Losgaintir, Aird Grodanais, Beinn Dhub, South Harris, Outer Hebrides.
[12.0 km] Fri 12 Apr 2013

NG 0669 9983
The overnight drizzle continued as I packed up and set of for my first walk. I continued along the Gold Road and back on to the A859 where I headed NW then turned off along the minor road to its end near the sand dunes at Losgaintir. There was a car park, toilets and a fairly large and spread out cemetery but no church that I could see.

The overnight temperature had dropped to 3degC and it wasn’t much warmer as I set off towards the sands. It was overcast and hazy. I continued along the coast and was soon climbing the rocks to a promontory where I reached an ancient cairn and evidence of an enclosure. Nearby was a large boulder perched on 3 smaller boulders.

Further along the coast I saw evidence of what looked like ancient cultivation terraces mostly vertical instead of the more usual horizontal. I started up the climb of Beinn Dhubh and got a better view of the cultivation ridges. I had good views out to the bay as I got higher and was soon crossing snow fields. The steep bouldery climb began to ease and I was walking across a delightful flat grassy area just before reaching the summit trig point and surrounding stone shelter wall.

Nearby was an ancient stone and levelled area. I descended to the SE to a small loch then up though a mix of rocky areas to the next summit of Losgaintir. There was no evidence of paths anywhere and I had to find my way down to the SW through a mix of ground. The descent wasn’t a problem and I reached the road about 1.5 miles from the car. It was a pleasant walk back.

view from Losgaintir