Island 338 - Triallabreac, Benbecula

Triallabreac is a tidal island lying to the north of the island of Eilean na Cille and separated from it by about 20 metres of sea at high tide.  I tried to access the island from the B891 road near the picnic site on Eilean na Cille on a rainy afternoon.  However although it was only a walk of about 100 metres I could find no path and the bracken was waist high and I got soaked in a matter of seconds.  I came back at the end of my holiday on a sunny day and although the undergrowth hadn't got any shorter, it was no problem to push my way through it on a dry afternoon.  There seemed to be a faint path in places but then it would disappear.  The crossing to the island was easy enough - just a few boulders and a little bit of seaweed to negotiate.  Triallabreac is about 900 metres long by 500 metres wide.

This was the last new island of my fortnight on the Outer Hebrides and while I wouldn't say I had left the best until last, it was very pleasant if a little overgrown. Presumably it isn't visited by people or grazed by animals very often.  I heard a stonechat chatting away while I was there.  There were lots of wildflowers, including buttercups, thrift, ragged robin, cotton-grass and tormentil.  The island is covered in bracken and heather, although the heather wasn't in flower when I visited in late June 2016.

Looking south east at the crossing point

 Looking north west from Treallabreac towards Eilean na Cille

Looking south east from above the crossing point

Looking south east - Triallabreac is on the left of the photo

Island 337 - Gearraid Mhartainn, Vallay, North Uist

I wasn't sure from the 1:25000 scale Ordnance Survey map if the name Gearraid Mhartainn refers to a small uninhabited tidal island lying to the south of Vallay and the west of the larger tidal island of Morornish or to part of the western end of the island of Vallay.  Having now done some research online I think the name might actually refer to the western part of Vallay.  However it isn't clear and as I have gone to the trouble of visiting the island I am going to count it!

I accessed the island via the western end of Morornish where there is a handy rocky ridge, which provided stepping stones on to the island without too much slippery seaweed.  The island is only about 100 metres by 50 metres and when I visited in June 2016, there were plenty of buttercups, orchids, tormentil, milkwort and birds-foot trefoil in flower.

 The west end of the island looking west towards North Uist

 Looking east towards Moronish

 Moronish from the island - this is the best crossing point between the two islands

Island 336 - Morornish, Vallay, North Uist

Morornish is a small uninhabited tidal island lying only a few metres from the coast of Vallay and separated from it by a very narrow stretch of water.  Part of the island is salt marsh, which is dissected by deep channels.  The salt marsh was covered in thrift flowers when I visited in June 2016.  On the marginally higher parts of the island yellow irises were in flower and cotton-grass was in abundance.  The island is about 300 metres from east to west by 100 metres from north to south.

 This is the narrow gap between Moronish and Vallay - looking east

 Thrift in flower on the salt marsh

Island 335 - Saltam, Vallay, North Uist

Saltam is a tiny uninhabited low lying tidal island located about 200 metres south of the island of Vallay.  It is only about 100 metres long by 50 metres wide and it can be accessed at low tide from North Uist.  The island is obviously visited by cows, as there were cowpats dotted around it.  However there were none there when I visited on a sunny afternoon in June 2016.  Thrift, buttercups, clover and birds-foot trefoil were all in flower.

 Saltam looking north towards Vallay

Vallay House and Vallay from Saltam

Island 334 - Rubha Huilis, Udal, North Uist

Rubha Huilis is a small uninhabited tidal island lying 100 metres off the north west side of the Udal Peninsula on the north coast of North Uist.  It is separated from North Uist by a tomobolo of silver sand. It is 2 mile walk from the closest parking at the picnic site at Grenitote.  The walk is flat and across the Machair Leathann, which was in full flower when I visited in mid June 2016.  There are a couple of tracks you can follow part of the way but at some point you have to cross the high dunes to get to the beach. The climb onto Rubha Huilis was reasonably easy, although getting down again afterwards wasn't quite so easy.  As you can see from the photos I visited the area on a bright sunny day and it was a delightful walk.

Rubha Huilis is covered in grass.  There were lots of wildflowers in flower, including buttercups, orchids, forget me nots, daisies, ragwort and yellow irises.  The island is round in shape and about 200 metres in diameter.  The highest point on the island is between 10 and 20 metres above sea level.

 Looking north towards Rubha Huilis

 Looking north from Rubha Huilis

 Looking south east across the tombolo to the Udal Peninsula

 I'm not sure if this depression is significant

 Looking south west across Traigh Udal to Rubha Huilis

Traigh Udal with Rubha Huilis in the distance

Island 333 - Eilean Leathann, North Uist

Eilean Leathann is attached by a man made causeway to Gairbh Eilean, which is in turn linked by another bigger causeway to the islands of Grimsay and North Uist.  There is one house on Eilean Leathann.

 Road on to Eilean Leathann from the causeway

 Causeway to Eilean Leathann from Gairbh Eilean

 Gairbh Eilean from Eilean Leathann

 Some very wary sheep on the south coast of Eilean Leathann

 Gairbh Eilean across the causeway from Eilean Leathann

 Fenced off area on Eilean Leathann

 - I have no idea why it is fenced off

 Eilean Leathann from Garbh Eilean

Island 332 - Orasaigh, Vallay, North Uist

This is yet another Hebridean island called Orasaigh.  This one is located off the north coast of the island of Vallay.  It is probably only cut off at high tide and possibly not at all at neap tides.  It is separated from Vallay by a beautiful beach of silver sand.  By the time I had crossed to Vallay, had a look around the ruined houses and found a path to the north side of the island, I didn't have time to fully explore Orasaigh.  The remains of a medieval chapel - Teampull Orain can be seen on the northern end of the island.  However don't get too excited, as there are only a few scattered stones to see. Orasaigh is about 300 metres from north to south and 150 metres from east to west.  It is covered in grass and buttercups.

 Looking east towards the north coast of Vallay

 Looking west down the north coast of Vallay

 Looking east down the north coast of Vallay

 

 The remains of Teampull Orain on the northern side of Orasaigh

 

 Looking south from Orasaigh to Vallay

 

Orasaigh from Vallay

Island 331 - Vallay/Bhalaigh, North Uist

Vallay or Bhalaigh, as it is called in Gaelic, is a large tidal island located off the north coast of North Uist.  It can be accessed on foot for about 2 hours either side of low tide from an unsigned track off the A865 where it runs along the north coast of North Uist.  There is room for a couple of cars to park at the beginning of the track but you can also drive down the potholed sandy track towards the sea and park there.  

I started the crossing about 2 hours before low tide and there were a couple of shallow streams and some areas of standing water to cross.  I wore Crocs but you could go barefoot or wear wellies.  It was too wet for walking boots. The crossing is just under 2 miles. By the time of my return journey just after low tide, it was possible to cross the strand wearing walking boots, although I wouldn't recommend wearing your best ones, as although the water had receded, the sand was not completely dry except in a few isolated patches.   

The silver sand of the strand is hard and at no point did I feel unsafe during the crossing.  Vehicles are driven across the strand to check on livestock and wildlife on the island.  It was possible to follow the vehicle tyre tracks from the crossing it had made the previous day because one tide hadn't been enough to obliterate them.  The advice to walkers is to take the same route as the vehicles, which means passing to the right of the smaller tidal islands of Torogaigh and Stangram.  It is not advisable to make the crossing if it is misty or foggy or indeed in the middle of a thunderstorm! 

Vallay is a large island: it is about 3.5 miles from east to west by an average of about half a mile wide. It is low lying with the highest point - on the eastern side of the island - being only 38 metres above sea level.  The island is currently uninhabited but the ruins of 3 houses are still standing.  The largest of these is Vallay House, which was built in about 1902 for the archaeologist, naturalist and keen photographer Erskine Beveridge. He had made his money in a linen business in Dunfermline.  The house was built in the baronial style and rendered in concrete.  There is little fresh water on Vallay and Mr Beveridge had water piped across the strand.  Erskine spent many summers living in Vallay House

Erskine Beveridge died in 1920 and the house and island passed to his son George.  However George Beveridge was drowned in an accident while crossing the strand in 1944 and the buildings on the island gradually fell into disrepair.  The windows have all gone and most of the roofs.  The island is now managed by the RSPB but I don't know if they own it.  They manage it for corncrakes and other birds.  The island is grazed by cattle but I didn't see any during either of my visits in mid June 2016.  I did however hear a corncrake in the long grass to the north west of Vallay House.  I also heard lapwings and skylarks and saw oystercatchers and terns.

There are a number of prehistoric sites on the island, including middens, duns and standing stones.  The remains of a medieval chapel Teampull Mhuir and two stone crosses are located on the eastern side of the island.

It is not possible to fully explore the island on one visit, so I visited two days in a row.  On my first visit I crossed to the north side of the island to visit the tidal island of Orasaigh.  On my second visit I walked to the monument to George Beveridge, which is located towards the west end of the island and also visited the tidal islands of Saltam, Morornish and Gearraid Mhartainn.  The first day I had the island to myself but on the following day I followed a group of 7 people out, although I didn't see them again while I was on the island.

There are a few tracks on the island but there were no clear paths across the machair on the north side of the island.  There was a very boggy area on the track to the north of the restored barns, which looked on the map to be the most direct route to the north coast.  However even after a dry period it was impassable, so I backtracked and walked round to the west of the barns, where I found a gate out onto the machair.

The flowers on the machair were all in flower and looked stunning.  I identified thrift, orchids, poppies, sea campion, viola tricolour, clover, buttercups, daisies, purple vetch, wild thyme, bird's foot trefoil, primroses and hogweed but there were also others that I didn't recognise. 

The visit to Vallay was one of the highlights of my holiday.  It is well worth the effort. However if you want to explore the island, keep an eye on the tide and be aware that the return trip + a bit of exploring is likely to make the walk there and back at least 5-6 miles long. 

Farmhouse

Farmhouse

Vallay House

Vallay House

Back of the farmhouse

Restored barns

Back of Vallay House

Bungalow to the east of the farmhouse

Bungalow and farm buildings

Entrance to Vallay  - this is the place you need to aim for when crossing the strand

 

"Little terns nest here"  

Notice as you enter the machair on the north side of the island

 Monument to George Beveridge - looking west

 Looking east along the south coast of Vallay from George Beveridge's Monument

 Vallay House