and I had a brilliant walk back to the road. My wife picked me up, and then we had fish & chips at the Lochmaddy Hotel, some of the best we've ever had.

Lochmaddy seen from the moorland below North Lee

Before we headed up to Lewis there was one more walk I wanted to do on North Uist; I wanted to climb Eaval. I'd started to climb it on an August afternoon two years ago, but I ran short of time and had to turn back. Eaval would definitely be climbed this time, and even better was that I was going to climb it with Martin Margulies. Martin wrote the book Mhor and More about his many walks on the Uists. I was looking forward to meeting him and ascending Eaval.

A Barra Walk

On a foggy Barra day in 2012 I drove to the north end of the island and parked near the old chapel and burial ground of Cille Bharra. My little car looked a little lonely in the little empty lot; little did I know, that while I would be out hiking, the car park would fill up and block access to my car.

My goal was to walk up to the high ground at the north end, and spend some time watching airplanes land on the beach of Traigh Mhor. The first photo shows the two amazing beaches that sit astride the northern peninsula: Traigh Mhor and Traigh Uais. I wonder if this sandy isthmus qualifies as a gigantic tombolo.

Looking south from Beinn Eolaigearraidh

From Cille Bharra I hiked around the old walled garden of Eoligarry House. The house was demolished quite a while ago, and in its place there are several blocks of non-descript apartments. All that's left of Eoligarry House are the garden walls, and inside them is the RC Church of St Vincent DePaul. My wife and I attended Mass there once, as it was advertised as being in Gaelic. But, disappointingly, it was 'anns a' Beurla' (in English).

I found a gateway through the old wall, and then headed north-west to the summit of Dun Sgurabhal.

Traigh Mhor and the airfield terminal buildings

Dun Sgurabhal is an Iron Age galleried dun that sits atop the hill. It is sadly dilapidated, so I did not linger for long.

Dun Scurabhal

A cave is marked on the OS map just to the south of the summit of Dun Sgurabhal; ever the cave lover I decided to pay it a visit. I found its small entrance below the lip of a short cliff, and as I stepped into the dark cave I got quite a fright as a whole flock of pigeons suddenly took flight from the back of the cave.

Cave below Dun Sgurabhal

From the cave I climbed to the top of Beinn Eolaigearraidh. At 102 metres it's the highest bit of ground at the north end of Barra, and provided some amazing views.

Looking north from the summit of Ben Eolaigearraidh - Dun Sgurabhal (left), Ben Sgurabhal (right)

I made myself comfortable at the top of the hill and cracked open a beer. While waiting for the plane to fly in from Benbecula I noticed the ferry from Eriskay on its way south to Barra.

The ferry from Eriskay traverses the Sound of Barra

Below me lay the vast beach of Traigh Eais. Wondering what the name means, I just looked up 'Eais' in Dwelly's Gaelic dictionary. Nothing was listed. So I dug out my favorite book on Barra, AA MacGregor's Summer Days Among the Western Isles. There was no definition of the name there, either. However MacGregor spelled it 'Traigh Uais', and 'Uais' is listed in Dwelly's as relating to the word 'Uasal; a word that means something noble. So perhaps the name of the beach comes from its location near Eoligarry House, where the MacNeil's lived after abandoning Kisimul Castle: i.e., The Beach of the Noble-Man. Or perhaps it simply means 'The Noble Beach', for it is quite grand.

Traigh Uais - the Noble Beach?

Right on time I heard the buzz of an airplane, and looked up to see the Twin Otter descending across Traigh Uais.

Flight from Benbecula on the approach to Traigh Mhor

After finishing the beer I descended the hill to return to my car, parked down at Cille Bharra. When I got there I was surprised to see about 30 cars in the small car park; my little hire car blocked in at the rear of the lot. A funeral was in progress, and so I sat to the side as the mourners slowly departed. It was an interesting way to spend the end of an interesting hike on one of my favorite islands. 

Full car park - Cille Bharra

Funeral at Cille Bharra

Dun Torcuill

Dun Torcuill is possibly the best of the causewayed brochs on North Uist. But don't take the route I did when you visit it. The broch lies a quarter mile off the A865 highway, and I thought it would be easy to get to the dun by leaving the highway at its nearest point. But barb-wire fences lined the banks of several streams, and it was a slow struggle to find safe places to cross the streams (and the fences). 

But I did manage to reach the dun, and carefully walked across the slimy stones of the causeway to get a close up look at this amazing structure.

Dun Torcuill


Inside Dun Torcuill

Instead of returning the way I came, I headed northwest towards a small hill called Laiaval. The OS map indicates there's a holy well on the hill dedicated to St Columba, Tobar Chaluim Cille, so I headed for it. But unlike Dun Torcuill, the well was a disappointment, a muddy pool near some rocks in a field trampled by cattle (see last photo). From the well it was an easy walk to the nearby B893. If you want to see Dun Torcuill, start your walk from the B893.

Tobar Chaluim Cille