Additional information
Terrain
- Mixture of clear tracks and hillside path, a little rugged and marshy in places
Landscape
- Moorland and hill
Dog friendliness
- Dogs allowed off leash but must be under close control
Parking
- Car park by the municipal waste and recycling centre
Toilets en route
- None on route
About the walk
Benbecula's reputation as a place of unrelenting flatness is a little overplayed. The clue lies in the island's Gaelic name, Beinn Na Faoghla, which translates as 'the mountain of the fords'. This single mountain is known as Ruabhal, 406ft/124m above sea level, which rises abruptly from the... surrounding flatlands. At the summit you will see the meaning of another local adage about Benbecula – that it's 'more loch than rock' – as a fretwork of innumerable inlets and lochs speckles the landscape. The low lie of the surrounding land gives Ruabhal a disproportionately elevated view, and this hillwalk is one of the easiest ways to get a view of the skien of islands that make up the Outer Hebrides. Looking around you South Uist is laid out to the south, with its backdrop of mountains that in turn give way to Barra, at the southern end of the island chain. Looking north you can see most of Benbecula, including the tiny airport and RAF Benbecula, which operates long-range radar tracking over the North Atlantic. To the east, a clear day will reveal the Cuillins on Skye. Everywhere, houses look like pieces of Lego dropped from the sky. A sunny day provides a dazzling interplay of sand and heather, peat and rock, sky and water. This walk also offers wonderful opportunities for birding. The chances of seeing particular wildlife are always something of a lottery, but Ruabhal really is a place where the odds are stacked in your favour. Short-eared owls frequently fly over the moors, hunting in broad daylight. The bird that attracts many visitors, however, is the hen harrier. While the hen harrier is hard to spot in England, the flanks and moors of Ruabhal are recognised nesting places for these birds, and they can be seen all year round. In summer, as the chicks hatch, you may be treated to the sight of a food pass, where the male hen harrier passes prey in mid-air to its mate. Other birds are often spotted: wheatears and stonechats hover around the gorse along the side of loch Ba Una, while in spring and summer rarities such as great northern divers may be seen. All year round, sea eagles and golden eagles might be picked out on distant rocks or in the sky. Humans have depended on the moors around Ruabhal for centuries, and this walk passes several peat cuttings. Peat was long used as fuel to heat homes before oil and gas became mainstream. More recently, concern over the cost of fossil fuels has seen larger numbers of local people exercising their right to cut peat.
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