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Vatersay |
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Vatersay |
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Undiscovered Vatersay |
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The road to the left takes us to a dead-end at the council houses,
but around the shoreline here, many otter and seal are spotted.
It is also not uncommon to catch a glimpse of a heron wading in
the shallows here, fishing for prey. A little further up the road (see 2)
takes us to a loch where according to folklore many beheadings took
place. It is said that
there was a curve carved into a stone by this very loch where Marion of
the Heads (Mor na Ceann) had those she disliked beheaded.
Marion of the Heads lived in Kisimul Castle in 1427 with her son
Ruari, after the death of her husband Gilleonan, the 29th Chief of
MacNeil. Her husband had 2
children from a previous marriage and they were also residing in Kisimul
at this time. In order for
her son Ruari to become the next heir of the Clan MacNeil, Marion
ordered her servant to behead her stepsons.
The servant did as he was ordered, beheading the boys at Cornaig
Bay on Vatersay. There
after she was known as Marion of the Heads and many beheadings were
known to have taken place afterwards on her command when she ruled
Barra. The stone where the
killings took place was near the waters’ edge and was lost to tidal
erosion in the mid 20th century. If we
make our way along the road we will arrive at a set of crossroads. The
road to the right takes us down to crofting land where beyond is a spectacular
beach and machair land billowing with a wide variety of wild flowers. A
particularly rare flower is found on this sandy machair, referred to as
‘Bonnie Prince Charlies ''Flower'', which is only located on
Vatersay and Eriskay. The golden eagle has been spotted regularly in
this area, other wild birds such as black-headed gulls, terns, gullimots,
oyster-catchers and sea-gulls frequent the coastline. On route you will
pass a small beach at Port a’ Bhata where there are large rocks
referred to as ‘ am priosan’ ( the prison) by locals. This was so
called because this is where Taking a left from the crossroads going towards Cornaig Bay (see3), to the right we can see the remains of a Norse fort (see map). Cornaig Bay is a popular spot for otters and seals. It is also re-known, as mentioned previously, as the site where Marion of the Heads had her stepsons beheaded. "...haunting cries can be heard here, every year on the evening of New Years’ Day. This could very well be connected to the terrible events which occurred here many centuries before." (from local folklore) Proceeding to area(see4) , we pass a Roman Catholic Church, built in 1913. Further into the township of Uidh we come across the landing site from where the first ferry ran to Barra between 1968-77. Travelling from Barra to Vatersay was not always as easy as it is today. The islanders of Vatersay had to rely on a ferry service before the causeway was completed in 1991. The first ferry route started in 1968, was operated by a local fisherman who used his fishing boat to ferry passengers back and forward. The service was only ran on request, thus there was no daily service. In 1977 the sea truck, a car passenger ferry ran for 6mths which brought added complications. When the ferry had vehicles on board it had to land at Leidag and on the return journey it would land at Caolis, to allow vehicles to disembark. The last ferry route ran from a new landing site with a passenger ferry which ran daily. See map for ferry route details. There is a long beautiful beach at the end of the road in Uidh. Uinessan is a tidal island, accessible by walking round the beach and across a small hill. It is known as the last resting place of Marion of the Heads. This is the island previously mentioned, where those that were drowned by her, where buried. It was coincidental that she also ended up buried here, as it was Marions’ desire to be buried in her birth place Coll. However, as her servants were taking her body to Coll, a thick fog set in as they were leaving which lead to their decision to bury her on Uinessan, also the fact that she was not well liked may have played a factor. She is said to be buried verticaly, feet first, facing Coll, but as the fog cleared the servants realised that Muldonich was obscuring the view. There is also evidience of an ancient chapel called St Brendans’ Chapel. Leaving Uidh we are now
on our way to (see 5) . Looking, to
the left-hand side of the road we will see the remains of a second
world war plane, a ''catalina'' sea plane, that crashed in the hill on
the 12th May 1944, killing 3 of its crew and leaving 6 survivors. The site of the
old primary school (see map) gives a spectacular view of the sands of
Vatersay Bay. The primary school was closed in 1992 due to the fact
there were only 4 pupils attending the school at that time. The photo to
the right is of the last 4 pupils who attended the
The
Big House (see7) stands impressively
over Vatersay village. It
was built by Colonel Gordon of Cluny. His descendent Lady Gordon Cathcart owned Vatersay between
1878-1909. Donald MacLellan
was the tenant on Vatersay farm when the ‘Annie Jane’ sank in the
west bay in 1853. It is
said that his servants stole valuables from the dead
that were washed up on the beach, even chopping fingers off to
get valuable rings. Donald
MacLennan left in 1909 when the island was bought by the Congested
Districts Board after the Vatersay Raiders won a victory in the courts.
Some islanders on Mingulay and Barra had
illegally raided
Vatersay in 1906 and built temporary dwelling places there. This angered Lady Gordon Cathcart and she had the squatters
evicted and as a result imprisoned.
After much public outrage Lady Gordon Cathcart agreed to sell
Vatersay allowing it to be allocated into crofts. The Big House
was then converted into a schoolhouse in 1909-10.
Beyond the Big House is the site of a Celtic fort and behind the
fort, archeologists excavated burial cairns dating back to the Bronze
Age Period. For those who enjoy treking and getting off the main
road there are more gems to explore, such as the standing stone, the
south beach, Ben Cuier and
the deserted township of Eorisdale (see map). Services and amentities The
amentities on Vatersay are limited but the community hall is open in the
summer months for teas and coffees and the friendly service is second to
none. During the evening
many dances and ceilidhs are held here, so watch out for notices as you
don’t want to miss out on what could be one of the many highlights of
your holiday. There is a Post Office which is situated in the village (see
map) and there is a regular bus service to Barra, so pop in to Barra
Post Office for a timetable, as times do vary.
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Marion of the Heads used to imprison those of her workers that were no
longer able to work. When the high tide came in, the prisioners were
drowned(see picture to the right). Marions’ servants would then take
the bodies by horse and cart for burial on Uinessan. There are
also Chinese fishermen buried here, who were drowned when their ship
"Idomenius" went aground in Vatersay bay during World War Two.
school, alongside their teacher. The school building has now been
converted into two houses. A short walk takes us to the community hall where
teas and coffees are served in the summer months.
The monument which stands over Vatersay west beach (
