After another hearty Scottish breakfast we took the 9.20 forty five minute ferry ride across the Sound of Harris to South Harris. The tortuous route across the Sound was interesting to watch particularly when the ferry passed several navigational aids (usually here in Scotland red to Port and green to Starboard) on the wrong side. There were 13 bicycles on the ferry including two tandems we had seen on the ferry from Oban to Barra.
It was a cool day - 9C in the morning - and we had a little rain and some fine Scottish mist. We passed several scenic beaches and even a community golf course.
We stopped at the Harris hotel in Tarbert for a bowl of soup (and water for me) for lunch. The bar there had a spectacular collection of single malt whiskey’s.
On South Harris we encountered several steep climbs and even walked part way up one of them. This peat bog harvesting site was interesting to see beside the road.
We had to go and see a Harris tweed shop.
We are now at a B&B in Ardvourlie on North Harris. It is owned by a Crofter who has 450 sheep on the nearby hills. He rides around on a Quad vehicle and it has been most interesting to hear about all the work involved in drenching, lambing, sheering, dipping and taking the sheep to the abattoir. His wife is a Sassenach (the Scottish, not necessarily complimentary word, for an English person) - she was born in Oxford and lived in Torquay for 12 years. He inherited the Crofting rights and they have lived here for 27 years. To-day (Day 4) we rode about 52 KM. We had a delicious mutton stew and then Eve pudding for dinner. To-morrow we will try and get to our B&B in time to watch the royal wedding.
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