Sunshine on Lewis (Part 2)
07th June 2010
Hi again,
Here (finally!) is the second part of my car/camera adventure story from back in February/March of this year.
A couple of weeks after my impromptu visit to Skye, I took a trip over to the Isles of Lewis and Harris. Over the past few years it has become somewhat of a tradition for my Mum and I to go somewhere for a few days for her birthday. I've always fancied flying to one of the Western Isles - to be able to get there in an hour or so just seems like cheating somehow! Not being a massive fan of air travel, my Mum was also happy with the idea of a short hop. The flight was great - at times a lot smoother than the average Scottish road!
We arrived in Stornoway and found our home for the weekend just after dark, a few wrong turns and an argument or two. Our lodge, the Iolaire, was hired through Hebridean Luxury Holidays and was utterly great. Although we were both eager to get out and explore the surroundings, the level of comfyness made that difficult at times.
Greeted by sun the next day, we drove over the Lewis' west coast to visit the standing stones at Callanish and Uig Beach. The standing stones date back to 2900 BC and are made of the famous Lewisian Gneiss, which looks harsh and grey from a distance, but up close has warm tones of pink and brown.
The beach at Uig is just lovely, with its vast white sands and glimmering dark blue waters. It is not the easiest beach to find, but the reward for getting there is that it is almost deserted and beautifully preserved.
After a good night's sleep, we decided to make the most of the still-present sunshine with a drive down to Harris. The drive only took around an hour, despite stopping the car every little while to take in the view. As we entered northern Harris, I realised how relatively flat Lewis is in comparison. The drive takes you high up into the mountains before the twisty roads took us back down and then west towards the white sandy beaches of Luskentyre and Seilebost. The last few miles' drive to Luskentyre was just amazing. The road is narrow and winding, and then the view of Luskentyre Bay almost takes you by surprise as you round one of the corners...
It's easy to see why Luskentyre beach is regarded as one of Britain's best beaches. What really sets it off are the views of the mountains of northern Harris and over to the island of Taransay. On a sunny day it doesn't get much better than this.
Here (finally!) is the second part of my car/camera adventure story from back in February/March of this year.
A couple of weeks after my impromptu visit to Skye, I took a trip over to the Isles of Lewis and Harris. Over the past few years it has become somewhat of a tradition for my Mum and I to go somewhere for a few days for her birthday. I've always fancied flying to one of the Western Isles - to be able to get there in an hour or so just seems like cheating somehow! Not being a massive fan of air travel, my Mum was also happy with the idea of a short hop. The flight was great - at times a lot smoother than the average Scottish road!
We arrived in Stornoway and found our home for the weekend just after dark, a few wrong turns and an argument or two. Our lodge, the Iolaire, was hired through Hebridean Luxury Holidays and was utterly great. Although we were both eager to get out and explore the surroundings, the level of comfyness made that difficult at times.
Greeted by sun the next day, we drove over the Lewis' west coast to visit the standing stones at Callanish and Uig Beach. The standing stones date back to 2900 BC and are made of the famous Lewisian Gneiss, which looks harsh and grey from a distance, but up close has warm tones of pink and brown.
The beach at Uig is just lovely, with its vast white sands and glimmering dark blue waters. It is not the easiest beach to find, but the reward for getting there is that it is almost deserted and beautifully preserved.
After a good night's sleep, we decided to make the most of the still-present sunshine with a drive down to Harris. The drive only took around an hour, despite stopping the car every little while to take in the view. As we entered northern Harris, I realised how relatively flat Lewis is in comparison. The drive takes you high up into the mountains before the twisty roads took us back down and then west towards the white sandy beaches of Luskentyre and Seilebost. The last few miles' drive to Luskentyre was just amazing. The road is narrow and winding, and then the view of Luskentyre Bay almost takes you by surprise as you round one of the corners...
It's easy to see why Luskentyre beach is regarded as one of Britain's best beaches. What really sets it off are the views of the mountains of northern Harris and over to the island of Taransay. On a sunny day it doesn't get much better than this.
