After my boat tour out of Oban i had already decided to go on a tour of the Outer Hebrides. I left Oban and headed for the Isle Of Skye where i could catch a ferry. The ferry network is very good and reasonably priced, its a necessity for people living out there so i believe its subsidised by the government.
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Arriving in Uig i managed to buy a standby ticket for the ferry to Stornaway. This was at the end of September so if you do this in the summer definitely book your tickets in advance !
After a 2 hour ferry ride you arrive in the port of Tarbert on the Isle Of Harris. There really isn’t very much in Tarbert apart from a couple of local shops and a small hotel with a bar. You are better off moving on and finding accomodation elsewhere.
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Lews Castle is to be found west of the town of Stornoway. It was built between 1844-1851 for Sir James Matheson, a man who had made his fortune from the Chinese opium trade.
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Leaving Stornaway i headed north and you don’t have to go far before finding a big golden beach. Take any side road and you will soon find the sea.
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There are plenty of spotless golden beaches to be found. You might find you are the only one there !!
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As this is Scotland you do find the odd stubborn local. This guy really didn’t want to move !!
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I drover further north up the coast all the way to the Butt Of Lewis lighthouse, on the northern most tip of the Isle of Lewis. Its a very rugged coastline usually getting battered by the weather.
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Because of the unpredictable weather you’re never far away from seeing a rainbow, usually more than one in the same day !!
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Many lonely roads lead to another beach……
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Whilst waiting for the ferry to Barra i went for a little walk on the nearside beach…….
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Apparently the airport at Barra is the only one of its kind. The tidal beach doubles up as the runway strip ! Obviously the flight times here are controlled by more than the weather !
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The weather can turn very quickly in the outer Hebrides – especially toward the end of September. The local wildlife don’t seem to mind !
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I stayed in a hostel in Barra for a few nights as the weather got so bad the ferries didn’t run for a couple of days.
The castle in the bay, you can get a small boat to take you there – if the weathers good !
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After a great tour of the Outer Hebrides i got the ferry back to the mainland. Arriving back in Uig i was met by the sunshine –
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Sunset over Uig whilst staying at the excellent Cow Shed hostel.
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Driving down through Skye i went to the small village of Elgol on the south coast. Its here you can go on small boat tours around the local lochs and view the Cuillin Hills. I came here because i was here about 40 years ago on a holiday. Some friends of the family own a house on the neighbouring island of Soay. Sadly the boat trips don’t go over to Soay but i could see it in the distance.
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I left Elgol and started my drive back home. Wildlife is never far away in Scotland –
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I actually did this trip back in September/October last year and forgot to write it up. Apologies if its rather patchy as i can’t remember the exact route i took nor all the details of it !
Hopefully the photos tell you of what a wonderful place it is – you really must go there !