Outer Hebrides Campervan Roadtrip pt3 - Harris and Lewis

In Pt3 of our campervan road trip we explore the beautiful islands of Harris and Lewis. Renowned for their stunning beaches and bursting with history, we had left a good 10 days to explore the 2 islands and yet that was still not enough time!

Leverburgh

The ferry across from Berneray has great views as you come into the harbour at Leverburgh and the first thing we did as we got off the ferry was call in at the community shop to restock on provisions. Previous trips to the island had taught us that grocery shops were few and far between.

We also stopped off later in the week at the Harris Brewery right next to the harbour to try some of their craft beers sharing a beer flight between us. Amazingly, someone I was great friends with at school recognised me there even though it must be over 35 years ago since we last spoke. It was lovely to catch up and find out what they and some of our mutual friends are up to.

Huisinis

We had arrived on Harris 2 days earlier than planned so had not got anything booked. We had earmarked the extra 2 days we gained to drive up to the North of Harris and stay at the Huisinis gateway. This has always been one of our favourite spots on the islands and we spent several nights here when we were living in the van for 14 weeks.

The gateway has been set up by the local community and provides facilities for travellers to stay for a very reasonable cost of £20 per night. There are 2 areas you can park up. We chose to stay on the aire that is 5 minutes walk up the road which has 5 parking spots with EHU and great views across to the beach. It is also right next to the feeding station for the local herd of highland cows who came sauntering past the van a couple of times a day - stopping for a scratch on the barbed wire fences if you are lucky!

The other parking spots are based by the beach in a small carpark with space for a few vans. There is a community building that has showers (£1 for 2 minutes hot water) and toilets. There are also some benches and vending machines inside to use if the weather comes in.

We did a long hike out behind Huisinis to explore the other gorgeous beaches and the incredible views over the bay towards Lewis. It is not easy underfoot and there is quite a steep climb to rise above the treacherous cliffs but you are rewarded by the most wonderful beach that will leave you questioning whether you are in Scotland or the Caribbean - especially on a sunny like we had.

Continuing around the headland we came across another more hidden white sandy beach that was completely free of footprints and we felt like we were truly isolated and in the remote wilderness away from the crowds at the carpark. We continued exploring and found a path back along a the side of a tarn with an abandoned cottage - we couldn't help but wonder who once lived there and how did they bring their provisions to the house? Perhaps by boat to the hidden cove?

It turned out to be s stunning 13km walk and we returned to the van in need of tea and cake and a good hot shower.

Beautiful Harris beaches

After a fab couple of days on Luskentyre we made our way back to our next base - Park Niseabost campsite run by the West Harris Trust. From there we explored the local surfing beach of Nisabost and did a short hike to the MacLeaod's Stone. The wind had picked up and the waves crashing onto the rocky cliffs was a great sound to drift to sleep to.

There are so many incredible beaches in this area, each unique in their geography and all deserving of a visit.

Scarista beach has the most magnificent sand dunes that have been carved out by the weather and on a stormy day when the skies are broody we have taken some of our most impressive photo's. If you are lucky, you may time your visit to be accompanied by the cows that shelter in the dunes.

Horgabost beach is another place we have spent many a happy day relaxing at. There is a fantastic campsite where you can pitch your tents right by the beach and the campervan pitches are merely footsteps away. The facilities are quite basic but for me as long as there is a toilet and a working shower to wash away the salt at the end of the day then I am happy. Sadly the campsite was still closed when we were on the islands. It will have to wait until next time.

For our next park up - we stayed at one of the camping spots that are highland on the West Harris Trust website as a permitted stopover. There is a link on sign posts on all the permitted parking spots to pay your £10 donation for the night. Fantastic value to be able to park up and have the most incredible views to open up your van door to. They are popular park ups and there were 3 other vans next to us.

The stunning Luskentyre beach was our next destination to explore the following morning. We were surprised to bump into Deb and Dave who are subscribers of our YouTube channel and who we have met previously. We were delighted when they invited us for a cup of proper coffee in their absolutely gorgeous new van - it was great to catch up with them and find out all about their island adventures so far. We shared some tips with each other as we travelling in the opposite directions. It was quite a wild and windy morning on the beach and even though we were well wrapped up with plenty of layers we decided to head to our last camping spot on Harris at Seilebost.

Turns out it was a great decision as the weather took a turn for the worst and we experienced the first rainstorm of the trip and wow..... it rained! We just got back from a walk on the beach in time, had we been caught out we would have been liked drowned rats. A shame as the campsite is such an incredible base and we had been looking forward to a chill and relax on the beach. We were however rewarded with the most incredible sunset hat night that we nearly missed as the blinds were down and we had gone to bed early watching Netflix in disgust with the weather. It's a good job I needed a wee!

Eilean Glas Lighthouse

One of the highlights of our stay on Harris after the wonderful beaches was a hike out to the Eilean Glas Lighthouse which is found on the small island of Scalpay. It is a 2km hike along a well-marked path across moorland and the lighthouse is only visible for the latter half. It’s red and white tower rises majestically on the cliff tops with a tiny harbour below where the owners bring all the provisions in.

It is privately owned and maintained by a really interesting couple who were proud to talk about its history and their journey as lighthouse owners. They have a small and welcoming café that sells the most delicious home-made cakes. We had pressed gamble with the weather and were glad of the shelter as a rain fell almost vertically for about an hour. Luckily for us, we had a half hour where the rain stopped and we made a quick march back across the moors to the van before the rain returned.

Isle of Lewis

Waking up to the loud drumming of rain on the van roof after an extremely wild and stormy night, it was time to move on to the Isle of Lewis. It is hard to know where Harris ends and Lewis begins, with crossing a small river seemingly being the border between the two on the drive North.

It was not easy getting packed up with driving rain and a howling gale, every time we opened the door we would get drenched. We were intending to go right up to the most northerly point, to the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, but with the weather front due to stay for 24 hours we decided to declare a duvet day and just hunker down for the day and catch up on lots of admin jobs like our emails, editing and writing blogs.

We headed to Stornoway to stock up on provisions and had some fish and chips on the harbour wall, then we booked onto the Eileen Froch Campsite for the night so we could have the luxury of facilities and enjoyed a well-earned rest day. The campsite was great and the owner very helpful and friendly.

We bumped into a couple of different subscribers of our YouTube channel at the campsite which is always lovely, it is great chatting with people who we may otherwise never have met. By a strange coincidence, one of the couples actually live in the town where Richard was a deputy headteacher for 13 years!

The Butt of Ness Lighthouse

Luckily, when we woke up the following day the rain had finally stopped and the blue skies were starting to appear again. We headed north to the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse and worked our way down the coast visiting several interesting and historic sites along the way.

The lighthouse is set above a series of jagged cliffs and small islands that are home to a huge colony of sea birds and we sat for a while with our binoculars in the vain hope that we might spot a puffin. It was not to be! But it is a beautiful landscape to be part of and we had fun playing around with some photography instead.

Our next stop heading south was to explore the Gearrannan Black House Village. Unfortunately, it was a Sunday so the buildings were closed but it did have the advantage of being really quiet. They are quite incredible, especially when you think that some of the houses were inhabited until only a couple of decades ago! One of the buildings is now a hostel and a couple are holiday rentals which would be an interesting place to stay.

We also made a quick stop at a shieling house replica building in Barvas which was really interesting. It was merely a tiny stone building with a rough bed at one side and a small fireplace for heat and to cook on at the other.

Callanish Standing Stones

Our final bit of history for the day was a visit to the Callanish standing stones. Quite incredible to think that they were first place there nearly 5ooo years ago. So many questions sprang to mind. Where did the stones come from? How did they get them there at the top of the hill? Why did they put them there? Where did the people come from and why did they choose this pretty inhospitable landscape to settle?

Nevertheless, they are pretty impressive and as we walked amongst them, we could almost hear the whispers of a time gone by.

Bostah Beach

Our destination for the night was Bostah beach to stay at the carpark for the night. There is a toilet open 24 hours and an honesty box payment of £10. There were a total of 5 vans there for the night and we were accompanied by 2 roving highland cows who came to say hello and have a scratch and rub on the van in the early hours of the morning!

It is a magnificent setting at Bostah beach with its white sandy beach, crystal clear waters and the tide and time bell. At the far end of the beach is an ancient Iron Age dwelling that was open to the public for a small donation. Inside is set up with artifacts to show what it would have been like with the fire as the central focal point for warmth and to cook. Not a very comfortable existence but an incredible piece of living history and insight into life all those millenniums ago!

The island of Lewis is steeped in it’s ancient history, but it is also an island with wild rugged coastlines and the most impressive beaches. And we set off the next day to explore some more.

Mangersta Sea Stacks

Using the Wild guide to Scotland, we set of in search of both the Mangersta Sea stacks and the illusive bothy. The sea stacks were easy to locate as the rose menacingly from the sea. The wind had dropped and it was a calm day but we could only imagine to the perils they emitted on a stormy day. Well worth driving out of our way to find them.

The bothy is a place that has previously eluded us. It was built in memory of Linda Norgrove after she tragically died in Afghanistan, you can stay overnight at the bothy for a donation to the trust set up in her name.

It is REALLY hard to find. Last time we visited Lewis we hiked for 5 miles up and down the cliffs to no avail, but this time we had done our research and had spoken to a local café owner who gave us more precise directions. Even so we still managed to miss it and hiked another 5 miles until we stumbled across it, merely a couple of hundred metres from where we started! It is built from the local stones on the cliffs and blends in incredibly well, the only give away being a triangle of glass from a roof light. It is on a shelf below the cliffs and has the most incredible views across to a tiny island and I can only imagine how superb it would be to sit and watch the sunset from there.

The bothy itself is very basic with little more than a wooden shelf for a bed and a rustic fireplace for warmth.

Cliff beach

Our final night on Lewis was spent at Cliff beach where there is another honesty box field you can stay at for £10. We have stayed here a few times in the past and it is in a wonderful location with the most incredible views.

However, the local community have been forced to make some changes as it suffered from over use and vans parking close to the crumbling sand dune edges and starting fires on the machair.  

There is now only space for maybe 6 or 7 vans and campers need to be prepared to move on and find somewhere else to stay for the night if it is full. The beach at Cliff is a renowned surfing beach and the crashing waves are not for the feint hearted. Not really the beach for swimming unless you are a strong swimmer but great fun with a boogie or surf board. There are some fantastic hikes along the cliff tops with incredible views across the bay.

Reef and Kneep beaches

Just around the corner and arguably one of the best beaches in the Outer Hebrides is the stunning Reef beach. With miles of white sand beach with a back ground of sea grass covered sand dunes in which you can shelter from the wind, it is one of our favourites.

We did a hike around the headland and explored the hidden coves. It was absolutely deserted and we saw no-one for miles after we left the main beach. As we walked back to the van through a small valley between the dunes, a huge golden eagle swooped in the skies above us in search of prey. We feared for the tiny lambs that were staying close to their bleating mums!!

Uig Beach

Next beach up was Uig complete with a replica chessman from the Norse era. A set of walrus tusk carved pieces were unearthed in the area and are on display at The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the British museum in London.

The beach here at low tide reaches almost as far as the eye can see and there is a small campsite in the sand dunes behind it for campervans and motorhomes. The facilities are basic but adequate for the reasonable price of £20 a night.

It was our last day on the Outer Hebrides and we needed to head back down to Harris and the small port town of Tarbert. The highlight of the day was a visit to the Harris Gin Distillery. This is absolutely my favourite gin. Maybe it is the hints of the sea kelp that is infused with or maybe it’s the beautiful bottle that it comes in. Who knows. With the weather wet and miserable outside, we sat in front of a blazing fire and sampled one of their cocktails – well I did – Richard was the designated driver so he stuck to a cloudy lemonade!

Our ferry was at 6.30am so we found a park up for the night just outside the town and had an early night.

Robbie Roams No Fuss Travel Guides

For most of the planning on this trip we used the Outer Hebrides Road trip guide by Robbie Roams which has lots of tips and ideas of places to visit, campsites to stop at and where to find the best beaches. It is easy to use and includes a few suggested itineraries depending on how long you have to explore the islands. If you use the code ‘WANDERLUST’ and put any of the books and their map in your basket you will get the map and postage free using the link below:

https://nofusstravelguides.com

In our next Blog we have a 48-hour blue sky weather window on the Isle of Skye where we finally get to see some of the beautiful landscapes that we have only ever encountered when covered in a blanket of cloud and rain previously.

You can also catch up with all of our island adventures on our YouTube channel using the link below:

Until next time

Jackie and Richard