Huisinis – A White Beach and a Whaling Station Chimney
A few hours.
The route
Huisinis is where the road through North Harris runs out: a few houses above a curve of white sand, the Atlantic beyond and the island of Scarp across the water.
This half day gives most of its time to the beach and a picnic, then stops at Bunavoneader, where the brick chimney of a Norwegian whaling station still stands on the shore of a sea loch.
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 in Cliasmol, 4 miles away. Sleeps 2; next free Mon 16 Nov to Mon 23 Nov.
The day
Huisinis
Time on the white sand at the end of the road with a picnic, then a stop by the sea loch where whalers once worked.
About three hoursAbout 1 mile on foot
Huisinis beach
On the way in, the single-track road runs right past the front of Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, built in the 1860s for the Earl of Dunmore and now a private sporting estate, so slow down and enjoy it from the car. Then the hills open out and the beach comes into view. Park in the marked areas either side of the Huisinis Gateway, the timber building at the head of the beach; parking on the machair or the beach head isn't allowed. The Gateway has toilets, indoor seating and vending machines for snacks, open Monday to Saturday from 7am to 7pm, with one toilet open round the clock. Wander the sand and the rocks at either end, then walk over to the slipway to see the island of Scarp across the water. Its last families left in 1971, and in 1934 a German inventor tried, and failed, to send the island's post across by rocket. There's no café here, so bring a picnic and a flask, and eat it on the sand or at the Gateway's indoor seating. This is croft land with cattle and sheep about, so keep dogs under close control.
25 min by car
Bunavoneader whaling station
It's 25 minutes' drive back east along the same road to Bunavoneader, where a tall brick chimney stands on the shore of Loch Bun Abhainn Eadarra. It belonged to a whaling station that two Norwegian whalers from Tønsberg opened here in 1904, and it employed more than 150 local men and women. In 1922 it was sold to the Harris Whaling and Fishing Company, which Lord Leverhulme co-founded, and it closed in 1928; one last try in the early 1950s ended in 1953. It's a scheduled monument now, and the North Harris Trust, the community that owns the land, believes it's the only shore whaling station of its time left anywhere in the UK. Pull in carefully by the road, keeping the passing places clear, and look at the chimney from the roadside. Keep off the old concrete, and keep children close by the water.
If it rains
Both stops are out of doors. On a wet or wild day from Monday to Saturday, eat the picnic at the Huisinis Gateway's indoor seating with the sea in front of you, take a short blustery walk on the sand, and see the whaling station's chimney from the car.
Where to stay
Photograph by Anita Bullen via Google
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