About
Image: https://www.instagram.com/allankeyte/
The Udal Peninsula is one of the richest human and natural environments of the Outer Hebrides. It is an exciting and beautiful time capsule preserving centuries of human and natural impacts. At its heart is the 'machair' - a Gaelic word meaning ‘fertile plain’. For thousands of years families have farmed and continue to farm this rich landscape.
Explore this peninsula where sea and sand meet under a magic, open sky. Follow shorelines and paths through flower-studded machar to an old cemetery. Climb a hill for fabulous views, and return via coves and ancient archaeological sites that rank as some of the most important in the Outer Hebrides.
A walking tour App exploring the Udal and its heritage and environment, as told by members of the community, is available to download free to your tablet or phone HERE, via the izi.travel storytelling platform. You must first download the izi.travel App to then download the audio tour.
You can download a leaflet here.
Map & Directions
- Park at the picnic area along the minor road that leaves the A865 at Grenitote. Start the walk here.
- Follow the track, crossing the burn on stepping-stones (or go left a little way to find the bridge). Continue round the vast beach-bowl expanse of Traigh Ear. Depending on the tide, you could venture out onto the sands
- Once through the dunes, the beach becomes rockier after a while: it’s easier to take the track through the machair fields.
- The track leads to the cemetery of the Macleans of Boreray, the island directly north-west of here.
- It’s time to climb the hill: just head up from the cemetery. Even though it is only 40 metres high, it feels like a sharp tug up to the trig point
- Drag yourself away from the view and descend to the south. Go down, then up and down, and find a path through the dunes.
- These are the archaeological sites of the Udal, once a major medieval settlement.
