Finding Strand: From Eriskay toward South Uist

From Eriskay to South Uist (page 17)

Strand's image on page 17 looks north across Caolas Eirisgeigh (Eriskay Sound) with a stony foreground rising to the left. The view leads past a few crofts, and the low hills of South Uist recede in the distance.

It took a while for me to find even an approximately correct location, and after moving repeatedly to and fro and side to side I still don't think I quite established the exact spot.

At first I thought he had set up to the east (towards Bun a' Mhuillin in the north of Eriskay) and I spent a hour hiking among the hillocks, rocks and crofts in that area, but the arrangement of distant hills is incorrect from there and I believe this was actually shot from somewhere just north or north-west of the chapel on the stony knoll in Rubha Ban, around grid reference 786122.

One serious problem I faced is that the foreground appears to have been greatly disturbed by excavating the cutting for the road to the Eriskay causeway in 2000/2001 (http://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/techservices/bridgescausewaysferries/eriskay.asp ). I don't believe his image would now include the causeway itself, but I suspect the crofts in Stand's image were also demolished at the time.

Furthermore, my access to the whole of the stony hilltop north and west of the chapel was hindered by electric temporary fencing that was being used to graze stock, and this probably contributed to my inability to find the exact location that aligned the hills around South Lochboisdale correctly.

I include the best facsimile image that I could achieve, plus one of my own in colour and aiming more directly north to include the causeway.

 

Finding Strand: Reefs, Smerclett

After Strand: plants