Eilean Glas – The First Lighthouse of the Outer Hebrides
About 2.5 miles on foot.
Scalpay is a small island off the east coast of Harris, joined to it by a bridge, and at its far corner stands Eilean Glas, a red and white lighthouse on a rocky point above the Minch.
A light has burned here since 1789, the first in the Outer Hebrides. The walk out to it is a moorland path of about two kilometres each way, with the tower in sight for much of it.
- Time
- About an hour and a half: some 4 km, or 2½ miles, there and back on a moorland path.
- The path
- A signposted moorland path, rough and boggy in places.
- Where to start
- The small car park at Outend, An Ceann a Muigh, at the end of Scalpay's road.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 1pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead: sheep graze the moor.
- Children
- A short moorland walk with a lighthouse at the end. Keep children close near the shore.
- Toilets
- None on the walk: the nearest public toilets are by the bridge onto Scalpay.
- Before you set out
- The lighthouse buildings are privately owned and closed to the public: the walk is to see them from outside. Open to the wind.
The walk
Park in the small car park at Outend, An Ceann a Muigh in Gaelic, where Scalpay's road runs out. Scalpay is reached over the bridge from Harris, so there's no boat to think about. A signposted path sets off across the moor from the car park and ends at a gate in the lighthouse wall. A travel guide puts it at about 2 km each way, which agrees with the map. So reckon on 4 km, or two and a half miles, there and back, and an hour and a half with time at the far end.
Eilean Glas was one of four lighthouses authorised by an Act of 1786, and it was lit in 1789, the first in the Outer Hebrides. The red and white tower you see today dates from 1824, and the keepers' cottages and an old foghorn still stand beside it. The light belongs to the Northern Lighthouse Board and the buildings are privately owned and closed, so this is a walk to look at it from outside, with the Minch spread out behind it. The path is rough moorland and boggy in places, and it's open to the wind, so wear boots and keep children close where it nears the shore. Sheep graze the moor, so keep dogs on a lead.
The nearest public toilets are by the bridge onto the island. Don't count on anywhere to eat on Scalpay in winter: bring food and a flask. From November to January, set off by 1pm.
If it rains
There's no shelter on the moor and the path turns boggy. In heavy rain or a strong wind, keep it for another day.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Harris Hideaway, 12 miles away. Sleeps 2.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Julie Smith via Google