High adventure, a deserted village and a good dinner

Out and about soon after breakfast we drive the few miles to Scalpay. As we drive through Kyles Scalpay, we check out a couple of plots - both with old ruins on them and both looking directly out to sea with many little islands, clear water and distant views to Skye. Beautiful but both quite small.
The road to Scalpay is two lanes, fast and well maintained - weird as it can't be used by many people. On the way we pass Loch Lacsadail and a signpost to a remote hostel over the hills and far away. We drive over the bridge (opened by Tony Blair when he was PM) and onto Scalpay. The roads are well surfaced but very very narrow with plenty of those hairpin bends and blind summits. The upside is that hardly anyone or any traffic is around. This is a beautiful island off an island and very lush and green. Seafood processing is the main employment and everyone seems to have a boat, floats and nets and things. We follow the road to "Out End" literally the end of the road. En-route we see the Scalpay Childrens playground - notice reads "All children to vacate playground by 9pm; Closed on Sundays"  An indication, perhaps, of the Scalpay community.
While we are parked up reading the route around the island, Gary mentions the track to the hostel and we decide to return to Harris and do that walk instead. There is a 12 mile option or we could just walk as far as the deserted village and return. Sorted, deserted village it is.
We set off up a nicely graded track, well defined with stunning views back over towards Tarbert and the hills beyond.

Back to Tarbert from the pass

We head upwards for some time then reach a cairn at the top of the pass. Just after this we turn right to head down towards where the map says the village is. This track is also well kept if slightly wetter in places.  An unknown bird tweets regularly beside us; captured on film just before my batteries run out. Will identify later.

Unknown bird - possibly a dunlin?

We now drop down quite steeply to the deserted village which has some interesting ruins, a beach and most interestingly a solar powered house in the process of being renovated. The only way to get any materials or provisions here would be by boat. We did see quad bike tracks higher up but the deep marsh and steepness of the ground would make it impossible to get any further.
The guidebook now suggests finding the gate leading to a track back a different way and meeting the track we left earlier at the head of the loch. Despite the bog, deep pools of mud and wet legs we do manage to find it and follow it, reassured by the footsteps and marks of others' boots. The track is narrow, undefined in a lot of places and quite tricky. We squelch onwards, over steep rocky bits, into deep quagmire bits and through the heather and fern. This is exhausting stuff - we can see the beach at the head of the loch so we persevere despite the steep drop to the sea on our right. Can't contemplate turning back now.
The book mentions there is a gill to cross; we hear it before we see it - good grief; the path deteriorates into a slimy, rocky, boggy nightmare and the gill is a raging torrent where a slip would be very nasty. Wet pants and trousers (from sitting / sliding in the water!) now join the wet legs as we slither and crawl across the rocks and through the water. Gary gets me across then follows me up a scramble on the other side and it's only another 20 minutes of wet slidey ground before we hit the beach and rejoin the main path. 
A well deserved break for water and some food before we turn it around to head back. We knew that training on Dartmoor would come in handy.
The bad news is that we are at sea level and must regain an awful lot of height before we can descend to the car. This is steep terrain with switchbacks taking you where you would swear no path could go. There is a lot of sweating. Eventually we reach a cairn but it is just saying "you have done the steepest bit" and is not the top. On upwards, then relief when Gary can see the cairn on the top of the pass and I can confirm to my brain that it does not have to direct my legs uphill for much longer. 
Back down the nice gentle path beside a tumbling burn and the welcome sight of the car waiting for us. 
A swift return to our B&B for showers and a change before we head out for dinner. The Rodel Hotel lives up to its promise and we enjoy a lovely dinner. We had taken cameras (new batteries) in case of stunning sunsets but the clouds came in and although it wasn't dark it was gloomy and not spectacular.
Back to the B&B where we were in trouble for not leaving out our breakfast demands. Now completed and enjoying a glass of red before sleep.
Tomorrow we head back to Skye on the afternoon ferry. One more B&B before we are self catering again for the week.