Overview
This trip runs from Saturday 2nd May to Friday 8th May. There are two halves, Balivanich on North Uist (2nd - 5th) and Daliburgh on South Uist (5th - 8th). There is an options bonus camping trip after (Eriksay and Barra, 8th - 11th), you can find details on the other SRC page.
Tickets are £33.00 to cover accommodation and the hired buses on Uist. They will become available at 6pm Friday 24th April. You will need to pay for your own transport to/from Lochmaddy and your own food. (We are using a hired bus to avoid overwhelming the local bus with people, as it is quite small).
Transport
Please make sure to purchase your own tickets for transport. Links to the relevant websites are provided. Without concessions this route is £73.80 (there are cheaper routes e.g. Ember bus to Inverness then Stagecoach to Uig. Feel free to travel your own way.)
Saturday 2nd Travel to Balivanich: 6:40am Citylink bus from Glasgow Buchanan Street to Uig (arriving 13:40). 14:30 CalMac ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy (arriving 16:15. We have a hired bus that will take us from Lochmaddy to Balivanich Community Hall. (We are travelling via Lochmaddy due to cancellations on the normal Lochboisdale ferry route.)
Tuesday 5th Travel to Daliburgh: We have hired a bus to take us from Balivanich to Southend Community Hall where we will be staying for the second half of our trip, it will leave Balivanich hall at 18:00.
Friday 8th Travel to Glasgow: A hired bus leaving at 10:00am will take everyone back to Lochmaddy. From there we catch the 11:45am CalMac ferry from Lochmaddy to Uig (arriving 13:30). Then the 14:10 Citylink, Uig to Glasgow Buchanan Street (arriving 21:16). If you're staying for the camping trip, we'll leave from Southend Community Hall at around the same time.
Accommodation
As usual we'll be staying in community halls. Balivanich Community Hall from Saturday 2nd May to Tuesday 5th. There are two supermarkets in easy walking distance, a kitchen and toilets. As always, please bring a sleeping bag/mat or equivalent as we will be sleeping on the floor.
In Daliburgh, we'll be staying in Southend Community Hall from Tuesday 5th - Friday 8th. There is a Co-Op in easy walking distance, a kitchen, toilets and showers. (Quick note: due to the local elections taking place on May 7th, we will not be able to come back to the Community Hall until the late evening on that day.)
Hiking
There are a wide range of walks across North and South Uist. During the week you can reach any hiking spot you like on the W16 and W17 buses, tickets are only ever £2 at most!
We will lead one 'official' hike at each location, but you are always free to explore in groups or by yourself and we'll be happy to make suggestions for good walks or beaches.
In North Uist, there are easy hikes like Ruabhal and Kelp’s Road or the RSPB Nature Reserve. Or moderate routes like Eaval Southern Approach or Loch Chadha. You can create some challenge by adding distance like hiking the full Eaval Circuit or a large section of coastline to explore the many lovely beaches (this is really the highlight of the Hebrides!).
In South Uist, our 'official' hike will be Beinn Mhor (13.5km, 680m). There are also many coastal walks, the Lochboisdale hills, Glendale coastal path and a bus down to Eriksay!
Other
As usual, please bring hiking boots, a sleeping bag/mat and sensible clothing + backpack. Once you leave the main towns Uist is very exposed so even though walks will be relatively easy, it's good to make sure you have layers and a good amount of food and water.
If you have any questions not answered above, please feel free to message us on Instagram, post in the Whatsapp group chat or email us (guwalkingsociety@gmail.com). Please don't direct message committee, we're all quite busy with assignments so it's very likely your message will get missed.