Uig, Lewis – a Beach Sauna, the Sands and a Seafood Lunch
A day.
The route
Saltbox Sauna brings a wood-fired sauna to Reef Beach in Uig, one of the long white beaches of the west of Lewis, with a big half-moon window looking out over the water.
Book a session and cool off with the fresh water they carry, then have a seafood lunch at Uig Sands Restaurant and walk out on the wide sands of Uig Bay that it looks over. It's a day on the edge of the Atlantic for anyone over 16.
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, 16 miles away. Sleeps 2.
Book Saltbox Sauna, Reef Beach
Book a Saltbox Sauna session at Reef Beach online for the morning, checking it's still at Reef that week (in October it opens Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday; winter places change): times and prices are on the booking page, and it's over-16s only.
Book lunch at Uig Sands Restaurant online or on 01851 672334 (Friday and Saturday 12pm to 2pm in October; Thursday and Friday from May to late September): a booking is only confirmed by their email, and a no-show or a cancellation inside 48 hours costs £50 a head.
The day
Uig
A morning of wood-fired heat by a white Atlantic beach and a seafood lunch with the bay below the window. Then a walk on the wide sands of Uig.
About four and a half hours
Saltbox Sauna, Reef Beach
Saltbox Sauna sets up a wood-fired sauna at Reef Beach in Uig through the summer and into October, when it opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays to Sundays. The booking page gives its exact spot (what3words ///disengage.line.growth), and Saltbox set up as near to parking as they can. Book online, where the session times and prices are, and check it's still at Reef: its winter places change and its hours shorten. Come already in your swimwear, as there's nowhere to change, and bring a big towel to wrap up in, a small one to sit on, flip-flops and a water bottle that isn't metal. Coats and shoes stay in a store outside. Inside, a fire-guarded Harvia stove keeps it at 80 to 90 degrees, with a big half-moon window over the sea, and buckets of fresh water wait outside to cool off with. It's for over-16s only. If you swim first, Saltbox ask you not to go straight into the heat after more than about 10 minutes in cold water.
12 min by car
Uig Sands Restaurant
Lunch
Lunch is at Uig Sands Restaurant at Timsgarry, about 12 minutes' drive from Reef round to the west side of Uig Bay, where long windows look over the sands. In October it serves lunch on Fridays and Saturdays, 12pm to 2pm, from an à la carte menu of local fish and shellfish, and from May to late September on Thursdays and Fridays. Booking is essential, online or on 01851 672334, and a table not kept costs £50 a head inside 48 hours. It's level throughout, with disabled parking by the door, a children's menu if you ask when you book, and no dogs inside except assistance dogs. Its shop sells Uig Lodge smoked salmon on weekdays from 10am.
10 min by car
Uig Sands
Uig Sands, also called Ardroil Sands, is about 10 minutes' drive on round the bay from the restaurant. Go through Ardroil village on the south side, where a short track leads down to a small car park and toilets. From there the sand runs out across the bay, with the Uig hills behind and a river winding through it to the sea, and it's where the Lewis Chessmen were found in 1831. Much of the bay is covered at high tide, so check the tide times before you walk out, and watch the channels as the water comes back in.
If it rains
The sauna is warm in any weather and the restaurant is indoors; leave the walk on the sands for a dry spell, and the sauna may be called off in a storm.
Where to stay
Photographs by Ian McColm, Cristina Pardal, Lewis Philippe and Lucca T. via Google