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.
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.
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.
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.
There are plenty of spotless golden beaches to be found. You might find you are the only one there !!
As this is Scotland you do find the odd stubborn local. This guy really didn’t want to move !!
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.
Because of the unpredictable weather you’re never far away from seeing a rainbow, usually more than one in the same day !!
Many lonely roads lead to another beach……
Whilst waiting for the ferry to Barra i went for a little walk on the nearside beach…….
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 !
The weather can turn very quickly in the outer Hebrides – especially toward the end of September. The local wildlife don’t seem to mind !
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 !
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 –
Sunset over Uig whilst staying at the excellent Cow Shed hostel.
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.
I left Elgol and started my drive back home. Wildlife is never far away in Scotland –
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 !