Iain Robertson Rambles

Iain and Molly explore the sights and sounds of the Outer Hebrides.

With 40 miles of the Hebridean Way under his belt, River City actor Iain Robertson has roughly 160 still ahead of him on his 200-mile adventure. He visits the remnants of a church in Howmore, discovering that this has been a spiritual site since the 5th century. He then forges ahead with his rambling, crossing over to yet another island along the way.

Iain visits the Our Lady of the Isles statue, commissioned by Father John Morrison and paid for by islanders of all denominations, before heading inland towards Locharnan and on to Benbecula. After a well-earned rest, Iain climbs the 124 metres of Reuval and enjoys an incredible 360-degree view across Benbecula.

Pushing on past Grimsay and onto North Uist, Iain encounters a carving of Hercules the bear, who went missing on the island for three weeks in 1980. Hercules was found by a crofter some 20 miles from the spot where he was filming a tissue advert and later went on to appear in the Bond film Octopussy.

Heading towards Lochmaddy the following day, Iain tries to connect with the beautiful landscape, reminding himself that he will be back to the hustle and bustle of city living before long. He reaches Bernary, the island he has been most excited to visit on his journey, where he is joined by actor Kari Corbett and her dog Sonny for a stop at West Beach. A picture of the beach was once inadvertently used by a tourist board to promote a beach in Thailand. Iain and Kari dip their toes into the water and meander along the incredible beach as they reach the halfway point in Iain's adventure!

With 100 miles of the Hebridean Way conquered, Iain is at the halfway point on his 200-mile adventure.

Arriving off the ferry in Leverburgh on Harris, Iain and Molly are now on their ninth island out of ten. However, Iain is a little daunted by the prospect of the ten miles that lay ahead of them on today's leg of the journey, noting that besides the change in weather, the walking is more demanding than on the previous islands.

Jumping over torrents of streams, Iain and Molly trek forward against the rain to reach Horgabost Township, where Molly takes a well-earned rest by the fire and Iain mentally prepares himself for the 11-mile trek to Plocropool the following day.

Looking down over Luskentyre Beach, Iain contemplates throwing in the towel, but he manages to make it to the Coffin Road, where crofters who were moved off the fertile western land on Harris to the barren lands in the east, were carried by pallbearers back west, where they were laid to rest. Finding the path much easier underfoot, Iain brings the day to a close at Plocropool.

Heading on towards Tarbert, Iain is surprised to find that a miscalculation means that and he and Molly have a shorter day of walking than anticipated. Iain is joined in Tarbert by Ross Hyslop, a therapist friend who regularly counsels on the hills, as he sees a great connection between the outdoors and good mental health. Iain is even persuaded to take a dip in the freezing cold waters at Luskentyre, which he finds to be a surprisingly invigorating experience.

Passing through Glen Lacasdail, Iain and Ross make it to the foot of Clisham Hill, where they plan to set up camp before climbing the hill the next day. At 629 metres, Clisham is not quite a munro, but is nonetheless a challenging hill.

On receiving a call to confirm they can reach St Kilda, Iain once again diverts from the path to visit the archipelago that lies 44 miles west of Harris.

Embarking on the last leg of his 200-mile challenge, Iain and Molly head off from Clisham Hill on Harris.

Passing Loch Seaforth, Iain is jubilant about the milestone of reaching his tenth island. Reaching Baile Ailen, Iain and Molly are buoyed by the sight of some local deer.

Heading on towards Achamore, Iain and Molly find themselves on marshy terrain. However, Iain is upbeat in the knowledge that the next day will see him reach the walk's official end in Stornoway. On the nine-mile journey to Stornoway, Iain is joined by actor Kevin McKidd, and the pair discuss their heritage and their respective connection to the land.

Celebrating reaching the walk's official end in Stornoway, at Lewes Castle, they are pleased to be shown the Lewis chessmen by archivist Seonaid McDonald. Iain suggests that this would be a great place to finish the official walk, but he plans to extend the walk on to the Butt of Lewis.

However, there is one last detour as Iain joins up with with actor Alex Norton, with the pair planning to cycle across to see the Callanish Standing Stones, which are around 5,000 years old and predate even Stonehenge. A natural raconteur, Alex regales Iain with stories about his days with 7:84 and his time in Taggart.

170 miles into the walk, Iain heads towards New Tolsta and gets chatting to retired local Hector Morrison about growing his own produce. Despite covering 16 miles, Iain pushes on to Traigh Mhòr Beach, crossing one of Lord Leverhulme's industrial bridges on the final stage of his journey.