Scotland: A Grand Tour of the Outer Hebrides - 5 days 583

We depart from our designated pick-up points, stopping en-route for refreshments (not included) and travel via Glen Coe, Fort William and Glenfinnan to Mallaig. From here we take the ferry to Lochboisdale in South Uist. Look out for the Small Isles of Rum and Canna to port and the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye to starboard.On arrival we continue over causeways (keeping a careful eye out for otters) to Benbecula, the ‘stepping stone’ between the Uists, and continue to our accommodation. Dinner will be served in the hotel this evening.

After our full Scottish breakfast we will depart for Barra, travelling via the little island of Eriskay, just three miles long and two miles wide, with a great sandy beach known as Prince Charlie’s Bay – Bonnie Prince Charlie having landed here in July 1745. From Eriskay we make the short ferry crossing to Barra and have a tour of the island.
Please note that Kisimul Castle is currently still closed but we will be able to view it from the shore.
We will also visit Cockleshell Beach, the unique runway whose use is governed by the tides. On approaching the airport keep an eye out to the left for the much loved former home of Sir Compton Mackenzie, the author of ‘Whisky Galore’, which is forever associated with the island.  In fact, it was on the neighbouring island of Vatersay, which we will visit by means of the causeway linking the two islands, that the classic film adaptation was made. In the course of our tour today we also hope to see some of the hundreds of species of wild flowers that grow on the island, particularly on the machair, the fertile, grassy pastures that lie between the moorland and the sea.

After breakfast we check out of the hotel and take the ferry from Berneray to Leverburgh at the southern end of the Isle of Harris and visit St Clement’s Church at Rodel, built on top of an earlier structure in the 16th century by Alasdair Crotach, 8th chief of the Macleods of Harris and Dun Bheagan. The church tombs are among the most spectacular in Scotland. There are outstanding views as we travel along the coast, including the island of Taransay of ‘Castaway’ fame, and the wonderful beaches at Scarasta, Horgabost, Borve and of course Luskentyre, which was voted among the world’s 25 Top Beaches in 2020. We will pause for refreshments (not included) in Tarbert, before continuing through the mountainous countryside of Harris which eventually gives way to the rolling moorland of Lewis. We continue to the island capital of Stornoway and our comfortable accommodation at the Cabarfeidh Hotel.

This morning after breakfast we will travel to the west coast of Lewis for a visit to Calanais II, an impressive site comprising of five standing stones and two fallen stones, forming an oval. A further, shorter stone lies pointing towards the centre. There may originally have been more stones in the ‘circle’. Its diameter of nearly 20 metres makes it almost twice as big as the circle at Calanais I (which is around 11–12m across). Inside the ‘circle’ is a low round cairn that was probably a later addition; it will have contained a burial chamber, but it has been badly damaged. When peat was first cleared away from this monument, shortly after 1857, people found traces of pebbles that had probably supported upright wooden posts inside the ‘circle’.Please note that primary Callanish Standing Stones site (Calanais I) is currently completely closed due to a major redevelopment of the visitor centre taking place until Spring 2026. The entire site is closed for construction during this time. From here we move on to the Black Houses at Gearannan, typical of the crofting settlements which until relatively recently were found throughout the Western Isles. Lunch will be available here (not included).The final visit on our circular tour is the Norse Mill at Shawbost, a reconstruction of the type of grain mill used originally by Viking settlers and by islanders up until the 1930s. A short walk past a small lochan leads to two beautifully restored little thatched buildings with a fine view to the ocean beyond.We return to our hotel where dinner will be served in the evening.

This morning we check out of the hotel and take the early morning Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool (breakfast will be served on board).  From here, we return to our original pick-up points.