InHab50

Webcams

• Coralbox Webcams, Berneray – Two live (one panning & zooming) webcams looking out over the sea to Harris
• Hebcam, North Uist – Regularly refreshing webcam of the sea and sky
• Oban Webcams – Two live, moving & panning webcams looking over the sea – watch for the Calmac ferries to the islands!

Miscellaneous

• A Lifetime of Islands – A fantastic blog showcasing visits to as many islands of the British Isles as possible
• Flag Competition for Benbecula, Eriskay & North Uist – Vexillological interest from 2019

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Hebridean Visits

I’m now exactly half way, having been to 29 of the 50, so gradually getting there (9 total in 2017, 2 more in 2018, 12 in 2019 and 2 in a COVID-19-hit 2020). I’ll be adding to the list each year, but for now, may a new Hebride be in my pocket shortly…

Baleshare Am Baile Sear
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 58 🏠︎ 21

Baleshare isn’t the most obvious of islands, its flat expanse easily reachable by foot at low tide and with 3 sides close to the ‘mainland’ (North Uist). In many ways it could be described as a big farm with a big beech, sheep and cattle pockmark the grassland leading to a white sand beach running the full length of the west coast. Its Gaelic name translates to ‘east town’, leading many to speculate there was previously land to the west, and echoing Father Ted, it was washed away in a storm. Looming straight out to see, commanding views of the Monach Islands, which were perhaps accessible by foot from Baleshare as late as the 17th Century. Fun fact: the island has no contours on the OS 1:50000 map.

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Barra Barraigh
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 1174 🏠︎ 549

Barra was a delight, albeit a wet & wild one. Tiny pockets of good weather were taken advantage of, with visits up to the beach airport and across to Vatersay (see below). Just walking around Castlebay was rewarding – it feels like a bit of a hub (in Outer Hebrides terms), with a supermarket, museum and a community shop. You can’t help but fix your eyes on Kisimul Castle, a potentially-inhabited island but no residents in the last two censuses – no boat trips nor lights at home during my October visit either.

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Benbecula Beinn nam Fadhla
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 1303 🏠︎ 577

Benbecula turned into a hub for exploring nearby islands – there are lots nearby and connected – so it felt like home after a few days. If you just pass through the island you might not think much of it, but the ‘Spine Road’ bypasses Balivanich, which is the most-populated town in the Uists. It hosts the West Camp of the RAF’s Deep Sea Range and as such, seems much more like a mainland settlement than anywhere else on the Uists. Despite recent cuts, it still has the air of purpose-built military town – complete with water tower and airport, which serves all the connected islands. In the census it’s reported to be the least Gaelic-speaking place for many miles, but lots of Gaelic was overheard in the Supermarket named after the historically-dominating Clan. It’s a fascinating ‘hub’, if anything on the Outer Hebrides can be called as such.

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Berneray Beàrnaraigh
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 138 🏠︎ 82

Most famous for its spectacular West Beach, Berneray has a lot more to offer. Staying at the Gatliff Hostel, I got the opportunity to intereact with a few locals, and I got a good picture of the recent history. Before the causeway was built, it was apparently a bit rogue, but now it relies reasonably-heavily on tourism and Amazon deliveries – things that might’ve seemed a bit unlikely 20 years ago! The aforementioned beach is a total spectacle, but the residents on the east shore make the place – currently boasting a nice shop, restaurant, post office and daily links to Harris. PS The hostel is a ‘must-visit’, even in winter when I made it over.

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Colonsay Colbhasa
⛴ 2021 👪︎ 124 🏠︎ 70

Three nights on Colonsay allowed for a decent amount of exploration, both by foot and by bike. Despite arriving in slightly gloomy conditions, the sun shone from the next morning onwards. A wonderful walk (extended down to Kiloran Bay and the sight of a Viking ship burial) gave some great views across the island, including a 10 minute circling flight from a majestic Sea Eagle. The plant life got more exotic around the grounds of Colonsay House & Gardens, but the island in general is rich in flora and fauna. Colonsay Hotel provided a lovely beer garden and final evening meal, with great views down to the sea as Hen Harriers flew overhead. Scalasaig also has an amazing bookshop (open 3-5pm) with the best selection of Scottish / island / Gaelic books I’ve seen – well worth a visit, as is this small, yet surprisingly varied, island.

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Coll Cola
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 195 🏠︎ 87

I spent an amazing week on Coll, living in Arinagour and cycling around the island each day. It’s a surprisingly varied landscape, with plenty of hills, bogs, lakes, beaches and lovely roads around the island, with just the NE corner remaining untamed. The fantastic Community Centre offered a market, play and film-screening during my stay and the lovely hotel supplied locally caught crab and langoustines a-plenty.

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Eriskay Èirisgeigh
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 143 🏠︎ 73

Sitting in the ferry waiting room at Ardmore / Aird More (Ardmhòr), I was suprised to get both free wifi and a lovely otter statue. The journey was complete with porpoises, and arrival was very enjoyable. From there, I cycled up and down towards the main village, complete with local co-op, Church and various ‘Whisky Galore’ sights, historically wrapped-up with this wonderful 1930s video. I loved Eriskay, despite a fleeting visit – and this book helped set the scene.

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Erraid Eilean Earraid
⛴ 2017 👪︎ 6 🏠︎ 4

Reached at low tide by walking over a beach, Erraid is a lovely little island that features a rent-free community living in the old lighthouse cottages. The ‘lighthouse’ is actually a now-disused signal station for the Skerryvore and Dubh Artach lighthouses, many miles to the west / south-west (respectively) across the sea.

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Flodaigh Flodaigh
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 7 🏠︎ 3

First up, let’s discuss the name. In the official data listed above, both the English and Gaelic names are listed as Flodaigh, yet the signage when you get there lists Flodda and Fhloddaigh, respectively – oh, and the map below goes for Flodday! Lots of Hebridean islands have begun in Norse, then been gaelicised and finally anglicised, with possible see-sawing between those steps bringing a few spelling variants along the way. Naming-aside, it was an enjoyable island to visit, although the ‘only road’ only went so far – the OS map suggested a phone box existed in the north ‘hamlet’, but I suspect my old maps reflected a distant past. There was a small bit of tourism present, but I got the feeling not many people venture this way – I get it – but there was a lovely out-of-the-way feeling to the place, hopefully not interrupted by my fleeting presence. The winter sun probably helped, but it felt like an ideal place to hide away from it all.

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Fraoch-eilean Fraoch-eilean
⛴ 2019 👪︎ ?* 🏠︎ ?*

I feel like this will be one of the least-visited islands on the list. It’s just a short hop over a causeway from Grimsay (N), but it’s not an obvious route to take as a tourist. As I crossed on my bike, I passed through what looked like a financial exchange of sheep – a lot of business faces. Further expooration revealed a scattering of houses, but clear signs of families and community on this very tiny island. Sharing its name (with the perhaps more-famous) island on Loch Awe, both these ‘Heather Islands’ are well worth a visit. NB Fraoch-Eilean is shown on the historical map below as Seanabailly (Old Town – see see 2nd transcript), a name preserved by its only current settlement, Seana Bhaile.

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Gigha Giogha
⛴ 2021 👪︎ 163 🏠︎ 74

In one of those perfect weather alignments, Gigha blazed down sunshine from arrival to departure. Camping on the the “Queen’s Beach” on the north of the island (the north-facing of the Twin Beaches, a Tombolo joining the main island to Eilean Garbh), the only issue was finding shade and water, which is an unusual predicament in the Hebrides. A concerned local warned of the long walk and lack of ammenities, so plenty of water was carried and we met up again upon leaving to general “you saw Gigha at its best!” chat. The gardens of Achamore, developed by Colonel Horlick (of malty drink fame), were stunning and felt truly at home in the tropical conditions – the viewpoint to the SW beaches is also not to be missed. The whole island was taken over by a film crew for the duration, which increased capacity and reduced facilities, but added an intriguing air to an already amazing trip – watch out for Murder Island! To cap it all off, a farm dog provided company almost the whole length of the 4 mile walk back to the ferry, but shied away from departing the island – clever dog.

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Gometra Gòmastra
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 2 🏠︎ 1

Reaching Gometra was via a 10 mile rough track from Ulva Ferry. This was the start of the adventure (I wouldn’t recommend trying it with road bikes in the rain!) and the island was fascinating. We bumped the population up to 5 during our visit, with 2 or 3 on the island regularly. Jane Ann’s Bothy was amazing, totally off-grid and no mobile reception, so the peace and tranquility of the island really shone through. The previous occupant of the bothy was recorded for a documentary called My Island, which highlights the highs, lows and ethos of the island in modern times.

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Grimsay (North) Griomasaigh
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 169 🏠︎ 80

I cycled up via the north road and back round, and the scenery and sparcity of people didn’t prepare me for the (reasonably) bustling life of Kallin (Ceallan), with a very-active harbour and fisheries. Due to the scale of industry, this must be a major port of the whole region, and offers a café, post office and other tourist outlets that weren’t open on my winter visit. Local community events seemed pleantiful, and (at least) the east-end of the island seemed resistant to immediate change.

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Grimsay (South) Griomasaigh
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 20 🏠︎ 7

The much less-populated of the two Grimsays, the only road allowed me only so much access, before decamping from the bike and exploring. It’s clearly a small community, and the farther reaches of the island feel increasingly ‘off-grid’. You can keep going along the road to Peter’s Port Port Pheadair, but it’s rarely used now and on an uninhabted island these days. It was a very quiet lunch stop on my journey and can’t imagine many have lunched there before!

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Iona Ì Chaluim Chille
⛴ 2017 👪︎ 177 🏠︎ 69

Iona in the sunshine is a delight. I’ve no idea what it’s like in the cold & rain because the sun shone the whole time. Famous for being a religious island, it also has plenty of stunning beaches to explore, with Godwits flitting about on the shores. The very brief CalMac ferry from Fionnphort was later utilised to secure some crab and lobster caught locally, but unable to be delivered back to Mull by the small fishing boat due to increasing winds.

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Islay Ìle
⛴ 2013 👪︎ 3228 🏠︎ 1479

Islay has always brought me there for whisky, in one way or another. My family and friends descended on the island for my 30th birthday – my first visit to the island, but an amazing place to stay. I’ve since visited every distllery on the island in an action-packed two day trip, but there’s more to come, so I’m sure I’ll be back again soon.

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Jura Diùra
⛴ 2021 👪︎ 196 🏠︎ 93

Although I’d been close to Jura many times, I’d never actually gone across and visited. This time however, the short ferry across from Port Askaig was too tempting. The ferry was met by a (mini)bus service that felt more like a taxi due to passenger numbers. It dropped us off at Craighouse and exploration started there. The hotel and distillery were shut due to COVID, so a walk up the coast provided the sights. In my head Jura is a wild unforgiving place, but the pockets of populations, coupled with the sun coming out, made it feel much like any other ‘more accessible’ island – the notable difference here is the car ferry docks ~13k away from the main settlement, although a small passenger ferry now operates from Tayvalich on the mainland. The road north gradually escapes into fields of wildflowers, small farms and more forestry than you might imagine, all pockmarked with a house or small hamlet. Before leaving, a large tanker arrived at the distillery, reminding you that almost everything on Jura somehow gets on and off the island – it’s not a big distance to Islay, but it’s also not a big ferry! I’m not a huge fan of standard Jura whisky, but a nice bottle from Cadenhead’s made for a nice reminder of the trip. The genuinely unforgiving Paps will have to wait until next time, although they just emerged from behind their cloud blanket as we were departing.

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Kerrera Cearrara
⛴ 2020 👪︎ 34 🏠︎ 19

The little ferry from Gallanach (4km SW of Oban) takes you the short trip to Kerrera, where you’re met with a local map and an old phonebox with postcards for sale. We headed south to Gylan Castle, a surprisngly intact 16th Century Baronial affair on a promontory with views out to Jura, Islay & Colonsay. Kerrera is hillier than you might expect, and some steep paths tested the legs, but with the sun setting over the dotted houses around the shore it was time to head back. The small population isn’t noticably settled in one place (apart from a few houses near the slip) and without a shop, they naturally congregate around this area when the ferry is due – with the last one taking us back to the mainland and our tents. The intriguing house at Rudh-A-Chruidh will wait for another visit, but it’s unmissable from all Calmac ferries leaving Oban.

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Lewis and Harris Leòdhas agus na Hearadh
⛴ 2009 👪︎ 21031 🏠︎ 9503

One of my earliest Hebridean adventures, Lewis and Harris rained down on us for a solid 3 days, bar about half an hour at the amazing Luskentyre Sands. Our visit to Callanish was well worth the effort, despite the driving rain – although that’s the kind of weather that goes well with the mysticism. The road around South Harris is an underlating adverture, which can be broken up with a trip to Berneray in calmer conditions than ours..

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Lismore Lios Mòr
⛴ 2020 👪︎ 192 🏠︎ 93

The original intention was to camp at Lismore Bunkhouse, but increases to COVID-19 restrictions meant this wasn’t feasible. We did, however, manage to get to the island for a socially-distanced day trip. Cycling down past the island shop and Gaelic Heritage Centre, we made our way to ‘Point’, where the Port Appin ferry departs. It was there I was asked for a lend of my phone, from who turned out to be Claire, the owner of the Bunkhouse! A nice chat ensued, where I learnt everyting from the concern of the aging population about the pandemic to their planting of 19,000 trees around the bunkhouse and the naturally nutrient poor lochans of the island. After a great day exploring, a stunning, sunny cycle back to Achnacroish capped off a memorable day.

PS Despite having no population in 2011, after a purchase in 2012 Shuna (not the one in the Slate Islands) now has a population of 2, and even Eilean nan Caorach (‘Sheep Island’) had a fleeting population of 1 as a kayaker had a little explore as I was there.

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Mull Muile
⛴ 2017 👪︎ 2800 🏠︎ 1271

Mull is wilder than I expected. I’d always thought of it as the ‘easy one’ to get to (perhaps now eclipsed by Skye), but it offers a great island experience, with plenty of untouched corners. It’s also the gateway to a bunch of smaller islands, all of which I’d highly recommend visiting. Ben More (A’ Bheinn Mhòr) rises high towards the west coast, with otters and sea eagles common sights on the surrounding shores – or so I hear, I’ve only seen seals! The cycle from Ears Fors Waterfall (Waterfall Waterfall Waterfall) > Torlisk > Dervaig > Tobermory is a varied delight.

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North Uist Uibhist a Tuath
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 1254 🏠︎ 608

My legs were really tiring on the undulating roads of the west of the island, and just as I was losing faith a van pulled up… “Phil?” – it started to feel like my prayers had actually been answered, but it turned out I was just the only cyclist booked in to the Tractor Shed and was recognised purely by my transport choice. This interaction really helped though – despite bad weather, my trip up N. Uist was assisted by local ‘bus’ (van), which took me, and otherwise all locals, up to Lochmaddy and then Berneray. Compared to S. Uist, it cut a bleak figure, but that’s probably very weather dependant, and the bleakness was offset somewhat by the warmth of my own peat fire outside my camping pod. Next time, the short trip to Balranald will be top of the list.

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Oronsay Orasaigh
⛴ 2021 👪︎ 8 🏠︎ 4

Oronsay (or Oransay as it’s known locally) is a tidal island accessible from the southern shore of Colonsay by crossing The Strand. My timing wasn’t great – the first two days were deemed ‘no good’ by the tide times posted at the Post Office, but the last day presented a brief chance to cross and get to the Priory and back without getting too wet. Following in the footsteps of Pilgrims, this route was well-trodden by those with a religious mission or supporting a funeral procession for many centuries before. The walk over (in bare feet) and, shoes on, then following the track riddled with standing stones and hermitages, ending in the Priory with an impressive collection of ancient crosses and gravestones. The smaller of the two ancient crosses has a mystical value that’s hard to explain, but it made the journey worthwhile and gave the trip a strange sense of accomplishment, echoed by fellow travellers on the da, all walking in the steps of our ancestors.

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Seil Saoil
⛴ 2008 👪︎ 551 🏠︎ 252

My very first Hebridean island – although I didn’t really know it at the time. We crossed the ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’ to the ‘House of Trousers’ (Tigh an Truish) pub, then went to explore this Slate Island. I regret not making it over to Easdale for their World Stone Skimming Championshiops, but another time…

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Skye An t-Eilean Sgitheanach
⛴ 2009 👪︎ 10008 🏠︎ 4453

Skye has enticed me back 4 times since first visiting, its combination of dramatic mountains, weather and wildlife hard to pass up. Well known for it’s popularity with tourists, this issue is easily reduced by visiting Oct-Apr, when tourists and midges are generally replaced with rain! Unlike some of the other Hebridean islands that really shine when the sun comes out, Skye works with wild weather – walk the Quiraing (A’ Chuith-Raing) as the clouds roll in and you’ll be transported to a fantasy world you won’t want to leave.

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South Uist Uibhist a Deas
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 1754 🏠︎ 781

Maybe it’s the books I’ve read, or maybe it’s spending my last night on the islands in the Lochboisdale Hotel, but South Uist really touched me. From the books I’ve read, it has the most exciting hisory, and the mix of modern and neolithic really got to me. Despite a last-minute bike failure, it was idyllic from start to finish. Stay here, if you can – a wonderful spot to explore the island and breathe in the peaks.

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Tiree Tiriodh
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 653 🏠︎ 316

Noticeably flatter than its neighbour to the NE, Tiree is also more populated and ‘built-up’ than Coll. It’s hardly a metropolis, but more the land is worked and utilised thanks to its low profile. This pancake nature brings plenty of wind, which is harnessed by the multitude of windsurfers flocking to the area – only challenged by the peewitting residents who exploit the surrounding farmland.

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Ulva Ulbha
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 11 🏠︎ 6

It’s only 1 minute ferry ride from Mull, but Ulva feels like a different place entirely. Its 800-strong population has long gone, but their presence is felt across the island. Pockets of woodland dot the eastern end of the island, leading to a wilder and more varied terrain towards Gometra. The southern shores were once home to the family of David Livingstone, today this quiet shoreline is a great place to watch otters instead.

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Vatersay Bhatarsaigh
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 90 🏠︎ 38

I took advantage of a small sunny weather window to cycle over to Vatersay from Barra, and the white sand beaches and crystal clear water are particularly breathtaking in this light. It’s the westernmost island in this list, and probably has the most-westerly inhabitants too. Home to both the Vatersay Raiders, the memorial for the wrecked Annie Jane and a crashed Catalina seaplane, it’s an island not short of history either.

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And finally..

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