The quiet isles

from Scotland Magazine May/June 2021

by The Chelsea Magazine Company

The library

TheQuiet Isles

Scotland’s remote island chain, the Outer Hebrides, still holds tight to its traditions and its unhurried pace of life

Words by KENNETH STEVEN

Sea loch on Harris

ABOVE:

Seilebost beach, with views across to Luskentyre

TOP RIGHT:

Barra Airport’s beach runway

BOTTOM RIGHT:

Eriskay ponies near Lochboisdale, South Uist I ’m sure I’m not the only one to have looked at the map and imagined the Outer Hebrides being akin to the remains of a dragon that once crashed into the waters off the west coast of Scotland. The great head is at the top and the tail curls round below to form a chain of smaller and smaller islands.

I think it’s best to begin at that southern end when setting out to explore the whole chain, just as the romantic in me feels it’s most exciting to start the whole journey by taking the train to Oban and experiencing the wonder of the three-hour train journey from Glasgow.

Having said that, I think having a car for the Outer Hebridean journey is wisest – I have managed to travel the spine of the ‘Long Island’ (one of the many names of the Outer Hebrides, also sometimes called the Western Isles) by public transport, but it was far from easy. A rental car can be picked up in Oban, and you can stay in the town the night before, boarding the ferry for the almost five-hour-long crossing to Barra in the morning.

I will always think of Barra as being like a bit of Ireland that floated off the map. When you awake in the morning in Castlebay, the island’s capital, one of the finest views in the Outer Hebrides awaits you: Kisimul Castle on its tiny islet.

Barra is an island rich in music and storytelling, whose roots are truly ancient. Like other islands in the southern part of the Outer Hebridean chain, it’s staunchly Catholic, and that’s helped to preserve a rich culture of music and folklore: a culture embedded in the Gaelic tongue.

Here, Gaelic is still a living language, used for the buying of petrol or the catching of a boat, though native Gaelic speakers switch between their mother tongue and English without a second thought.

It is hard to leave Barra behind, with its scimitars of beaches and its wealth of history, but the little ferry to Eriskay takes no time at all, nor does crossing Eriskay itself, which is passed in the blink of an eye. But watch for the ponies, and the sudden When you awake in Castlebay, Barra’s shocks of white-bright sand. All of a capital, one of the finest views in the Outer sudden, you’ll come round a bend and see a shrine to Mary, brightened with fresh Hebrides awaits: Kisimul Castle on its islet

ABOVE:

A double rainbow arcs over the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village on Lewis flowers. This is where Bonnie Prince Charlie landed from France to embark on the ill-fated Rising that would result in the Much of the richness of this landscape is Battle of Culloden a year later in 1746. thanks to an older way of farming called There was good reason for landing the Prince here among strictly Catholic islands, crofting – farming on a small scale where people were fiercely determined to see the restoration of the Stuart throne.

But before you know it, you’re over the causeway to South Uist. I remember coming here first as a boy of six. I learned my first words of Gaelic from the crofting family where we stayed for bed and breakfast.

It was early summer, and the meadows were full of the song of curlews and lapwings. The wind seems to blow constantly here, as if from every direction all at once.

The Uists are islands that feel barely above sea level: there are one or two high hills certainly, but the low moorland is pocked with lochs, and all too often loch and sea flow from one into the other. For that reason, this is a fisherman’s kingdom, and a corner of heaven too for any birdwatcher.

As with all the islands, otters are common. Watch out for them on the roads, for their main enemy is the car. Often on the Scottish mainland you only see otters if you’re up at dawn: they’re shy creatures, keen to be away from disturbance. Here in the islands, it’s quite possible to see an otter having supper on the shore at the end of a bright summer afternoon. They grow used to people and weave their existence around them.

I know for a fact that much of this richness of the landscape is thanks to an older way of farming called crofting – farming on a small scale. Someone who crofts will typically have some sheep or a few cows or hens, but you’ll often find it’s a crofter too who drives the school bus on Fridays, or serves in the village shop each Wednesday. Working the land is rarely enough to bring in sufficient income.

It’s well worth breaking the journey in the Uists for a day or so, perhaps to visit the birthplace of

PLAN YOUR FUTURE VISIT

The Outer Hebrides are currently only open for essential travel, but restrictions are expected to be eased over the coming months. Please check guidelines before booking travel.

GETTING THERE

Caledonian MacBrayne runs ferries from Oban to Castlebay on Barra (5hrs 30min) and also from Ullapool in the northwest Highlands to Stornoway on Lewis and Harris (2hr 45mins) if you’d like to do the route in reverse. It is also possible to fly from Glasgow to Barra and land on the beach runway with Loganair (1hr 15mins). calmac.co.uk; loganair.co.uk

GETTING AROUND

A Hopscotch ticket allows for flexible and cheaper inter-island travel. Often the Oban ferry arrives late in the evening into Castlebay, so staying in town that first night is wise. calmac.co.uk/island-hopping

WHERE TO STAY

Sifting the online lists of cottages, bed and breakfasts and hotels for the Outer Hebrides lets you work out what best suits your needs. Plan the journey from Castlebay on Barra to Stornoway on Lewis, allowing time for stops and overnight stays.

Corrodale Cottage (uistholidaycottage.co.uk) is a real thatched cottage on South Uist that you can rent on a self-catering basis.

In South Harris, Blue Reef Cottages (stay-hebrides.com) offers some of the loveliest accommodation, within easy reach of those Luskentyre sands – but there’s lots of choice.

WHERE TO EAT

Wonderful seafood is found throughout the island chain, including at the Lochmaddy Hotel (lochmaddyhotel.co.uk). On Lewis, there’s the Uig Sands Restaurant (uigsands.co.uk), which overlooks the spectacular Uig Bay. Further north and also on the island’s west coast, there’s the Uig Scallop Shack (facebook. com/UigScallopShack), a few miles from Carloway Broch. By the time you reach Stornoway, you’re spoilt for choice.

FIND OUT MORE

visitouterhebrides.co.uk

Flora MacDonald (the celebrated Uist heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from the Hanoverian soldiers seeking to take him prisoner). In North Uist, visit Lochmaddy and the beautiful little museum that celebrates in particular the extraordinary weaver of strange garments, Angus MacPhee. There is the magnificent bird reserve at Balranald, and a cluster of castles to visit. The seafood is worth finding throughout these islands, not just in the Uists. The cold waters are blessed with rich reserves of lobster, langoustine and brown crab. When I visited the island chain with my parents in childhood I remember seeing none of these delicacies; now they’re being fished ever more and kept for local consumption. If you have time, take the west coast road around the top of North Uist. On a very clear day you’ll be lucky enough to see the sharp ramparts of St Kilda. The North Uist to Harris ferry crossing is my favourite of all the Outer Hebrides ferry routes. It’s also the strangest, for the ferry weaves its way slowly and carefully between rocks and islets, through beautiful translucent water, as it passes raft after raft of birds. I remember those crossings being blessed with transient light, so here, as elsewhere, there’s the opportunity for magnificent pictures. I would urge you to stay somewhere in the south of Harris once you’ve landed in The North Uist to Harris ferry crossing is my Leverburgh and it’s hard to imagine leaving without first experiencing the wonder of favourite. It’s also the strangest, weaving the beaches of Luskentyre. It’s the sheer its way slowly between rocks and islets hugeness of the dunes and the whiteness of the sand, rendered all the more powerful

TOP TO BOTTOM:

Beware of otters crossing Outer Hebridean roads; St Clements Church, Rodel, Harris

ABOVE: The Callanish Stones on Lewis by the foreboding dark of the Harris hills behind. In fact, staying only a day or so will be the difficulty: there are many Harris is composed of high hills and has a who’ve found the beaches of Scarista, distinct ruggedness; Lewis is low moorland Seilebost and Luskentyre and made up their minds never to go anywhere else. with clusters of scattered communities

Now you’re into staunchly Presbyterian country: North Uist, Harris and Lewis are all filled with very different churches, those of the Free and Free Presbyterian denominations, and of the Church of Scotland. Sunday is still at the very centre of that Presbyterian culture: you’ll find nothing open that day except for the churches themselves, nor will you see any washing blowing on a line.

It may be a way of life that is passing, but it goes very deep. If you do stay then make a point of experiencing the haunting beauty of the Golden Road on the east coast of Harris. If it’s high summer you’ll need to be ready to use passing places a fair amount, but the inconvenience is surely worth it for unparalleled views.

There’s no ferry between Harris and Lewis because bizarrely enough they’re different parts of the same island. Yet they don’t feel so. Harris is composed of high hills and has a distinct ruggedness; Lewis is low moorland with clusters of scattered communities. The drive that brings you from one to the other is extraordinary. Park up in the high hills to get some sense of the grandeur and keep watching the skies for an eagle.

I think perhaps in childhood days I considered Lewis rather drab. I learned later just how wrong I was. Instead of heading straight for Stornoway, the capital of the Outer Hebrides on the east side of Lewis, drive west in order to visit the standing stones of Callanish, the great broch of Carloway and the Blackhouse at Arnol. This is another corner in which to stay if you have time, but once you do reach Stornoway, and before taking the ferry back to the mainland, visit the museum to see the Lewis chessmen – most likely the greatest of treasures in all the islands. S

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