South Harris
Famed for beautiful beaches, stunning white sands, wild flower-filled machair and strong sense of island identity, South Harris which encompasses West Harris and the Bays of Harris to the east, has something to offer all travellers.
With the latter area taking its name from the many sea inlets that pit the eastern shoreline, blurring the line between land and water and creating communities on the edge at one with the elements.
Start your explorations with a drive along “The Golden Road”, named either for its importance to the island or the expense of its installation – depending on who you ask. Winding its way from Tarbert to Rodel, this single track lifeline connects today’s east coast communities, whose alternating Norse and Gaelic place names speak to a more divided past.
Visit the traditional Harris Tweed outlets that are housed in the hamlets along this coastal corridor and pick up a piece of island history to take home, or organise an excursion to explore these wonderful waters from another angle, with canoeing, kayaking, sailing and fishing all on offer in the area.
The Bays of Harris are also a creative hub with lots of fantastic galleries in this area including Holmasaig Gallery and Finsbay Gallery.
Make time to take in the stunning viewpoint at Manish offering great sea and skyscapes and stop in at Flodabay to view the Common Seals basking on the sands.
A short hop from the bottom end of The Golden Road will take you to Rodel where you can explore the church of St Clements, established on this spot in the late 15th Century for the chiefs of Macleods of Harris, which has, over the ages, been ruined, burned and used as a cow byre before finally being restored to its former glory.
Set at the south western tip, Leverburgh serves as the island’s second ferry terminal with regular sailings across the Sound of Harris to and from Berneray and is a great place to start your island explorations.
Stock up on essentials at the Leverburgh community shop and arrange alternative island transport with Sorrel Cottage Bicyle Hire. Alternatively, choose a boat trip from the fishermen’s pier to the outlying islands, with a range of charters and itineraries on offer taking in Pabbay, Taransay, Scarp, the Shiants, the Flannans and stunning World Heritage Site at St Kilda.
More information about St Kilda is available at the nearby Seallam! Centre at Northton - the island’s premier visitors centre and a must see for those keen to understand the history and heritage of the Hebrides. The Seallam! Centre hosts permanent exhibitions covering both the abandoned island itself - The People of St Kilda - and the wider theme of abandonment across the area - The Emigrants. The Seallam! Centre also recognises the importance for many of the Hebridean homecoming – as it houses the Western Isles leading genealogy research resource Co leis Thu? This professional service offers the descendants of islanders the chance to discover their Hebridean heritage or dig deeper into their island identity.
Northton is not only a great choice for connecting with history on Harris, it is also the perfect place to experience the elements and really revel in island isolation.
Head for the five beautiful beaches of the Northton Peninsula to discover wild island beauty at its elemental best, with stunning sands set against wild dunes and rich machair grasses, all of which provides habitats for Hebridean wildlife, with chances to spot everything from otters to eagles.
When explorations are over, weary travellers and wildlife watchers can find refreshment at the cafe named for the roofless monastic chapel, Northon Temple that still stands on the peninsula point.
Great Beaches can also be found further north, with both the stunning Scarista beach and the award winning Luskentyre sands offering views to the Isle of Taransay – made famous by the BBC’s Castaway programme.
Stop for a round on the challenging nine-hole golf course at Scarista (fees are payable by honesty box) or discover a little more about the island’s most famous industry with a visit to Luskentyre Harris Tweed, where the artisanal enterprise of Donald John MacKay MBE – who persuaded sportswear giant Nike to use the traditional woven tweed in their designs and secured an order of 10,000 metres – which was woven by workers across the islands.
Woven into the landscape of the West Coast, visitors can see monuments to the island’s rich and diverse history – from the Clach Steineagaidh standing stone at Scarista that looks across the Atlantic to the outlying islands, to the recreated Iron Age broch at Borve. Or the Macleod stone – a monolith over the sands of Nisabost and the neolithic chambered cairn which can be found at Horgabost.
Just across the road from the beach at Nisabost is Talla na Mara, with some art and craft shops including Flavour artisan chocolatier and also a restaurant and campervan hook ups.
Whatever you come to Harris in search of – be it history, heritage, outdoors or adventure you are certain to find it in abundance here in the wonderful South Harris.
