Ben More guest house memories

Discussion: We used to stay at the Ben More Guest House in the late 60s/early 70s. I am trying to place where this was. I know between it and Hecla was a round-topped hill, and that just up a slight rise, going south was a shop and, I think, petrol pump. The lady that looked after us at the guest house for the owner was called Mary. I also know that it was a Grogarry telephone number. I would love it if someone can give me more information about this guest house, the people who owned it and the shop, and what has happened to it since.
We were working at the rocket range firing small sounding rockets. I have really fond memories. Of prancing about on the pier at Loch Skipport to lure the seals in. The cattle buyers arrival and the drinking in the kitchen of the guest house while they were there. A ceilidh with fiddler, accordion player, singers, poetry, and tales of old Uist in the Gaelic. One elderly lady, with a sweet face as innocent as could be told a tale which her granddaughter translated for us as being anything but innocent. of putting up a wooden garden shed at the range and being told we should rope it down in case it blew away. We had our own met. people with us who assured us we wouldn't need to as there were no high winds expected. The next morning, after a perfectly still night it had "blown" away. It's twin appeared in a garden not that far away a few days later. We ordered another and this time put wire ropes over it attached to long metal pegs driven into the ground. The pilot of the Logan-air Islander rushing out to get a free start from the BEA Viscount, having parked his aircraft behind it so as to benefit from the backwash from the Viscounts propellers. So many happy memories.

Hi Cathie Ann,
I would be really interested in getting the contact details of Niall Campbell, it sounds just the place. My e-mail is johndenness06@aol.com
if you want to contact me direct.

How interesting that you want to come back, and yes, the island is much changed. One thing which has improved vastly is the standard of accommodation available to visitors. I have a contact in Benbecula, - a fellow crofter named Niall Campbell, who has just finished a full renovation of the original family home, a beautiful thatched cottage, with the intention to rent it out to visitors this year. if you are interested in contacting him, please e-mail me and I can provide his details. The croft is 2 miles east of the wee village of Balivanich and is in a lovely location.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me Cathie Ann. Yes I do remember the sudden storms and the fact that you could see weather coming in from so far out into the Atlantic. The horizons seemed huge there with no trees or big buildings to block the view.
The islands were still relatively unspoilt when we were working there. People were still living in some of the old thatched houses, but there were already many falling into disrepair, with the new house built along side. I doubt if many of the new houses will last as long as the older ones.
Mary was a lovely lady, there was another lady called Morag of about the same age as Mary, who helped with the meals. There were about 5 or 6 of us used to stay in the guest house at the time. I don't think the locals were overly enthused when the "grey vans" were seen awaiting our arrival, having been moved from MacLennan's garage to the airport.
Watching TV was like watching through a snow storm because of the poor signal. Phone calls home would see us listening to one operator after another; Kyle, Oban and on, as a connection was made to the south of England so we could speak to our wives.
Sundays we had high tea, cold meats and salad as Mary did no work on the Sabbath. We would go to the Army base at Benbecula in the evening and to the pictures in a huge Nissen hut cinema. The one projector caused uproar from the audience as the reels were changed.
We went to the Polachar or the Creagorry, I don't see the latter mentioned now and the Polachar has changed out of all recognition. If only they had had digital cameras in those days but as it was I took no photos of the place that I came to love. I want to bring my wife there later this year to show her where I was when I phoned from what she thought was almost the other side of the world. I am retired and 67 years old. We have two dogs that travel everywhere with us so we will have to find somewhere to stay that will allow dogs to sleep out in the car at night.

It is owned by the son of the lady you remember, and has not been a Guest House for many years. His name is Tommy MacDonald, and you might be able to contact him through local organisation, Re-Store, a 'Cothrom' initiative if you wish to look him up. I hadn't heard about the disappearing shed till now, but a man in LochCarnan, new to the island, was similarly advised by my cousin that his new shed should be more securly tied down. It housed a dozen hens and he'd thoughtfully placed a calor gas heater within as the weather was quite cold. My cousin's identical shed (hens but no calor heater!) was strapped down by half a dozen steel ties, concreted into the ground. The incomer ignored the advice and that evening a storm blew up out of no-where, (which it often does here as you will remember!) and the next morning he found the remnants of his shed half a mile from his house. Sadly the hens had all been gassed to death. Ah, if only.....!