Day 3- Vatersay, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

A complete contrast to yesterday with thin clouds jogging over the island propelled by a strong breeze with plenty of lovely sunshine thrown in for good measure.

Today, I caught the W33 bus from the ferry terminal in Castlebay to Vatersay and was dropped off at the Annie Jane memorial overlooking the beautiful white sands of Traigh Shiar. The cost was one pound seventy pence. I decided to walk back along the road to Castlebay, in effect walking the first five miles of the Hebridean Way footpath and cycling route.

The monument commemorates the tragic shipwreck of the emigrant sailing ship the ‘Annie Jane’ which went on the rocks on this beach on 28th September 1853.

The ship left Liverpool on 9th September bound for Quebec. The ship lost its mast but still continued before it was  caught in an on-shore gale and wrecked.

The remains of the 350 men, women and children who died are buried in the dunes but the exact location of the two mass graves is unknown.

Heading back towards Barra, there’s also a memorial to a Catalina aircraft that crashed on 12th May 1944. Some of the wreckage still lies amongst the heather by the road. The World War II Catalina flying boat came down during a training flight from Oban, killing 3 of the nine men crew.

The walk is not all doom and gloom even though I did pass the WWI / WWII memorial on the Barra side closer to Castlebay. The Community Centre at the start of the Hebridean Way serves lovely cakes and biscuits and the views are stunning as you head northwards. Make sure not to miss Traigh a Bhaigh beach on the right hand side just after starting out.

The road has many passing places so if you’re walking be observant regarding which vehicles are around you in both directions. As regards the bus service, if there is a ‘B’ next to a service, don’t assume the service will run, phone the number provided on the timetable to make sure they’ll pick you up at the time indicated.