Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides (also known as the Western Isles, Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Siar) are the westernmost chain of islands in the Hebrides, west of the Scottish Highlands.

A ferry leaving Lochmaddy, North Uist.
Inner Harbour, Stornoway

Islands

Many of the islands are nowadays linked by road. From north to south (which roughly corresponds to largest to smallest) the island groups are:

Lewis and Harris have always been the same island, but divided by mountains with (until modern times) only rough tracks across. It was easier to sail between them, as if they were divided by sea, so they became separate counties. Lewis, the northern and larger section, is mostly low-lying. Inland is infertile heath, but the east coastal strip is farmland. Here is 🌍 Stornoway, the only place in the entire Hebrides that you could call a town, with an airport and ferry port. To the south (by what is nowadays a good main road) is Harris. It's rugged but more scenic, with the small port of 🌍 Tarbert as its main village. 🌍 Leverburgh is a tiny but historically important village nearby. Off the west coast of Harris, Great Bernera is a small island that is nowadays linked by road.
This series of islands became linked by road during the 20th C, to create one very long island. They are mostly low-lying heathland with a myriad small lochs. Berneray is small, and was obscure until it became linked - Prince Charles (HRH Prince of Wales) once spent a week working as a crofter here, and no-one noticed him. On North Uist, 🌍 Lochmaddy is the main village and ferry port. Next south, 🌍 Benbecula has an airport and the little village of Balivanich. South Uist, the longest island, has a ridge to the east and the highway and crofts to the west: the ferry port of 🌍 Lochboisdale is the largest settlement. The last link in the chain of causeways joins the island of Eriskay.
  • Barra has 🌍 Castlebay as its main village, and is linked by road to Vatersay.

Thus, these three island groups all have settlements, regular public transport to each other and to the Scottish mainland, and visitor amenities. They're quiet except at the height of summer. Around them are even smaller islands, innumerably many: the Hebrides have a fractal terrain so however closely you focus in, more islands swim into view. A few have private dwellings but most just have sheep or sea-birds. Little islands important for wild-life, sometimes visited by boat trips, include the Shiant Islands south of Lewis and the Monach Islands off North Uist.

  • Lonely, uninhabited St Kilda lies 40 miles west out in the Atlantic.
This is an archipelago, and there's no island called "St Kilda". The largest island is 🌍 Hirta with towering sea cliffs; the three main others are Dùn, Soay and Boreray. Their tiny population led a precarious existence, crofting and gathering birds' eggs from the cliffs, until illness and other hardships forced them out in 1930. Nowadays volunteers work on the islands to preserve the habitat and ancient farmsteads; there's no visitor accommodation and you can only get in by boat in very favourable weather.

Understand

The Outer Hebrides are a fascinating destination. The scenery is beautiful. The landscape is rocky and mountainous, but also lush and verdant - due in no small part to the large amounts of rain which tend to fall. It is easy to find a quiet peaceful spot.

The Gaelic language and culture is appealing. At a practical level this means that place names on road signs are in Gaelic, but the bus timetables use the English names!

Religion still plays an important part in many people’s lives. In Lewis and Harris this is often in the form of Protestant Churches. As a result the Sabbath (Sunday) is respected, so you are unlikely to find shops etc. open on a Sunday. Activities happening on a Sunday often are opposed locally. In contrast Barra and South Uist are mainly Catholic, and many businesses typically open after midday on a Sunday. Benbecula is half-Protestant and half-Catholic, and one can still find businesses open on a Sunday there.

Talk
Outer Hebrides relief map and location

The main languages are Gaelic (Gàidhlig) and English, with Gaelic (pronounced in English as 'gallick') being the dominant language in people's homes. However, outside their homes, Gaelic is mainly used as a social and cultural language. Virtually all Gaelic speakers over the age of 5 speak English to a near-native fluency.

Most modern maps and road signs show the local place names in Gaelic with the English name shown below, usually in a smaller and often illegible font. However, bus timetables will exclusively use their English names as will locals when speaking English.

Get in

By boat

Caledonian MacBrayne (Calmac) operate car ferries throughout the Hebrides. On the mainland, which nowadays includes Skye, buses connect between Glasgow and the ferry ports. (No similar connections at the island ports since the ferry lands in what passes for the central metropolis.) The ferry routes are:

  • Ullapool to Stornoway on Lewis two daily, 2 hours 30 mins (Nov-March only one on Sunday).
  • Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris one or two daily, 1 hour 40 mins (Nov-March some days in just one direction).
  • Uig on Skye to Lochmaddy on North Uist one or two daily, 1 hour 45 mins (Nov-March some days in just one direction).
  • Oban to Castlebay on Barra daily, 5 hours (Nov-March not Thurs or Sun).
  • Mallaig to Lochboisdale on South Uist daily, 3 hours 30 mins (Nov-March not Tues or Thurs, and on some days sailing from Oban instead of Mallaig).

See "Get around" for the ferries linking between the Outer Hebridean islands.

By air

There are three airports in the Outer Hebrides. Stornoway (SYY) on Lewis is the best connected, with direct flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness on the mainland, and to Benbecula in "The Uists". Benbecula (BEB) has flights to Glasgow and Stornoway; Barra (BRR) only to Glasgow. All flights are operated by Loganair.

Get around


By boat
Berneray to Leverburgh on Harris 3 or 4 every day, one hour.
Eriskay to Barra up to 5 per day, 40 mins.

By bus

There are good bus services during the day Monday 'thru Saturday, but little in the evening and no buses on a Sunday.

Many of the islands are linked by road causeways and bridges. Causeways now link to Eriskay from South Uist, and to Berneray from North Uist. The first link built was across the South Ford between South Uist and Benbecula in 1942, followed by the North Ford between Benbecula and North Uist in 1960, the Berneray causeway in 1999 and the Eriskay Causeway in 2001.

The Western Isles Overland Route is a combination of bus and ferry journeys which allow travel from Stornoway to Barra in one day.

By bicycle

The Outer Hebrides are popular for cycle tourists, generally taking around a week to cycle from Barra to Stornoway.

Car hire
  • Wild Isles Camper Hire, 17 Backhill, Berneray, HS6 5BD. 2 VW camper vans for hire. Can deliver to Uist ferry terminals. Van sleeps 2. from £250. (updated Jul 2018)

Taxis
  • Alda Taxis, Lochmaddy, North Uist. tel: +44 1876 500215.

See

Beaches

There are many fine sandy beaches, mainly on the Western shores of the islands.

Nature
  • The islands are good places for birdwatching, with a RSPB reserve on North Uist as well as many informal opportunities. On land this is one of the last places to hear (and maybe see) corncrakes. Seabirds can be see on beaches and on sea cliffs. St Kilda is an extremely good place for seeing seabirds.
  • In summer wild flowers can be seen. The most colourful display is the medley of coastal flowers on the machair (sandy soil near the sea), which is usually in bloom in July.
  • Seals and occasionally otters can be seen on coastal rocks.

History
Inside Blackhouse Museum at Arnol

Art

Itineraries

Do

Buy
  • There are several banks on the islands in Stornoway, Tarbert, Lochmaddy, Balivanich, Lochboisdale and Barra. The Royal Bank of Scotland also runs mobile banks (in a van) from Stornoway and Lochboisdale.
  • Stornoway is the only town on the islands with a selection of shops comparable to a mainland town. It is the only place that you will find chain shops other than Co-op supermarkets. Stornoway has two large supermarkets, a chemist, hardware store, book shop and clothes shops.
  • Elsewhere in the islands there are several small Co-op supermarkets, and many independent stores which often sell groceries along with clothes or hardware. Although the shops are generally small, they manage to carry quite a varied stock.
  • Newspapers arrive on the islands by ferry and so are often not available until lunchtime or later.

Eat
  • Except in Stornoway, there are not many restaurants serving evening meals, and the local hotels may be the best (or only) option. In summer it is often advisable to book a table for dinner. There are also a few cafes which add to the daytime selection, or you may prefer to buy your own bread and cheese and make sandwiches.
  • The seafood caught around the shores of the islands is excellent, and in particular it is worth trying the local shellfish such as scallops.
  • Stornoway is famous for its black pudding (blood sausage), and you are likely to find this on breakfast menus.
  • There are two good local bakeries whose products are sold in all the islands - Stag Bakeries in Stornoway and MacLean's Bakery in Benbecula. Their products may be more expensive than larger mainland bakeries but the extra is worth it.

Drink
  • Pubs are not particularly common, and in some places the only choice may be the hotel bar.
  • The bars in Castlebay and Eriskay often have live music on Friday and Saturday nights.
  • In Lewis and Harris observation of the Sabbath means that any Saturday night music or drinking will end promptly at midnight or before. Almost no entertainment happens on Sundays (except on Barra and South Uist).
  • The Hebridean Brewing Company brews beer in Stornoway, and this is widely available in bottles on the islands.
  • The Isle of Harris Distillery in Tarbet distils gin and is starting work on 'The Hearach' whisky.

Stay safe

Go next

There are several other groups of Scottish islands, which have some similarities and some differences from the Outer Hebrides.

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