A Visit to South Harris
03 August 2016 | Loch Fionsbaigh, South Harris
David and Andrea
After Berneray it was a short hop up to Fionsbaigh, a gorgeous loch in the wilds of South Harris Our plan had to meet up with Steve from SV Almacantar, whom, with his beautiful partner Claire, we had spent time with in Asia during our cruise there. And so it came to pass that we were hailed from the shore and in short order Steve was aboard for a celebratory dram. A marvellous rendezvous. The next treat in store was a visit and stay at the wonderful Borve lodge on the western side of Harris, owned by Steve’s sister and brother-in-law. The lodge dates back to 1868 but has been recently renovated and is absolutely outstanding. Whilst in the area we were able to visit the remote ruined house/chapel/broch of Rubh’ an Teampull as well as the well-preserved St Clement’s church in Rodel. Built originally by Alasdair Crotach Macleod in the early 16th century it was restored on several occasions over the centuries so today it is the only Medieval building intact on the Western Isles. We also observed peat cutting with the turves being loaded into trailers drawn by the lovingly restored 1948 vintage Massey Ferguson tractors which are all the rage here.