2024 Outer Hebrides – Fuzzy Water
Day 10 Sunday 25th Aug – Eye Peninsula by Chris Bolton
We arrived and settled into the house called Tighnamara the evening before. Being established on Harris, Keith asked for ideas about where to paddle. We all had a think and suggested trips on Harris, which he listened to and then suggested his own ‘off the wall’ idea that we should go to Lewis and paddle around the Eye Peninsula, off Stornoway. Lewis and Harris are actually on the same island, but it was a 1:15-hour drive to get there. Fortunately, the main road from Tarbert to Stornoway is two-way, a change from the single-track roads with passing places that we’d become used to.
The forecast was comparatively good (comparatively being the keyword!) with SW winds dropping a bit mid-afternoon and veering W. The tidal stream in the Minch, the channel between the Western Isles and Skye, would be flowing North until 3-4 pm. The original plan was to go anticlockwise around the peninsula, starting off with wind and tide behind us, then returning down the western side, where there’s no tide. There were two possible problems with that: if there was still a southerly swell in the Minch, the outward leg would be downwind in the swell. The more experienced paddlers might enjoy the surfing, but for those unaccustomed to it, there’s a risk of losing control and getting sideways to a wave. The second problem was that if the wind strengthened again, from the West, the return leg would be exposed.
So we started from the West side of the isthmus, and went clockwise. Keith alarmed us by going down a road that was signed to a church – on a Sunday in a staunchly Free Church area – and we feared we might end up in a church car park surrounded by disapproving locals. However, the church was a roofless historic ruin, last used for worship in 1829, and the locals who passed while we unloaded were friendly. The cars were then put in the car park.
At 11:15 we launched onto calm water from a sandy beach. That in itself was a first for this holiday!
St Columba’s Church
The cliffs were made from conglomerate rock, which is not something to be expected on a coast famous for rough seas and old, hard rocks. Although it looked fragile, it was surprisingly solid and even had caves.
Well, kayakers, calm water and caves can only have one outcome, and progress along the coast was slow as we explored every available nook and cranny. There were also a few waterfalls, one of which was usable as a shower.
