Isles of the Hebrides

Benbecula
The small island of Benbecula lies nestled between its two larger neighbours,
the islands of North Uist and South Uist. The name Benbecula comes from the
Gaelic, Beinn na Faodhla which means Hill of the Fords. Benbecula is also known
as the Isle of a Thousand Waters which is more than apt. Many of the
characteristics of the Uists are to be found on Benbecula but it seems that the
battle between land and water has been harder fought here. Along the east side
of the island there are as many lochs as there are areas of land making the
coastline and the points where loch and land meet almost impossible to follow.
During different times of the year, with high tides and storms, many areas of
land are reclaimed by the water for periods of time bringing unexpected changes
in the landscape. The west side of the island is more fertile and hospitable to
people with numerous crofts and farms dotted about. Reuval is the only
reasonably sized hill in Benbecula, situated in the north east area of the
island.
The seas around Benbecula are not the most friendly of waters, particularly in
the area between Benbecula and North Uist, part of which is known as Beul an
Toim. The men of the isles here were considered the best of seamen and quite
rightly so when you think of the small boats they used to navigate through such
treacherous waters. Since the building of the causeways earlier this century
there isn't such a great need for the skills of the seamen. There are no ferries
which sail directly to Benbecula from the mainland but the terminals at
Lochmaddy in North Uist and Lochboisdale in South Uist are only a few miles away
via the causeways at the north and south ends of the island.
The causeway from South Uist, known as O'Regan's bridge leads to Creagorry in
the south end of the island. A couple of ancient sites are to be found within a
few miles of Creagorry village. The first of these is a couple of miles along
the main road and situated near the top of a small hill on the moor. The site is
a chambered cairn with the unusual name of Airidh na h'aon Oidhche which
translates as Sheiling of the one night. This reflects the belief of the isles
folk that it is unwise to spend too long at such places. The cairn is circular
in shape about 50ft in diameter and 11ft high. The remains of the central
chamber can still be seen at the top of the cairn. A few hundred yards away on
Stiaraval lies another chambered cairn measuring 60ft across. There is little
left of this cairn. The central chamber which is about 12ft across and the
passage are about all that remains to be seen.
Along the road from Creagorry village there is a turn off which takes you down
to the south eastern tip of Benbecula. A pier was built here at Peter's Port in
1896. After building the pier they discovered there was no road leading to it
and that access from the sea was far from the easiest. Although a road was built
the pier was hardly ever used and the building of the causeways put an end to
any need for it. The island of Wiay, which is the largest of the islands
situated off the point is now a nature reserve and uninhabited. Along the road
which leads to Peter's Port there is another turn off which takes you across to
the east coast of the island and to Loch Uskavagh. The name of the loch comes
from the Gaelic, Uisge Beatha, and means Whisky loch although I have not heard
any story as to why it should be called this.
Returning to Creagorry, the main road continues right to the north of the island
but there are many turn offs leading west which are worth exploring. There are

also numerous Duns on Benbecula similar to Dun Buidhe, the Yellow Dun which can
be found 4 miles out of Creagorry down one of the by roads. These Duns are
unusual in that they are situated in small islets and their size and shape
usually conforms to match the small area of land they sit on. Dun Buidhe was
reached by a causeway across the water although much of it is now on dry land,
as I mention earlier, the landscape is a changing one. The remains of the wall
around the Dun can still be seen whilst the Dun itself seems to have been about
30ft across with 12ft walls.
Following the road through Liniclate to Borve you come across the ruins of an
old castle standing in a field. This was once a stronghold of the MacDonalds of
ClanRanald. The ClanRanald estates once stretched over Moidart and Arisaig on
the mainland and included the islands of South Uist and Benbecula here in the
outer Isles. In 1938, Ronald George MacDonald, eighteenth Chief of ClanRanald,
sold both Benbecula and South Uist to John Gordon of Cluny and so began the
removal of the people from the Isles. This signalled the end of the traditional
relationship between the Clan Chief and the people of the Clan. Prior to that
time the Clan Chiefs not only had the support of the people but also the support
of the Sidhe of the land. Numerous folktales recall the Clans gaining help from
the Sidhe in times of trouble. Apparently different factions gave their support
to different Clans and they would also give warning to the household, like at
Borve Castle, if the Chief was going to return home unexpectedly or if some
tragedy had come about. The Sluagh, or Hosts of the Sidhe were also known to
visit Borve Castle whilst on their travels although their visitations were not
so welcomed. Other tales also recall the people's connection and respect for the
Sidhe as the tale of the Smithy shows. This particular Smithy would never open
his forge on a Friday for it was reckoned the Sidhe were abroad on this day and
he had no wish to offend them with his use of Iron.
Further along the road following the western shore you come to Nunton and the
ruins of a 14th century Chapel. The place in the Gaelic is called Baile nan
Cailleach, the town of the Nuns. A number of years ago a stone vault was
uncovered on the east side of the village which contained a number of bones. A
great many rumours went about as to what the bones were from including the idea
that they were the bones of children that the nuns had given birth to. Whatever
they were, the vault was quickly closed up again and left in peace.
From here the road continues to Balivanish on the north west coast. This is now
the busiest part of the island since the army base arrived in 1958. There was
resistance to their arrival initially although the island now seems to be of
mixed opinion with the argument put forward that the army has added much to the
island economy. It was the RAF who were responsible for the building of the
airfield at Oitir Mhor in the very north of the island. The airfield does
provide a valuable link for the island with regular flights to Stornoway on the
Isle of Lewis.
Long before the airfield was built at Oitir Mhor, island tales used to tell of
the Maighdean mhara or sea maidens to be found there. One time some of the women
were gathering seaweed at low tide when they heard splashing sounds coming from
a pool. Upon investigation they found a small woman with long flowing hair and
the lower half of her body in the shape of a salmon. Quickly, the women called
on their men to try and catch the sea-maiden. Unfortunately, in the excitement
the sea-maiden received a blow to her head and died soon after. Her body was
found washed up on the shore and out of respect the isles folk prepared her body
and set her to rest in the burial ground at Nunton.

At this point we leave Benbecula at the village of Gramisdale and cross the
causeway to Ballaglasa on the island of Grimsay. At one time, at low tide, it
was possible to cross the sand of Oitir Mhor to the small island of Grimsay.
This however was not without risk as the tides can change swiftly here but it
does show just how well the folk knew the land they lived on that they could
correctly judge the best times to cross. Grimsay itself is well known for its
lobster fishing and the village of Ballaglasa produces the famous Hebridean
Tweed.
The causeway continues on and from here we reach the southern shore of North
Uist, although it is difficult to tell where one island ends and the other
begins.
Copyright: 1994 Helen McSkimming
[First published in Dalriada magazine]