Island: Taransay
Hills: Beinn Ra and Beinn na h-Uidhe
Date: Thursday 6th April 2023
Company: Just myself
Distance: 11.1km, Ascent: 340m
Time: 4Hrs 20Mins
On Wednesday afternoon, I drove from Tiumpan Head in Lewis, which is
probably the best place in the UK for spotting cetaceans, to Horgabost in
Harris, to undertake a special trip the next morning. I parked-up for
the night at Horgabost campsite.
Room with a view, at Horgabost
campsite:
My last special Hebridean trip was to St. Kilda. This time I
would be going to Taransay
.
Taransay lies 3km from Harris; it's the largest Scottish island without a
permanant population. It has been uninhabited since 1974, except for
holidaymakers. Taransay became well-known by hosting the British TV series
Castaway 2000.
Crossings between Harris and Taransay are dependent
on calm weather as there are no harbours; transportation is literally from
beach to beach.
Taransay was inhabited as early as 300AD, and
probably considerably earlier. Originally home to Celtic pagans,
Christianity was established around 650AD. In 900AD, Taransay was taken over
by the vikings when they invaded Scotland.
At 9.30 on
Thursday morning, I made my way along Horgabost beach with plenty of time to
spare for departure at 10.00. The boat to Taransay is run by
Borve
Lodge Estate.
Taransay from Horgabost Beach, Harris:
Several
other passengers awaited the boat's arrival including 'Andy the Highlander'
a Scottish content creator and tour guide.
'Andy
the Highlander' saluting our arriving transportation:
The
crossing was tranquil and within fifteen minutes we arrived at Paibeil,
Taransay.
Crossing the Sound of Taransay:
Approaching the beach at Paibeil:
On reaching Taransay, I had no fixed plan other than to ascend Beinn Ra. The
trip duration is six hours including crossing times, providing circa 5 to
5.5hrs ashore.
If you are planning a route in advance, forget
Naismith's rule. There are no paths, the slabs of Lewisian Gneiss are
wonderful, the tussocks and bog are not. Wear boots, not trainers, unless
you want wet feet which you may get anyway embarking and disembarking from
the boat at the beaches.
Route undertaken:
The PDF
map, provided on booking, suggests initially skirting the coast
anti-clockwise towards Corran Ra before ascending Beinn Ra. Instead, I opted
for a direct ascent from Paibeil via Cleit an Duin. From the outset the
views were stunning and would only get better as the day went on.
Looking
back during ascent of Cleit an Duin:
It
didn't take long to reach the summit of Cleit an Duin where I stopped
briefly to apply some sunscreen.
Beinn
Ra from top of Cleit an Duin:
Having
previously ascended all the Marilyns on Harris, I enjoyed picking them all
out from Taransay. There isn't a bad hill in Harris, they all provide great
views.
Looking
back towards Paibeil during ascent of Beinn Ra:
In the
distance I could make out An Cliseam (Clisham) which I have ascended twice
previously. I could also see Beinn Dubh the summit of which is a fantastic
viewpoint at low-tide for taking photographs of Luskentyre.
Distant
view towards Clisham and across the sound to Beinn Dubh:
There
isn't a right and wrong way to ascend Beinn Ra. There are no paths or tracks
of any kind, so best advice is keep heading up until there is no more up
.
Ascending Beinn Ra:
I took
several photographs of the view towards Scarasta beach and Ceapabhal.
Ceapabhal is an outstanding small hill, a real case of minimum effort for
maximum reward.
South
Harris hills, Scarasta beach and Ceapabhal:
During the ascent I passed several Golden Plover in beautiful breeding
plumage. Having carried my DSLR and 400mm prime lens, photographing this
bird made the effort worthwhile.
Golden
Plover:
En-route to the summit I passed a small lochan called Loch na Learga. During
the final ascent I could see a distant eagle however even with the big lens
it was too far away. I was not however fussed given I had seen Golden Eagles
and White-tailed Eagles in the days previous on Lewis, not to mention Orca,
White-beaked Dolphins, Risso Dolphins and Harbour Porpoise
.
Passing Loch na Learga en-route to summit of Beinn Ra:
I
reached the summit of Beinn Ra 1Hr 20mins after departing the boat. The
views from the summit area are spectacular. As well as taking lots of
photos, I also took a 360 degree panoramic video.
I initially visited
the trig point and summit shelter and then the actual summit, which
according to the Database of British Hills is located 35 metres east of the
trig point. From the actual summit, I then visited another viewpoint cairn
which provides the best views towards Luskentyre.
At the
trig point and summit shelter atop Beinn Ra:
South-west view towards Aird Mhanais:
North
Harris hills including Tirga Mor, Oreval and Clisham:
South
Harris hills, Scarasta beach and Ceapabhal:
At the
summit of Beinn Ra (small cairn 35 metres from trig point):
View
from summit of Beinn Ra:
Looking
back towards the summit shelter and trig point:
Luskentyre from a viewpoint cairn:
Having
reached the summit of Beinn Ra, I now had no fixed plans with circa four
hours available. I got out the map and opted to descend towards Loch an
Duin, the largest body of water on Taransay. I was hoping to see some Divers
but alas there were none. There were however a number of Whooper Swans.
Descent
towards Loch an Duin:
Loch an
Duin is named after the Dun (fort) in the loch.
Dun:
Looking
back to Beinn Ra from Loch an Duin:
As I
still had plenty time I next decided to ascend Beinn na h-Uidhe before
descending towards the isthmus.
Ascending Beinn na h-Uidhe:
During
the ascent, on catching my first glimpse of the beach at the isthmus, my
reaction was "Wow"! This is one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen,
and I have seen a good number. Having looked at the map, I can't see a name
for this beach although the one at the other side of the isthmus would
appear to be called Traigh a Siar.
Beautiful beach at Loch na h-Uidhe:
The
summit area of Beinn na h-Uidhe has two cairns so I visited both.
The
lower of two cairns atop Beinn na h-Uidhe:
View
from the summit of Beinn na h-Uidhe:
View
from the summit of Beinn na h-Uidhe:
My
starting point, Paibeil, was one of three former settlements on the island.
The building seen in the next photos was at the settlement, Uidh.
Descent
towards beautiful beach:
The
descent to Uidh was the trickiest terrain of the walk due to the steepness
and amount of Gneiss. There is no need to put hand to rock, just need to
pick out a good route.
Uidh:
I
didn't spend long at the beach as I was conscious of time and didn't want to
be late back. I therefore took some photos and started the walk back round
the coast.
One of
the nicest beaches I have seen:
Skirting back round the coast:
Looking
back while skirting the coast:
While
Taransay is an absolute jewel of an island, it unfortunately suffers in the
same way as other coastlines. During the walk back I encountered fishing
nets on the shore and loads of plastic including lots of very old plastic
bottles. Most of these were above the tideline so I am not sure why and when
these were abandoned here.
Looking
back:
The
final section back to Paibeil was tricky in that I encountered a number of
fences and very wet ground. I suspect the fences might be there to keep
people from straying into the very wet ground.
On reaching Paibeil, I
had a look at the accommodation, current and ruins, before wandering back
down to the beach to just chill while awaiting the return boat.
Accommodation at Paibeil:
Building remains at Paibeil:
Accommodation at Paibeil:
More
building remains:
Beautiful beach at Paibeil:
Paibeil
beach:
On speaking with the boat crew, they advised we could not return to
Horgabost until 16.00 due to the tides. I had the option of waiting until
16.00 or instead returning in the boat at 15.00 to Ardhasaig from where I
would get a lift back to Horgabost. I opted for the earlier return to
Ardhasaig as I would never turn down a longer, very scenic boat trip. During
the return, I spotted Common Scoter and Great Northern Diver.
This is
an incredible trip. If you want to visit Taransay book via
Borve
Lodge Estate.
Looking foward to my next visit to the Hebrides
when it would be great to visit the Shiants, Scarp and Pabbay. I just need a
boat .