The Beauty of the Outer Hebrides | Uist - Lewis & Harris....Rainbows Galore | Vanlife
Channel: Scott & Jen
Date: 2021-02-11

We crossed from UIG in Skye to Lochmaddy on the ferry. Our first stop was Langass woods, not shown on the video but a nice walk we would recommend with some history of Hercules the Bear a famous Hollywood animal actor, with an impressive wood carved statue in one of the deeper points of the walk (easy walk).

Baleshare beach walk was a nice pebble beach and we caught some drone shots of the views and the shore. After we headed to Drimsdale beach and parked up to spot the sunset. There are lots of places to pull up along the beach banks to sleep the night. We met another camper Mitch and Izzy and ended having a great night. We made fire from driftwood and shared an open fire cooked meal with a few drinks. The night sky was clear and the stars immense it made for a memorable experience.

The following morning we said our goodbyes and headed straight to the southern most point of Uist (Eriskay). The was our top 2 of the most stunning beach's of our Scotland trip. Scott tried at some seaside foraging of some razor clams with no luck. We headed to the nearby and famous Politician pub for a drink and read up on some of the islands history and the tale featured in the film Whiskey Galore. After we headed to Loch Druidibeag nature reserve, we were greeted by a couple of friendly (Greedy?) shetland ponies and gave them a few snacks from the side of the van. We settled for the evening and watched Whiskey Galore in the van. The following day Scott spent fly fishing between a couple of locations and bagged a brace of beautiful brown trout (both released to fight another day). Uist a must visit for any fly fishing enthusiast.

Balranald Nature Reserve was the next stop, notably a good spot for bird watching and the occasional Otter spotted if you happen to be lucky. Another of Uist's beach gems to walk along. Between there and our ferry crossing to Lewis and Harris was the Scolpaig tower that sat in the middle of a Loch was a cool feature.

Ferry from Berneray - Levenburgh
We stayed the first night at Luskentyre Beach. The beach named one of the Uk's best beach's in the trip advisor travellers choice awards. Beach Yoga on the sand. Hotel Harris was our evening stop for a lovely meal. Next was the Isle of Scalpay and the Eilean Glas Lighthouse. A epic walk along the coast and the picturesque lighthouse sitting proud on the peninsula. We caught and great shot of the structure and the coastal backdrop.

The Eagle observatory was our next stop. We could see Eagles in the distance, or possibly buzzards but our binoculars were like something out of a Christmas cracker so we couldn't get a good eye on them.

Hushinish beach was our next stop. The spot has great free parkup locations with fresh water tap, toilet and waste disposal (waste disposal small charge) there is also the option of self serve electric hookup points which are usually less busy so could be an option for busier times of the year however keep in mind this is a very popular location so first come first served. The beach is a nice bay and has many walks in the surrounding area, also a great spot to see highland cows roaming the terrain. Area is no signal zone so we headed back to the eagle observatory after emptying our waste and brimming our water tank.

In Stornoway we enjoyed fish and chips and did a little shopping to treat ourselves to some binoculars. After we headed to Lewis castle to wander around the grounds. That evening we watched the sunset and stayed at Traigh Mor beach (Toilet access)

Birdwatching in Loch Stiapabhat Nature Reserve.
The very windy Butt of Lewis had some pretty impressive rock formations in the sea and definitely blew the cobwebs out (Appeared in the Guinness book of records as the UK's windiest place)
Norse Mill and Kiln was a cool stop off showing age old technology.
Gearrannon Village continued the old worldy theme for the day with some thatched roof structures.

Dun Carloway Broch, an iron age structure designed to impress and defend. Probably home to tribal leaders of the time. The structure was unfortunately undergoing remedial repairs and was covered in scaffolding when we visited but was still impressive and a great location. (free parking and toilet)

Highly recommended Calendish Stones and probably the most impressive standing stones/stone circle we have seen on our travels. Sat high on a mountain top with 360 degree views they are a must if you are on the island. 

Last stop Basta Iron Age house + Beach (buried house, no footage) A brisk Loch swim and UIG Chessman statue by Ardroil beach (Other pieces can be found in National museum Scotland)

Ferry Tarbet - UIG, the journey continues.

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