大象传媒

In the summer of 2005, I explored a route across what's locally known as the Cockle Strand. It's actually the mouth of the Laxdale River. This rises on the moors west of Newvalley, one of the northern suburbs of Stornoway.


If you should ever venture there, try to choose a day after a period of relative drought. It is one of the routes leading to the Barvas Hills (the line of four hills to the northwest of Stornoway). Terrain there is very difficult, even in dry conditions. I posted an image of the terrain in an earlier entry, but this is the view from the summit of Beinn Mholaich, hill number 2, counting from the east.


My abiding memory of that trip is not so much the difficult terrain (used to that), but the swarms of zillions of midges as I gained the Pentland Road, 2陆 miles to the south. As I reached that at 5.30 pm, I felt peckish and still had nearly 5 miles to go. So, I wanted to sit down for a bite to eat. No sir. I was EATEN ALIVE by the blighters. AARGH! I was frogmarched to town by the midges. Even the poor sheep were hiding amongst the bulrushes by the roadside, trying to avoid the midges' attentions.
Back to the Cockle Strand, I digress.
It used to be a shortcut from Tong to Stornoway, cutting 2 miles off the trip. However, it is tidal, i.e. impassible at high tide and hazardous at low tide. There may be quicksands lurking. When I crossed, it was low tide. I took my walking boots off and crossed barefoot, in order to better sense any soft ground. And also because there was water everywhere, from a depth of an inch or two to about two feet in a deep channel near the spit of land that juts south from Tong towards Steinish. Very pleasant crossing, but not to be recommended for safety reasons.