Outer Hebrides · Region
Shell sand, gneiss and a loom in the back room.
One island with two names. Lewis is peat moor, lochans and the Calanais stones; Harris is mountains, the Golden Road and beaches the colour of the Caribbean under a sky that is not.
Lewis and Harris
Lewis and Harris share a single landmass, joined at the hills above Tarbert. The north is low and open, laid with peat banks and thousands of small lochs; the south rises into the highest hills in the Outer Hebrides and then drops to the Sound of Harris in a string of beaches: Luskentyre, Seilebost, Horgabost, Scarista.
The rock underfoot is Lewisian gneiss, some of the oldest in Europeverify. On the east side of Harris it breaks the surface everywhere, which is why the road there is called the Golden Road: it cost so much to build. The west side is machair and shell sand. A day on Harris often means both.
We plan most people four nights on Harris and two or three on Lewis, with a buffer at the end before the ferry. The first night is for arriving.
It helps. Distances are short but buses are few. If you’d rather not drive the single-track roads, we arrange a local driver-guide for the island days.
Day boats run from Leverburgh in the summer season, weather permittingverify. We put the St Kilda day in the middle of a Harris stay so there’s room to move it if the swell is up.
Yes, and go late. In June the light lasts past ten, and the visitor centre crowds have gone home.
They are one island. Tarbert to Stornoway is about an hour by road.
Routes
11–13 nights · Outer Hebrides · Wester Ross
Four ferries · Three causeways · One drive north
Suggested11–13 nightsTailored to your dates · no package price
View route: The Long IslandExperiences
Outer Hebrides
A day boat to Hirta, the abandoned village and the highest sea cliffs in Britain.
Lewis and Harris
An hour in a home weaver’s shed, and the law that protects the cloth.
The Highlands and islands
A whole Highland or island estate house for a family or a group of friends.
Where to stay
Placeholders: the kind of place we would suggest, until our specialists confirm the houses and hotels we use.
Self-catering
The kind of place we look for: sleeps four, on the machair above Luskentyre or Scarista, with a fire.
Hotel
A handful of rooms and a kitchen worth staying in for.
Self-catering
Thatch, thick walls and a stove, near Calanais or Gearrannan.
Best time to visit
May, June and September. June has the longest light; September is quieter and often settled. Daylight shown for Stornoway, the nearest Light calendar station; the best months are in bold.
Lewis and Harris
Both, if you have the nights. Harris is the one people come for, and it deserves four nights; Lewis is the one people are glad they added. Calanais at the end of a long June evening, the blackhouses at Gearrannan, the cliffs at the Butt of Lewis: that’s a good two days.
The best small places on Harris number a handful, and the good self-catering houses on the west side are booked a year out. We hold them before we design the rest of the trip.
It will rain on Harris. That’s when the tweed sheds earn their keep, along with the distillery in Tarbert and the long lunch. We build at least one day around them.
Lewis and Harris keep the Sabbath more than anywhere else in Scotland. Many shops and some ferries don’t run on Sundays, so check sailings on Sundayverify. We plan a walk, a beach and a picnic, and treat it as a day off.
Stornoway also has flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness. We book summer car spaces on the ferries when we book the first house; they go earlyverify. Routes and operatorsverify pending a specialist check.
Photographs
Speak to a specialist
Tell us when, who’s coming, and what you’re hoping for. One person plans it and looks after you.
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