Date: Saturday 4th May 2019
Company: Just myself
Distance: 7.1km, Ascent: 590m
Time: 2Hrs 30Mins
After a day touring Lewis yesterday, I set off this morning along the rollercoaster of a road leading to Huisinis for an ascent of Huiseabhal Mor. Normally I would be full of excitement at the thought of ascending such an outstanding wee hill but being honest today I was frightened of the sun having being diagnosed with skin cancer earlier in the week. I plastered myself with suncream before heading off.
Click here to see a map of the route undertaken
At the start of the walk, I walked passed a H'lan coo and calf. Beautiful animals that are iconic of Scotland.
H'lan Coos at start of walk:
I soon took to the pathless slopes trying to stay on the shortest grasses and least boggy sections.
Looking down to Huisinis Beach during initial ascent of Huiseabhal Beag:
During the ascent I opted to go for Huiseabhal Beag first to hopefully get a nice view across to Sron Romul on Scarp. I would love to visit Scarp and get to the summit but despite contacting a company on Harris about an advertised trip there next week, they have not as yet got back to me. It was nice to look across to Taransay during the ascent, another island and summit I would love to visit.
View towards Taransay and the hills of South Harris:
Due to my concerns about the sun, I ascended at a fast pace and it wasn't long before I was standing atop Huiseabhal Beag looking across to Scarp.
Sron Romul, Scarp, from the summit of Huiseabhal Beag:
After a quick photo at the summit, I made my way down to the col between Huiseabhal Beag and Oireabhal. During the descent I spotted a lovely beach.
Loch Crabhadail and beach at Haranais:
To get from Huiseabhal Beag to Huiseabhal Mor I had to traverse Oireabhal. On the upper slopes the terrain was very dry underfoot.
Oireabhal from Huiseabhal Beag:
On looking back from Oireabhal I could see another nice beach.
Sron Romul and Huiseabhal Beag from Oireabhal:
South Harris from Oireabhal:
Thankfully the drop from Oireabhal was minimal and it wasn't too far from the summit of Huiseabhal Mor.
Huiseabhal Mor from the summit of Oireabhal:
I suspect the views from the summit would be spectacular on a blue-sky day as per the views from its neighbouring Fionas.
At the summit of Huiseabhal Mor:
View from Huiseabhal Mor:
Huiseabhal Mor cairn from rock 15m away which may be higher than summit:
At the summit I had a look at the map to work out a route back. Instead of retracing my steps, I opted to traverse the slopes of Oireabhal to get back to the start of the walk.
Descent back towards Huisinis:
Descent back towards Huisinis:
The traverse back and down the hill worked out fine. I then walked another 0.5km along the road to make use of the showers at the Huisinis Hub; a great place.
Back to the start, lovely view of Huisinis Beach:
An enjoyable wee walk.