Tag: outer hebrides

  • Uig on the Isle of Lewis

    My base in Rheinigidale worked well on Harris, now its time to explore Lewis. I shacked-up in the Otter Bunkhouse in Uig which was clean, bright with nice views. Lewis is much larger with a huge coastline by comparison so no weather  would stop my journey.

    Loch Miabhaig, Lewis
    Loch Miabhaig, Lewis

     

    Olympic pool or Loch Miabhaig ?
    Olympic pool or Loch Miabhaig ?

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  • Scarista Beach Scotland

    Lets go to another Scottish beach because you must. Beach visits refresh the parts other environments fail to reach. Sarista Beach Scotland is on the west coast of Harris and despite this overcast November day, interesting views were all around. I’m often taken with the small geography of the sand, how the wind shapes it, how the plants inhabit and shape sand too. Be sure to see me doing Maths on the Beach™ at the end of the article.

    Beach detail

     

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  • Looking to Scarp Island and its Rocket Post

    Scarp is a small now uninhabited island. It lies just 200m at low tide from Harris on the west coast, near Hushinish. On the path to a beach I bumped into a couple who told me the story of its postal service by the pioneering German rocketeer Gerhard Zucker.

    Approach to Mheilen beach
    Approach to Mheilen beach

     

    From the cliff path
    From the cliff path

     

    Sunset on Mheilen beach
    Sunset on Mheilen beach

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  • Road to Hushinish

    Road? It’s really a 12 mile single track “B” grade metalled or tarred road to an alcove of unspoilt Harris beauty. Hushinish the most westerly point on Harris and Lewis emits a contented solitude that envelops. Your worries calm, soaking in a landscape as devils fall from the shoulder. Inhale and rejuvenate over and over. The back is straight. Head rises as eyes blink clear, lungs fill then walk anew. Carrying no burden. Becoming a sprite upon the beach.

    Road to Hushinish
    Road to Hushinish

     

    Huisinish twilight
    Twilight peace

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  • Isle of Harris

    Isle of Harris Scotland has the oldest rocks in Europe, some over 3,000m years ago which is around two-thirds as old as the Earth itself. Lewisian Gneiss is the most common and was formed from volcanism and bending and stretching of the Earths crust then exposed by glaciers, oceans and weather. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey used Harris as a backdrop for Jupiter. Yup, outta this world!

    Peat cutting on Isle of Harris
    Peat cutting on Isle of Harris

     

    Drying peat for winter burning in homes.
    Drying peat for winter burning in homes.

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  • Blade, Rock and Bows

    This is a random collection of  blade, rock and bows photographed on Harris.

    View towards The Minch from a wind turbine blade

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