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West Beach, Berneray - Lonely Planet's Top 20 Best Beaches in Europe

Beach and Machair in the Outer Hebrides

Just look at them.

Whatever the weather, the Outer Hebrides beaches are built for walking, swimming, storytelling, rock pooling, proposing, dune jumping, tennis ball launching or horizon looking. And they’re everywhere. It’s obvious why Wanderlust named the Outer Hebrides in the top 100 Greatest Travel Experiences, why Lonely Planet ranked West Beach in Berneray as the No 3 Best Beach in Europe and why the Thailand Tourist Board mistaken used a picture of a Hebridean beach to promote one of their beaches! Find out more about our BEACHES BLOG.

Machair is a Gaelic word meaning fertile low lying grassy plain. This is the name given to one of the rarest habitats in Europe which only occurs on exposed western coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Machair habitats in the Outer Hebrides run up the western shores of Uist, Harris and Lewis.

Here sand, largely made up of crushed shells, is regularly blown ashore by Atlantic gales. Over time the calcium rich shell sand and traditional Outer Hebrides crofting land practices have led to the development of a mosaic of fertile Scottish grassland habitats renowned for its Outer Hebrides wildflowers, Western Isles birds and insect life.

The most extensive areas of Outer Hebrides machair can be found on the West Coast of Uist. Here you’ll see the succession from dunes to grassland and traditional arable cultivation worked in rotation. On the fallow areas that have recently been cultivated you’ll find the greatest diversity of flowers where up to 40 Western Isles plant species can be found within a square metre.

Many of these are quite common Outer Hebrides flowers but it’s the sheer abundance of blooms that makes the machair so special. The colours change through the season with yellows dominating at first and then fading into reds, whites and blues.

However, the Western Isles flora on display on each machair is different depending on the history of land use and the local environment so it’s worth visiting several areas. Flowers of the Outer Hebrides are at their best between mid June and mid August.

The diverse plant community supports a rich insect life. The rare Great Yellow Bumble Bee and the unusual Belted Beauty Moth with its flightless female form are two of the most characteristic machair insects found in the Outer Hebrides.

The machair are bustling with Western Isles bird life at all times year. Corncrakes and breeding waders are the most distinctive spring arrivals. Large flocks of geese, lapwing and golden plover make this their home in winter.

This brilliant film explains how crofting methods are in sync with nature:

Machair is a special PLACE, please help us keep it that way by:

Please don’t PARK on Machair land. It causes enormous damage to the fragile ecosystem and reduces the machair through soil erosion
Leave no trace. Take everything with you when you leave, including LITTER. Do not light campfires or use disposable BBQ’s – there is a very real wildfire risk
Be aware of livestock and ANIMALS. Keep dogs under close control and away from livestock, especially in the spring at lambing time. Please also leave gates as you found them, they are important for animal management
Please do not CAMP on the machair unless using an organised camp site/spot and leave no trace when you leave
For more advice on good outdoor ENGAGEMENT please follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

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Ardroil Sands

Address

Uig, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, HS2 9EU

Isle of Lewis

Camas Uige or Uig Bay is in a national scenic area in the south west of Lewis.

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Askernish Beach & Machair

Address

Askernish, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5SY

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of South Uist is an approx. 20 mile strip of stunning white beach and machair.

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Airport Beach

Address

Balivanich, ISLE OF BENBECULA, Outer Hebrides, HS7 5LA

ISLE OF BENBECULA

Just a stones throw from the airport, this magnifient beach is well worth a visit and is easily acccessed by a small road before you get to Benbecula Aiport.
The beach is a haven for wildlife such as ground nesting waders including the oystercatcher, lapwing, dunlin, ring plover, redshank and the snipe that return here to nest each year.…

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Milton Beach and Machair

Address

Frobost, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5RX

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of South Uist is an approx. 20 mile strip of stunning white beach and machair. Acces from the village of Milton (Gerraidh Bhaltos is the Gaelic translation).

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Traigh Seilebost

Address

Seilebost, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides

Isle of Harris

Traigh Seilebost is a beautiful sandy beach on the south side of Traigh Luskentyre.

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Traigh Mhor Beach - Barra Airport

Address

Eoligarry, Isle Of Barra, Outer Hebrides, HS9 5YD

Telephone
01871 890212

Isle Of Barra

Traigh Mhor is the beach where the plane lands - the only scheduled plane landing that lands on a beach in the world!

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Beach and Machair at Kilpheder

Address

Kilpheder, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5TB

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of UIst lies around 20 miles of stunning white beaches.

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Seal Bay

Address

Allasdale, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, HS9 5XX

Isle of Barra

Watch the seals laze on the rocks off shore - you may even catch them coming for a cheeky peek at you!

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Coilleag a'Phrionnsa (Tràigh Leis)

Address

Eriskay, Isle of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5JN

Isle of South Uist

Bonnie Prince Charlie first stepped foot on Scottish soil on this beach on 23rd July 1745, from the french ship "Du Teillay"

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Iochdar Beach and Machair

Address

Kilaulay, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5RE

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of South Uist is an approx. 20 mile strip of stunning white beach and machair.

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Daliburgh Machair & Beach

Address

Daliburgh, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5SS

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of South Uist is an approx. 20 mile strip of stunning white beaches and machair.

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Traigh na Beirghe (Reef Beach)

Address

Uig, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, HS2 9HS

Isle of Lewis

Traigh na Beirghe (Reef Beach) is a very long, sweeping, white sand beach in Uig

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Kildonan Beach and Machair

Address

Kildonan, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5RZ

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of South Uist is an approx. 20 mile strip of stunning white beach and machair.

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Luskentyre

Address

Luskentyre, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides

Isle of Harris

The beach at Luskentyre is the largest and most spectacular of all the Harris beaches.

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Boisdale Beach and Orasay Island

Address

South Boisdale, Isle Of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS8 5TE

Isle Of South Uist

Along the west coast of South UIst lies around 20 miles of stunning white beach and machair.

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Hosta Beach (Tràigh Stir) and Machair

Address

Tigharry, Isle Of North Uist, Outer Hebrides, HS6 5DE

Isle Of North Uist

Hosta beach is easily accessible from the main road at Hosta.

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Shawbost Beach

Address

Shawbost, Shawbost, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, HS2 9BJ

Isle of Lewis

A horseshoe beach with sand, good birdwatching and safe swimming. There are two access roads to the beach.

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Cleit Beach

Address

Cleit, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, HS9 5XX

Isle of Barra

A great beach for all the family or a quiet walk. At low tide there are caves to explore at the far end.

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