Table of Contents
Day 1
On a wet Scottish morning, we arrived early at Uig Ferry port on the Isle of Skye ready to travel to the Isle of Lewis and Harris. This was the part of our Scottish trip I had been most looking forward to. Although the weather was not promising the large Caledonian MacBrayne ( Calmac) ferry was a reassuring sight.
Like most of our trip, it was wet and windy when we arrived in Tarbert the capital of Harris. The scenery of Lewis and Harris looked like we were on another planet with large boulders strewn around. For a small island there is lots to see and do. Lewis and Harris is actually one island divided by mountains. The capital of Lewis is Stornoway where we were due to leave from in 4 days time.
Harris Tweed
After lunch at the Isle of Harris distillery we headed to the Harris Tweed shop by the harbour. Harris Tweed is a world famous fabric that must, by law be hand woven on a treadle loom. The weaver must be in their own home on the island of Lewis and Harris. The Harris tweed shop has a huge collection of products made from Harris tweed in all colours and styles from around the island. After making a few purchases ( Wallet, ipad cover and coasters) we decided to explore further.
Around the island there are a few Harris tweed museums and shops. We visited one in an old schoolhouse a short drive around those windy roads. The exhibition gave a bit more history of the fabric and its influence world wide.
Luskentyre Beach
In a break in the weather, we visited Luskentyre beach. A lovely sandy beach with green and yellow grass blowing in the wind. The water was a beautiful aqua blue and the girls enjoyed playing in the sand. A bit too cool for a swim but we enjoyed the fresh sea air until the rain came again.
Callanish standing Stones
Our main reason for coming to Lewis and Harris was to see the Callanish standing stones. Said to be the inspiration for the stones in Brave (A Pixar movie) and Craigh na Dun in Outlander. They certainly are an impressive sight.
Callanish is not the only stone circle on Lewis and Harris but it is the largest. When you come to the end you can see that they are set up in a Celtic cross shape. This is known as Callanish 1 and has a very impressive central monolith and a small central burial cairn.
The stones at the site today were erected between 2900 and 2600BC and probably abandoned 800BC. Then it became covered in peat and was rediscovered in the 1800’s, but not fully excavated until the 1980’s.
We visited the stones 3 times in the 3 days we were there and they looked different at each time due to the position of the sun. I love all the ancient sites in Britain. Being able to walk all around them and, on most visits, having the place almost to ourselves was a wonderful experience. I imagine in summer it is a different story.
Miss 8 was also impressed and said she hoped we could visit 5 times more. It is amazing to think how many people over the centuries would have passed around these stones.
Visiting the stones is free but there is a cost if you wish to visit the information centre. We had a yearly Historic Scotland membership for our time in Scotland and the visitor centre was included in the pass. There is also the Explorer Pass if you are in Scotland for a shorter time than us.
Day 2
Port of Ness
We headed to the northernmost point of Lewis on the morning of day 2 and found a lovely little harbour and a protected beach. This day provided us with one of our favourite memories. Port of Ness beach had little caves in the rock and reminded us of a Famous Five story.
The air was cool but the sun was shining. There were a few people in wetsuits playing around in the water. We were building sandcastles when we thought it started raining even though the sun was still shining. As it got heavier, we realised it was actually tiny hail that stopped almost as soon as it begun covering the beach in a blanket of white. The water was so cold that the hail was floating around in the moat of our sandcastles. It was such a fun experience and we often talk about the time we were hailed on at the beach.
Butt of Lewis lighthouse
We played for a bit longer then headed to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse. According to the Guinness Book of records this is officially the windiest point in the UK. It didn’t disappoint. The light house was closed so we just had a look around and tried to stay away from the edge so we didn’t get blown off the cliff.
Best playground ever- Eoropie Dunes park
From the lighthouse, we decided to look for the Eoropie Dunes park which according to the tourist maps was rated 11/10. We thought they might be talking it up a bit but gave it a try. It was one of the best playgrounds we had ever been to. Because of the crazy wind, we had it almost to ourselves. It had a maze, teepees, climbing frame, zip line, swings, slide, obstacle course, little tunnels, telescope, mini trampolines and even a mini standing stones with burial cairn. We played here for hours and it was only the rain starting again that was able to drag us away.
Lewis and Harris is a more religious part of the UK and there is a sign on the playground asking you to respect the Sabbath. The rest of the week there is no restriction on the playground.
After lunch and another visit to the standing stones we headed back to our accommodation for the day. Having clear skies that night I tried to take some photos of all the amazing stars but the wind was so strong it almost blew my tripod over so was not as successful as I would have hoped.
Day 3
Our trip to Lewis and Harris was cut short due to the threat of a storm that would stop the ferries back to the mainland. We still managed to fit in a few sites before heading for the ferry.
Gearrannan Blackhouse village
Staying at Gearrannan village we were able to look at the other village buildings. There are traditional rooms that have peat fires and an exhibition with someone weaving on a traditional loom. It also had more information about the history of Harris tweed.
You can visit Gearranan village even if you are not staying there. It also has a small shop and café with homemade food.
After a final look at the ocean on our best weather day of the entire trip we headed to Dun Carloway.
Dun Carloway Broch, Dùn Chàrlabhaigh
It is the best preserved and most visited Broch in the outer Hebrides. A very impressive tower with an inner wall. We tried to climb up some of the stairs but found they stopped so had to come down.
After one more visit to the standing stones where the sun was in a different spot giving them different appearance again. We drove on to Stornoway. Unfortunately, we only had a short time in Stornoway to have lunch and explore the town. This was because we were emailed by Calmac to let us know that we could get a ferry today instead of the next day. There was a big storm due and the ferries for the next few days were likely to be cancelled.
This seemed so unlikely as the sun was shining and the wind was the least it had been on the entire trip. We also saw so many wonderful rainbows. Some of them came all the way to the ground and reflected over houses. Luckily, we were able to cancel our Stornoway accommodation and find accommodation at short notice in Ullapool and catch the early ferry. We had a lovely smooth crossing and even got to watch a Coastguard helicopter rescue drill off the back of the ferry.
Turns out the weather did turn bad the next day and apparently the ferries didn’t run for the next 3 days. If we had not come early this would have severely affected the remainder of our trip. We definitely made the best decision in leaving early.
Where to stay
Gearrannan Blackhouse Village.
Taigh-an-T-seoladair ( sailor’s house) was the second place we booked for our Scotland trip after our castle and we were very much looking forward to this stay. The accommodation here is stone crofter’s cottages ( Blackhouses) that had residents living in them until the 1970’s.
They have been updated slightly and now have underfloor heating which was very welcome with the cold winds off the Atlantic ocean swirling around outside. The stone walls and thatch roof made very cosy accommodation.
The cottages have self-catering facilities and coal fireplaces. Although this was not needed due to the central heating.
We did have accommodation booked for Stornoway with booking.com that luckily we were able to cancel without charge. We were very grateful to our hosts for being so flexible and we will book with them on our next visit.
Where to eat
Mostly we self catered our meals in our cottage but we did have a few meals out.
Isle of Harris Distillery
When we arrived from the Isle of Skye we were ready for some lunch and luckily at the Ferry port is the Isle of Harris Distillery. There was a nice warm “canteen” in the distillery with lots of tasty options. The chefs use locally sourced ingredients and change the menu to suit what is available. The soup we had was delicious. There is an open fire and large communal tables which were very welcoming.
When we were in Harris the distillery was making Gin but has now started making Whisky as well. We were hoping to do a tour of the distillery ( children from 5 years of age are allowed on the tour) however, all the sessions were booked out until the following week. We will have to book it in for next time.
Comunn Eachdraidh Nis Café
( Hebridean way pit stop)
After the wonderful playground we came to have lunch at Communn Eachdraidh Nis café. This little tea house had a small museum which unfortunately was under renovation at the time of our visit. This building is an archive of local history and was founded in 1977.
The café had a wonderful collection of different pretty teacups and saucers on the tables and old photos around the walls. The menu had a selection of soups sandwiches and delicious baked treats. Just the thing to refuel after hours of playing in the park.
Visiting Lewis and Harris was a highlight of our time in Scotland. In 3 days, you are only able to scratch the surface of all there is to see and do. I think we could easily spend a week here next time to explore all the places we didn’t get to. And of course, visit the standing stones again.
Since we visited there is now an App for the outer Hebrides available on Android and Apple devices from the tourist information. The app gives tips for places to stay, things to do and places to eat and ,much more. I will need to try this for our next visit.
I hope this has convinced you to include Lewis and Harris on your next Scottish visit. Although it is a little out of the way it is definitely worth the trip. I would love to hear from any of you who have been to Lewis and Harris. What was your favourite place?
