North Uist

North Uist is a fairly attractive island, with a mixture of terrain and quite a few points of interest along the footpath. After the initial road section along the causeway, which is quite busy with fast-moving cars, you take a route towards Lochmaddy across moorland. This uses a technique which is quite commonly found on the footpath, of digging two peat trenches and piling them up to create a raised line with ditches on either side, making it slightly less wet than it otherwise would be.

The first point of interest is the remains of chambered burial cairn.

Thr route continues passing several attractive lochs. Shortly after the hotel Langlas Lodge, there is the small Neolithic stone circle of Pobull Fhinn, slightly obscured by vegetation.

Not much further on,there is a fairly pleasant community woodland, with some attractive footpaths and a statue of Hercules the bear.

Upon reaching the main road, there is then a 5 mile road stretch to Lochmaddy. This is not as bad as it seems, as for most of the length, the old single-track road runs parallel to the new main road and this provides a traffic-free alternative. I was interested to see peat-cutting taking place.

And a road sign, from an art installation from years gone by.

Lochmaddy is not actually part of the route, but it’s a short detour and has a shop, places to eat and hotels and seemed a rather pleasant place.

From there, we go along the road and then a further section of bog before ascending Beinn Mhor for some fine views, then down to Dun an Sticir, an island fort before reaching the causeway to Berneray.

Go Back to the main Hebrides page here.