Our first three days in the Outer Hebrides were spent on Harris and Lewis. We stayed at a very quirky site on Harris which I will devote a separate post to as there was so much to show you.

The area of Harris we stayed in reminded me a lot of trips to Sweden, similar rocky archipelagos and everywhere small lochs full of water lillies.

The first afternoon after the ferry crossing we drove to see the amazing beaches of South Harris. Even though I have seen them on other travel vlogs you cannot believe that the sea and sand are really that colour until you see them. They are so beautiful.

Our first full day was spent driving up to the top of Lewis, this island is very different as it is so flat, compared to Harris. We drove to the windiest place in the UK, I can confirm it lives up to its reputation!

The views of the Atlantic were amazing and it was even more exciting as we saw some seals playing on one of the rocks in the cove.

We also visited the Callanish standing stones, three Neolithic stone circles on Harris. There is lots of archaeological evidence of settlement on the islands including a reproduction of an Iron Age house near one of the beaches.

Day 2 was a trip to the little island of Scalpay, over the bridge between Harris and the island and a walk out to Eilean Glas lighthouse, we were so lucky with the weather the whole time we were there. I couldn’t believe the sky was so blue.

We also went out to one of the most remote beaches, Husinis, in search of otters. It was literally a roller coaster ride along the narrowest and bumpiest roads that I have ever seen.It was certainly an experience getting there!

I am not sure if we did see otters, they are very elusive but there may have been something in this bay.

The islands are unique and feel very different from each other. The light there is amazing and the colours seem so bright. This was even more so when we got to the next islands, another ferry ride away. I will tell you more about that in my next post.

I have been reading some biographies about island life, like much of Scotland land ownership has been an issue for many years with clearances by land owners that led to crofters losing their homes. It was significant that there are very few of the older houses left on the island and many people were forced to emigrate to USA and Canada.

Nowadays most of the area is owned by the community and there are various community businesses, such as the lovely cafe we stopped at for lunch in North Lewis.There was also a small museum and gallery where I was able to see one of the looms that made the famous Harris tweed.

I didn’t find many places that were doing weaving but did manage to buy this beautiful little purse which will remind me of all the colours of this island.

I will tell you more about island life in the next post. We are now back in England, after a very long 6 hour drive. I then drove back North through my first appalling weather to meet up with Ellen for more Steampunk fun in Lincoln. We were very pleased as this event has not been held since 2019 and a great time was had by all.

I hope that you have had a good weekend, especially if you are in the UK where it is a Bank Holiday. We are planning a quiet Monday sewing and watching movies.

Hope you all have fun anyway, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.