We brought a book about scottish islands with us which mentioned another chambered cairn near Lochboisdale. Unfortunately we didn't buy an OS map so went to the lovely people at the tourist office, who told us the way - the bonniest way was over the bogs. Luckily we had wellies on, a must for this part of the world. We passed several peat cuttings with the turves laid out to dry, very pleasing to the eye, but a tough job to do. Found the cairn after hopping over bogs and streams, but it had collapsed so again we couldn't go inside. Lost the dog, again. Renamed her Little Bugger.
The water lilies are flowering, beautiful.
Next we set off to look for the remains of some roundhouses on the machair, this time there were road signs! Mummified remains of several people were excavated, including a 12 year old who was possibly a sacrifice, and a woman who was kept on display, possibly to prove ownership of the land. One of the houses had been occupied for 900 years, one of the longest occupations in Europe. We had lots of chats about death and spirit over the day (I confess I didn't tell F about the child sacrifice). There are lots of churches and shrines to Mary about, and several cemeteries all along the west coast, as well as the cairns we have seen. Later on F was talking about what she would be after she was dead (an eagle).
Talking of eagles, our best spot of the day was a pair of golden eagles! We were all mightily excited, a first for us all. Magnificent animals and absolutely huge. Ended the day burying F in the sand, a must for every trip to the beach!
Tomorrow is our last day on Uist. It has been a lovely, gentle trip. The people are so friendly and driving is a pleasure - people wave and use indicators! Unlike where we live in Wales where tailgating and dangerous overtaking are the norm. I think we will miss Uist very much.
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