Outer Hebrides - Day 1 - Barra — Tarheels & China Toes

I took the ferry from Oban, a port town on the west coast of the Highlands, to Castlebay, the main population center on the island of Barra. It takes about 5 hours and it was a smooth crossing with only light rain and the sea rocking gently. I’m staying at a guesthouse called Tigh-na-Mara (‘house by the sea’) which is very close to the ferry slip so I came off the boat and walked to the Tigh-na-Mara to check in with Linda who showed me around and let me know the details about breakfast etc. After settling in, I walked over to Castlebay Hotel for dinner and then walked around the bay area taking a few pictures before heading back to the guesthouse to chill out for the evening. This morning, after breakfast, I decided to walk to the beach at Vatersay and back which took about 6 hours round-trip and gives you a great sense of the landscape and feel of Barra. I saw some freerange cows and sheep along the way in addition to fellow walkers and a few bikers. I came back to Castlebay and tried to go by their distillery to try their ‘Barra Atlantic Gin’ but the distillery closed early today for a family event and left a note saying ‘go to Castlebay Bar and ask for a Barra gin there’ so that’s what I did and ended up meeting a local named Reagan McNeil and one of the musicians from the much-loved local band the Vatersay Boys. We hung out for awhile and they let me know that there will be a music session there later tonight which I suspected would be the case. I came back to the guesthouse, had a bath and a nap and now I’m going to go get some dinner at Kisimul Cafe in the bay area across from the castle and then go check out the music at the bar. Tomorrow I will take the ferry from Barra to Eriskay, the next island up the chain, and then make my way to Lochboisdale on South Uist.

Boats in the causeway area between Barra and Vatersay