Dùn Vùlan
This was an unexpected discovery on South Uist, though the Gothic lettering on the map did hint at something worth noting.
Rubha Àird Mhuile is a low, sandy peninsula that juts into the Atlantic. Most of it is taken up by a shallow ‘inland’ loch. On the summit of a storm-thrown shingle ridge, barely ten feet above the high tide line, sit the remains of Dun Vùlan. This circular ...
Departing the Hebrides, Not Quite Yet
That is it. The Hebridean escape has come to an end. But while I drag myself back into a Yorkshire frame of mind, I can still make use of the heap of photos that never made it into the daily posts.
This one shows the summit of Hacklett Uachdar, a rocky rise on the southern side of the Sound of Flodday, Benbecula. We ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/10/departing-the-hebrides-not-quite-yet/
Crash on Vatersay: The Lost Catalina of 1944
I had hoped to photograph the tombolo that links the two high points of Bhatarsaigh—a narrow strip of machair, that low, sandy grassland so typical of the Outer Hebrides. But from the summit of Beinn Ruilibreac, I was just short of a clear view of the twin beaches that lie back to back on either side.
Far off, ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/07/crash-on-vatersay-the-lost-catalina-of-1944/
The Lost Graves of Àird Allathasdail
Tràigh Hamara: a sweep of pale sand where today the Atlantic was rolling in quietly, one more perfect beach among many on Barra.
But our attention was not on the beach. It was drawn to the headland opposite. Not the distant one, but the nearer stretch of low dunes and machair: Àird Allathasdail.
In 2005, storms tore i ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/06/the-lost-graves-of-aird-allathasdail/
Dùn Sgùrabhal
Dùn Sgùrabhal stands on a low hill, facing the sea to the west and the expanse of Tràigh Eais to the south. What remains is a collapsed stone structure, but it is still recognisable. Among the rubble, archaeologists have identified a double wall with a gallery between—clear signs of Iron Age construction. Though it has never been excavated, the presence of a scarcement le ...
The Black Stacks and the Weaver’s Castle
There was a brief sense of relief when the ferry finally slipped past the headland. Several sailings had been cancelled thanks to the breezy weather. I then endured ten minutes on the poop deck being drenched by the bow spray before giving up and retreating indoors. The unease only lifted once our wheels touched the slipway on B ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/04/the-black-stacks-and-the-weavers-castle/
Thairteabhagh: Ruins by a Quiet Sea Loch
Seeking some respite from the relentless westerly winds hammering South Uist, we turned east, following the narrow trail through North Glen Dale—Gleann Dail bho Tuath in Gaelic.
The path, often little more than a suggestion across bog and tussock, led eventually to Thairteabhagh: a calm, tucked-away sea loch flanked by the rema ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/03/thairteabhagh-ruins-by-a-quiet-sea-loch/
Ormiclate Castle: A Chateau and a Canal
The crumbling shell of Caisteal Ormaceit — Ormiclate Castle — sits quietly in a farm steading now, unmarked by the brown tourist signs, its past more dramatic than its present suggests. Once a grand new seat for Allan Macdonald of Clanranald, it burned to ruin on the same day he was fatally wounded at the Battle of Sher ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/02/ormiclate-castle-a-chateau-and-a-canal/
Beinn Mhòr: The Big Hill with No Goats
I had expected little from the climb of Beinn Mhòr, South Uist’s highest mountain. From the west, it looks like nothing more than a bulky lump, and its name, meaning simply “big hill” in Gaelic, is repeated all over Scotland. It did not promise much. Yet the summit ridge took us by surprise. From the Gleann Sheileasdail side, cliffs and gull ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/06/01/beinn-mhor-the-big-hill-with-no-goats/
Eriskay : Whisky, Royalty and Fiction
This photo captures the striking turquoise waters of Caolas Eiriosgaigh, with the curving causeway unfurling across it, linking Eriskay to South Uist. The changing blues of the kyle on either side mark the subtle shifts in depth.
Eriskay, though small—only four kilometres long and two and a half wide—is the largest island in the Sound of Barra ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/31/eriskay-whisky-royalty-and-fiction/
Benbecula: Island of Fords and Forgotten Classrooms
And so to Benbecula: flat, battered by wind, the Atlantic on one side, soggy peat and bog on the other. In the middle of it all stands a single hill, Rusbhal, soaring to the dizzying height of 124 metres. It qualifies as a landmark largely because nothing else bothers to rise.
The island’s name, Benbecula, ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/30/benbecula-island-of-fords-and-forgotten-classrooms/
Balranald: A Crofted Landscape, Shaped by Struggle
Our final day next to the RSPB Balranald nature reserve in North Uist, extended by two days thanks to Calmac Ferries. No complaints. Balranald has been generous — rich in wildlife, history, and atmosphere.
The reserve stretches across rocky headlands and quiet bays, with dunes, machair, grasslands, saltmarshe ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/29/balranald-a-crofted-landscape-shaped-by-struggle/
After three days of being battered by westerlies and trudging across wind-scoured machair, dunes, and silvery beaches, we decided we had earned a change. The wind was easing, so we chose to climb a hill.
Not just any hill, either. Eabhal is the highest point on North Uist, a towering 347 metres above sea level — Uist’s Matterhorn, perhaps that is too ambitious, but at least it stands alone.
Almost ent ...
The Rainbow over Cille Mhuire
Last night a double rainbow arched cleanly over the burial ground at Kilmuir — Cille Mhuire — which rises, just slightly, out of the flat expanse of the Hougharry machair. This evening we walked there, to the graves and the crumbling kirk. Among the remains is a gneiss cross, still bearing its boss though both arms are lost, along with other roughly c ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/27/the-rainbow-over-cille-mhuire/
Tràigh Iar and the Shadow of St Maolrubha
A day of fierce wind, restless skies and an early downpour. We turned north again for a circuit of Berneray — once an island, now leashed to North Uist by a causeway built in 1999. The route included two kilometres along Tràigh Iar, or West Beach — a stretch of spotless, deserted sand that lived up to its name.
...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/26/traigh-iar-and-the-shadow-of-st-maolrubha/
Post-Holiday Blues: It’s been a week since we have been back from our two week summer holidays in Lewis, and, it already seems like it didn’t even happen (but the freshly developed negatives say otherwise). ... #Photography, #FilmPhotography, #LargeFormat, #Lewis, #OuterHebrides, #StandingStones: https://aye.tf/2025/05/26/post-holiday-blues
Sponish House: Industrial Echoes at Loch Nam Madadh
I faced a choice for today’s photo: a Mesolithic Chambered Cairn or a Neolithic Stone Circle. Both tempting, both suitably mysterious. But they can wait. Instead, here is Sponish House, a 19th-century structure crouched on the shore of Loch Nam Madadh. Built for Lord Macdonald’s chamberlain or sh ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/25/sponish-house-industrial-echoes-at-loch-nam-madadh/
Pink on the Rocks
Hugging the coast of North Uist, it feels as though wildlife is everywhere. There is more of it than we saw on Lewis and Harris—though perhaps that is only how it seems. Among the birds we could name: Redshanks, Ringed Plovers, Northern Shovellers, Lapwings, Sanderlings, and the ever-familiar Eider, or Cuddy Duck. Then of course there is the Oystercatcher, as common as ever, p ...
Dùn an Sticir: Where the Skulker was Captured
New island, new weather. We drove off the ferry at Berneray into sheets of rain, with gales on the way. The forecast promises little joy, so we will be hunkering down until the storm has had its fun.
Before the worst of it, I managed to photograph Dùn an Sticir, set on a small islet in a tidal loch that ...
http://www.fhithich.uk/2025/05/23/dun-an-sticir-where-the-skulker-was-captured/
Rubh’ an Teampaill
Perched at the edge of this headland, a crumbling medieval chapel stands forlorn. Its gables and walls almost reach full height, but its purpose has long since faded. Believed to date from the 15th or 16th century, the building sits atop a stony mound, hinting that it was merely the last in a long sequence of structures.
The chapel is built west to east, with one narrow ...
