Heishival Mor
Heishival Mor, Island of Vatersay. Section 24D.
Height – 190 metres. Map – OS Landranger 31.
Climbed - 6 June 2011. Time taken – 1.75 hours.
Distance – 4 kilometres. Ascent – 230 metres.
Trip Report Details:
The previous afternoon we left Oban on the Cal Mac ferry for the four hour fifty minutes sail to Castlebay on the Island of Barra. Unfortunately there was some rain and low cloud so there was little in the way of any decent views on the crossing.
However the next morning was lovely and sunny as we made our way across the causeway linking Barra with the Island of Vatersay. Rather than just make a direct and quick ascent from near Caolas in the north we drove round to the east side of the hill and found a parking area just south of the Uidh junction.
The ascent of the east ridge of Heishival Beag was over a mixture of grass and heather, which was wet in places after some overnight rain. Boulders and slab rock made up the rest of the terrain. It was an easy climb and as height was gained, there were some superb views of the nearby islands including Sandray, Pabbay and Mingulay and the various blues of the sea and bays.
The cairn on Heishival Beag was reached followed by a slight dip in the ridge before the final short ascent to the trig point on Heishival Mor. To the west was the Atlantic Ocean with the next land mass being America. From these two tops we were able to view most of Vatersay.
It was too nice a day just to turn around and head back to the car so we took a break taking in these awesome views before returning by the ascent route.
Photos taken on walk.