From North to South Uist

Cycling around the west coast of North Uist again felt like entering a different landscape. Characterised by sweeps of pale sands, dunes and flower-rich machair.

I took a day off here, staying at the campsite near the Balranald Nature Reserve. From there I walked along the machair by Horseshoe Beach, scanning the far horizon and trying to work out which of the faint shapes offshore belonged to the St Kilda archipelago.

Fully rested, and after rewarding myself with a Stornoway black pudding and scallop morning roll from the campsite café, I set off again. I crossed Benbecula, home to the airport hub for the central islands, and the first piece of traffic-controlling infrastructure I’d seen for days: a pelican crossing.

At the southern tip of the island, the sight of a well-stocked Co-op felt almost metropolitan. Supplies replenished, I rolled on to Howmore Hostel.

The hostel is one of three run by Gatliff Trust. The small settlement of Howmore is home to one of Scotland’s finest collections of thatched cottages, and the hostel itself is among the best examples. Places here are strictly first come, first served and can’t be booked in advance, a system that always feels slightly unsettling. I managed to claim one of the last bunks, only to be reassured later by the hostel manager that they would never turn anyone away, accommodating people on benches, floors and even the bicycle barn.

This was reassuring, because the weather that evening turned wetter than an otter’s pocket. More travellers arrived, increasingly drenched.. Someone lit the fire, and once again the evening settled into easy conversation, stories of routes taken and miles covered,