Outer Hebrides guide — Hidden Scotland

The four parts of Outer Hebrides

A map of Outer Hebrides in relief, with its towns and villages and its four parts

Out on the western edge of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides run for about 130 miles from the Butt of Lewis down to Barra Head. Islanders call the chain the Long Island, and from the air it looks like one, a ragged line of land breaking up into lochs, sands and skerries. Lewis and Harris make up the big island in the north. To the south, Berneray, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay are strung together by causeways, with Barra and Vatersay at the foot. Ferries from Ullapool, Skye, Mallaig and Oban bring most visitors over, and the crossing is part of the pleasure.

Stornoway, Callanish, Carloway, Uig and Ness

Stornoway and Lewis

Stornoway is the only town in the islands, with its harbour, the woods of Lews Castle and the ferry from Ullapool. Out west, the Callanish Stones stand on their ridge above Loch Roag and Dun Carloway broch is still nine metres tall. The road runs on to the wide sands at Uig and the sea stacks off Mangersta.

Tall lichen-covered standing stones form a circle on open moorland, lit by low golden light.

Jagged rock stacks rising from a churning sea inlet, with layered sandstone cliffs and a grassy headland behind.

Tall lichen-covered standing stones form a circle on open moorland beneath a cloudy sky.

Tarbert, Luskentyre, Leverburgh and Rodel

Tarbert and Harris

Harris is all mountains and white sand. The west coast runs from Luskentyre past Seilebost and Nisabost to the salt flats at Northton, while the Golden Road winds along the rocky east shore to St Clement's Church at Rodel. Tarbert has the ferry from Skye, the distillery and Harris Tweed by the length.

An aerial view of a curved sand spit reaching into turquoise water, dune grass covering its spine and hills rising across the bay beyond.

A calm sea loch with layered hills rising beyond the far shore, and a foreground of golden dune grass.

A tidal channel winding through golden marsh grass towards a still loch, with a single conical hill rising behind.

Lochmaddy, Balivanich, Lochboisdale and Eriskay

The Uists and Benbecula

South of the Sound of Harris the land flattens into lochs, machair and long Atlantic beaches, with causeways joining Berneray, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay. Old Tom Morris laid out a links in the dunes at Askernish in 1891, and it was found again and reopened in 2008.

Machair grassland bordering the sea at Askernish Golf Club, hills rising across the water.

A sandy beach bordered by dunes and waves at Askernish Golf Club.

Dunes fall away toward the sea at Askernish, distant hills visible across the water.

Castlebay, Northbay and Vatersay

Barra and Vatersay

Barra is small enough to drive round in an hour, with Kisimul Castle on its rock in the bay at Castlebay and Heaval rising behind the town. The plane from Glasgow lands on the sand at Traigh Mhor, and a causeway crosses to the white beaches of Vatersay.

A small propeller aircraft on a wide tidal beach runway, distant islands on the horizon and wet sand reflecting the sky.

An old wooden rowing boat lies beached on a misty shore, gorse in yellow flower in the foreground and a white cottage with a red roof standing across the bay.

A small aircraft flies low over a wide tidal beach, a hill rising behind and the sand stretching pale beneath a grey sky.

A single hill rising beyond a calm sea loch, seen across a shoreline of rock and grass with golden dune grass in the foreground.

In their words

“While physically they’re joined together, culturally and visually, these are considered two very separate islands!”

Graeme Johncock
Writer and tour guide, on a trip through Harris and Lewis

Read it in Harris, Lewis and the Long Road to Ardnamurchan

Best known for.

The Outer Hebrides are known above all for their beaches, long curves of white shell sand and clear water on the Atlantic coasts of Harris, the Uists, Barra and Vatersay. They are known too for Harris Tweed, made from wool dyed and spun in the islands and finished on the loom in the weavers' own homes, and protected by its own Act of Parliament since 1993. Then there are the stones of Callanish and the old brochs, the Gaelic language, spoken by nearly half the islanders, and wildlife from golden eagles and otters to the great seabird colonies of St Kilda.

More about Outer Hebrides

The islands change as you travel down them. Lewis is wide and open, a land of peat moor and crofting townships, with Stornoway as its one real town and the standing stones of Callanish out to the west. Harris rises into bare mountains in the north and spreads into white beaches and turquoise water along its west coast. The Uists are low and green, laced with freshwater lochs and edged on the Atlantic side by machair, the flowering grassland that grows on shell sand. Barra is small and friendly, with a castle in its bay and planes landing on its beach.

Gaelic is part of everyday life here. Road signs give the Gaelic names first, and you will hear the language in shops, on the radio and in church. Sunday is kept quietly in many places, especially on Lewis and Harris, and plenty of shops and cafés close, so plan ahead for food and fuel. The weather moves fast, with wind and rain one hour and bright, clear light the next. Come in late spring and summer for long evenings, machair flowers and seabirds, or in winter for wild seas and dark skies. Either way, give yourself more days than you think you need.

What would you like to look at?

Tall lichen-covered standing stones form a circle on open moorland beneath a pale sky.

See and doStanding stones, brochs, blackhouses and a castle in the bay

An aerial view of the blue Crust kiosk standing in a gravel car park beside a loch, cars parked around it and open moorland stretching behind.

Eat, drink and shopSeafood, a pizza kiosk and island cafésWhere to stay

Yacht beached on shore with Kisimul Castle visible on its islet beyond

History and storiesStanding stones, Norse farms and clan castles

A twin-propeller aircraft comes in to land low over the shore, its tartan tailfin bright against a pale sky and landing gear extended above the sand.

ItinerariesDays we have driven, stop by stop

The stern of a ferry with its black-tipped funnel, hills rising beyond the water.

Getting hereThe ferries, the flights and the causeways

A grassy path winds through dunes overlooking the sea at Askernish.

What is on in Outer HebridesSomething new from the islands every day

What is on in Outer Hebrides

Friday the 16th of October.

Sunrise 08:04, sunset 18:22.

Things you might not know.

Lewis and Harris are not two islands but one, the largest in the Outer Hebrides, with a range of mountains across the middle.

From 7 interesting things you maybe didn’t know about Lewis and Harris

A small propeller aircraft with a red-and-white checked tailfin standing on a wet tidal beach runway, low dunes and marram grass in the foreground.

Barra's is the only airport in the world with scheduled flights landing on a beach, and when fog hides the sand the plane cannot come in.

From Barra, Vatersay and a Climb Through Culross

Cille Bharra, at the north end of Barra, has been a place of worship for around 1,300 years, and is dedicated to St Barr, the saint the island is thought to be named after.

From Barra, Vatersay and a Climb Through Culross

When the last 36 islanders left St Kilda in August 1930, most of them left a Bible open on the table and their doors unlocked behind them.

From On This Day in 1930: The Last Boat Leaves St Kilda

Stac an Armin, off Boreray in St Kilda, is the highest sea stack in Britain at nearly 200 metres, and the islanders climbed it on ropes to gather eggs, feathers and birds.

From Solitude on St Kilda

On New Year's morning in 1919 the Iolaire, bringing men home to Lewis from the war, was lost on the rocks known as the Beasts of Holm, in sight of Stornoway harbour.

From 7 interesting things you maybe didn’t know about Lewis and Harris