Glad you had a good time Bobby and that you want to to back. The Hebrides are addictive that way.
As with us a hundred or two miles further south at Drummore (Galloway) you were unfortunate with the wind component of the weather. A northerly aspect at this time of the year spells serious chill - we had it for a week at Finsbay (on East Harris's 'moonscape' coast) in 1998. In other circumstances, 2002 stands out, we've had days on the beach at Losgantir (South Harris) where we could have been in the Med.
While decaying vehicles are still a feature of the Islands, Lewis in particular, they've been much reduced over the years. When Mrs B an I went there first in 1984 (on bikes like the folk you describe) they were everywhere, as was the rubbish, mostly beer cans, in the roadside gutters. The Isles Council had a blitz on this stuff later in the eighties, including a project that used old cars, buried in dunes, as part of improved sea defences.
The absence of trees is not unique to Benbecula (I share your aversion!) but is characteristic of all the islands. The only woodland I can think of, excepting the off sheltered stand of pines, is around Lews Castle in Stornoway.
Lews Castle was the home of William Hesketh Lever (Lord Leverhulme), philanthropist founder of the Lever Brothers empire who bought Lewis and Harris after the first world war. He tried to bring industry to the islands. Some projects - fishing - had the capacity to succeed. Others - soft fruit - were pipe dreams.
He was though at the wrong time in history. The clearances and Landlordism were 'unrighted wrongs'; the locals wanted land for crofts, not factory jobs. Roger Hutchinson's book 'The Soap Man' is an interesting account of that period in the Islands' history.
I'd also recommend Peter May's 'The Blackhouse' and its two companion volumes as an account of more recent times. The fictional scenarios are over the top but the background and sub-plots are well researched and fascinating.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 31 May 15 at 20:08
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