Outdoor Adventure in Uist

For the energetic, there are some great activities that also allow for some of Uist's best sight seeing. Try climbing Ben Mòr, Uist's highest mountain. At 620 meters it is a moderate to difficult climb. It was recently included as one of Scotland's top ten wild walks due in no small part to its impressive (and exposed) summit ridge. There are literally hundreds of beautiful and fascinating walks to go on. Behind our cottages in Milton are some less strenuous hills to climb with impressive views. For these activities, good watertight walking boots or wellies are necessary. The weather in Uist is very changeable, and care should be taken if any of these walks were to be attempted.

Equipment is available at the Outdoor Centre for climbing, kayaking and surfing.

On a rainy day, the community school in Benbecula offers indoor activities and includes a swimming pool, sauna, small museum and a library available for public use. The riding school in Balivanich caters to both novice and experienced horse riders.

Music and Culture

Music is among Uist's strongest cultural assets. Ceolas Summer School is held in early July each year and has a wealth of talented musicians from Scotland and Canada to teach students in Gaelic singing, piping, fiddle, step dance and other art forms traditionally associated with Uist. During that week there are ceilidhs (parties with live music) every night. The South Uist Highland Games is also an exciting time on Uist's social calendar. Held annually on the third Wednesday of July, many of the world's finest pipers, dancers and athletes make the journey each summer to compete. On the night of the games, there is a concert and a ceilidh dance. The next day, the Highlands and Islands Young Piper of the Year competition is held in Benbecula. The North Uist Highland Games usually take place the following day.

Throughout the rest of the year various concerts are held and feature some of the world's finest pipers, Gaelic singers and other musicians-many of which are from Uist.

Recently, visual art has taken off in Uist. With the opening of Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre there has been a new creative force at work in Uist. The Centre is lively and welcoming, and houses an art gallery, museum, cafe, picture archive and workshops. It is located in Lochmaddy in North Uist (38 miles from Milton) and is well worth a visit. Throughout the island there are road end sculptures that give interesting insight into the relationship between art and the environment.

Nature and Wildlife

South Uist has a varied landscape that supports a number of habitats. A sandy beach runs along the west coast and stretches over twenty miles. Beachcombers often find beautiful shells and spot inshore marine animals while seals watch from the surf. Occasionally one can find the odd 'fairy egg' (although some believe these to be large seeds carried across the Atlantic by the Gulf Stream!)

In the spring and summer months, the machair foothills and farmlands bloom with a colourful array of wildflowers that include harebells, orchids, clovers, eyebright, iris', gentian and primroses. In the autumn, the hills seem to turn bright purple as heather begins to bloom.

The beach and adjoining machair land with its sandy soil and numerous shallow lochs provide a habitat for wading birds that include Dunlins, Lapwings, and Redshanks. About 150 species of birds are known to breed in Uist and include Red Breasted Mergansers, Eiders, Wigeons and Mute Swans. Further inland and around the croft, the endangered Corncrake can sometimes be heard, while Twites and Corn Buntings are more commonly seen. Kestrels, Merlins, and even the occasional Short Eared Owl are spotted around the farmlands while other raptors such as Peregrine Falcons, Merlins, Golden Eagles and the occasional White Tailed Eagle tend to be seen closer to the hills and on the eastern coast. Loch Bee in the north has one of the largest mute swan colonies in Europe while the nature reserve at Loch Druidibeg (about 8 miles north of Milton) is home to Briton's largest surviving colony of Greyling Geese. Altogether, some 286 species of birds can be found in Uist.

As one can imagine, South Uist is renowned for it's variety of bird life and attracts many ornithologists each year. In addition to birds, red deer and other smaller mammals such as voles, rabbits, ferrets and otters are frequently seen throughout the region.