Hebridean Way Walking Route Section I: Seilebost to Tarbert

About

Height Climbed: 664m / 2,179ft

Height Descended: 665m / 2,181ft

Terrain: 9.5 miles on good paths and tracks; 5 miles on quiet single track roads.

After the hard, pathless hiking of yesterday, today’s walking is a delight, with a series of beautiful tracks guiding you through the intricate rocky landscape of Harris’s east coast.

After saying a reluctant farewell to exquisite Luskentyre beach, follow an old route over a small hill pass and drop down to the tiny village of Leac a Li. This is the Coffin Road, made famous by the Peter May novel of the same name, and was once used by islanders on the east coast to carry bodies for burial in the graveyards of the west.

More fine paths, interspersed with sections of quiet single track roads, lead past the countless sparkling lochans and craggy knolls of the Bays of Harris. Spare a thought as you walk for the islanders who were forced to scrape a living from this barren, rocky landscape after being evicted from their fertile crofts on the west coast in the 19th Century.

The day ends at Tarbert, the tiny capital of Harris. With 700 inhabitants it is the largest settlement you have encountered since the start of the walk! There  is lots of accommodation options here, including a couple of hotels.  

The distances and timings above do not include any extra distance you may need to reach your accommodation for the night.