As winter settles in, I thought it best to recommend what I would consider the perfect trip for the chillier season. While island hopping is popular in regions like Greece and Croatia, I would argue that the Scottish Western Isles present an equally exciting, though dramatically different, experience.
The Isle of Harris, famous for its tweed and distillery, is about 24 miles of the west coast of mainland Scotland. It’s technically not an island itself, instead being the southern half of Lewis and Harris — the largest island in the Outer Hebrides. Harris is home to a substantial amount of exposed rock — including three billion year old lewisian gneisses — and is the more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, which is what makes its landscape a thoroughly unique experience.
The journey to Harris is half the fun, beginning with a scenic journey by bus, train, or car to Uig Ferry Terminal on the Isle of Skye. While dozing off for part of the journey makes sense, make sure you’re awake from Kyle of Locklash so you don’t miss the Skye bridge crossing! When you’ve arrived on the Isle of Skye, it’s a worthy stop-off point, and exploring what the isle has to offer is a great way to break up an otherwise rather long journey.
Next comes the hour and forty minute journey across the minch via Calmac ferry. You can enjoy the journey outdoors if the weather makes enjoying the ocean breeze appealing, or indoors if you’d prefer the option to cosy up — either way you get spectacular views. The ferry will dock in Tarbert, where you can enjoy the arts fair hosted at the community centre every weekend.
But of course, the main attraction of Harris is its scenery and wildlife. On my first day on Harris, I was approached by highland cows and friendly sheep, had a golden eagle circle overhead, saw seals splash about, and watched dolphins porpoise — needless to say I was very pleased to have made the trip. Huisinis beach is a great place to travel to, with the forty minute bus or six hour hike there from Tarbet a jaw-dropping journey.
As part of Western Isles island-hopping adventure, I would also recommend journeying up to Lewis, where you can see the famous Callanish Stones. These standing stones were erected in the neolithic period, circa 2750 BC. I will confess, despite multiple journeys to them, I have never successfully reached the Callanish Stones themselves, having always gotten distracted on the way by the many other neolithic stone circles nearby. Callanish II, Callanish III, Callanish IV, and Callanish VIII form the Calanais complex, and are impressive and worthy distractions that, in my opinion, justify missing the Callanish Stones even if they are your intended destination.
Harris & Lewis don’t have many options in the way of restaurants to recommend, but hidden amongst the grassy fields of Achmore is a converted shipping container that houses Crust — which serves delicious neapolitan style pizza beside Loch Thorta Briden. With dough made fresh each morning, this tasty treat is perfect to enjoy in the most scenic of settings.
For those considering planning a trip, I’ll end by mentioning something crucial for the city-folk reading: bus services operate regularly Monday to Saturday but, like most things on Harris, do not run on Sundays.
Image by Aliyah-Zahra Naqvi for The Student
