Friday - splashdown

It's coming...

Splashdown

Water brakes applied! 

And taxi to the terminal

Ladies and Gentlemen, Flight LM451 from Glasgow has arrived at 12:27 pm, 18 minutes ahead of schedule. 

Well we thought it was cool watching a passenger plane landing on the beach anyway. And no, it was not an emergency landing or anything, Barra's runway is the beach. And that's not the only unusual thing about Barra airport. Those snaps were taken from the car park where parking is FREE!

Of course, we realise the downside of waiting for a flight to arrive, particularly one that has arrived a little early. It's all stop-start in passing places for the next mile or two, as islanders coming to meet passengers are traveling towards the airport in the opposite direction to us and, like everywhere it's only single track road.

Next stop is Castlebay, so iconic in that 1949 Whisky Galore film. I didn't have this shot as a reference (and no 4g/WiFi to look for it) 

But here's a couple of shots 75 years on

I'll see how accurate I can recreate that shot tomorrow 

We thought there was a museum in Castlebay but it is a Heritage Centr and there is a difference. Not a huge amount of artifacts and pretty much the whole of the small exhibit area was dedicated to some vignettes of the lives of a few of those who voluntarily left the island in the 1920's for life anew in Canada (others also went to Australia and New Zealand). The stories were poignant, full of broken promises from the recruiters, community groups promised to be kept together being separated, no homes waiting for them and having to scratch for work. But all made a go of it and did far better than struggling in the post first-world-war economic depression that was hitting the islands back home particular hard. The exhibition was to commemorate an organised homecoming for many descendants last June. 

But this island isn't geared for visitors, no WiFi in the museum (and apart from this campsite on the extreme northern edge little to no mobile coverage). Back in Lewis we felt tourism was encouraged and managed, here we weren't so sure whether we were welcome or not. Which brings me to one of Liz and my bug-bears. These islands aren't huge, almost all the roads are single track and many, even fairly major routes, are narrow single track. The road up to this campsite doesn't just have grass growing up the middle it has an entire flower meadow! Why, I wonder, do so many people with huge motorhomes (as opposed to smaller campervans) seem to think the islands are ideal holiday destinations. And why is it that (it seems to us, anyway) those with huge expensive motorhomes are the ones who are hunting for free overnight stops, clogging up scarce parking spaces all day to ensure they get them overnight. We in the campervan/motorhome fraternity have a responsibility to the islands and islanders just as much as they have to us. And it's not just the islands, there is scarcely a day goes by where either Liz or I don't read of complaints about vans doing the 500 mile Scottish North Coast route (NC500). Only today some folks living on the route were complaining of vans parking and even having barbeques in cemeteries and graveyards. The occupants were also reported to be drinking the water, almost certainly not intended to be potable, and possibly having lain in lead piping for some while. 

It's not all exaggerated NIMBYism. A few years ago Liz and I were on the whisky island of Islay when the local polis came into the cafe we were having a coffee and expressed his disgust at having discovered blue chemical toilet waste, along with human excrement and undissolved toilet paper along one of the beautifully scenic dunes where free overnighting was allowed. I doubt it still is!

Oh, there was a point to that rant! Just off the south of Barra is the tiny, but beautiful island of Vatersay. We crossed the causeway and went on round towards the south of the island to where the land narrows and it is possible to walk over the dunes and machair to both coasts. A walk we would liked to have done, had we been able to park but parking was scarce, and much of what was available was taken up by large motorhomes, probably in residence for a day or two. Really annoying. We could have parked in a car park that said 'No campervans' or on a tiny van sized sandy patch but which despite having having no grass or flowers was technically still machair, but I'm sure enough others piss the locals off, no need for us to add to them.

So just a quick couple of snaps of the azure sea on the way round

and the wreck of a Catalina lost in 1944 and left as a monument

Right back to the campsite, a stroll along the beach before dinner (a local upmarket fish van providing whatever today's local catch was with roast potatoes)

Here's a picture from the van today

Just the 33 hard work single track miles today