The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are geographically coextensive with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides. Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority.
The Isle of Lewis or simply Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).
Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the Isle of Lewis as the Isle of Harris, which is the former postal county and the current post town for Royal Mail postcodes starting HS3 or HS5.
The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides comprise 35 inhabited islands as well as 44 uninhabited islands with an area greater than 30 hectares. Skye, Mull, and Islay are the three largest, and also have the highest populations. The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing and whisky distilling. In modern times the Inner Hebrides have formed part of two separate local government jurisdictions, one to the north and the other to the south. Together, the islands have an area of about 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi), and had a population of 18,948 in 2011. The population density is therefore about 4.6 inhabitants per square kilometre.
Rona is a remote, uninhabited Scottish island in the North Atlantic. Rona is often referred to as North Rona to distinguish it from South Rona. It has an area of 109 hectares and a maximum elevation of 108 metres (354 ft). It is included within the historic county of Ross-shire.
Stornoway is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The Minch, also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as Skotlandsfjörð in Old Norse.
The Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms and is marked by the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse. The nearest populated area is the village of Eoropie, about 1 mile to the south.
Skigersta is a village to the south east of Ness on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is the easternmost settlement in the Ness district and is 5km (3miles) southeast of the Butt of Lewis. Skigersta is situated within the parish of Barvas. There is a quay built in 1901 and a shingle beach. The area of Skigersta near the shore is called 'Lachamore'. To the south of Skigersta the moor begins and the road turns into a peat track; there are sheilings on the moor at Cuisiadar and if you follow the moor further south you reach the road at New Tolsta.
Portvoller is a small village on the north tip of the Eye Peninsula, on the Isle of Lewis in northwestern Scotland. It is 9 miles on the A866 from the Outer Hebrides' only town, Stornoway. Portvoller is within the parish of Stornoway.
Flesherin is a small village on the Point peninsula of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Located near Portnaguran, the village has a population of around 100. Flesherin is within the parish of Stornoway. Flesherin is home to the famous accordionists Tommy Darky and John 'Tonkan' Macdonald. Flesherin is also home to the mother of Stuart Braithwaite, from the Glasgow rock band Mogwai and Ronnie McKinnon the famous Scotland football player.
The Hebrides were settled early on in the settlement of the British Isles, perhaps as early as the Mesolithic era, around 8500–8250 BC, after the climatic conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. There are examples of structures possibly dating from up to 3000 BC, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, but some archaeologists date the site as Bronze Age. Little is known of the people who settled in the Hebrides but they were likely of the same Celtic stock that had settled in the rest of Scotland. Settlements at Northton, Harris, have both Beaker & Neolithic dwelling houses, the oldest in the Western Isles, attesting to the settlement.
Pabay Mòr or Pabaigh Mòr is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Haskeir, also known as Great Haskeir is a remote, exposed and uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It lies 13 kilometres west-northwest of North Uist. 1 km southwest lie the skerries of Haskeir Eagach, made up of a colonnade of five rock stacks, and 40 km (25 mi) northwest is St Kilda.
Eoropie is the most northerly village on the Isle of Lewis in the parish of Ness, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Eoropie is within the parish of Barvas. The Teampull Mholuaidh is to be found here. Eoropie is situated at the end of the B8013 and B8014 roads, from Lionel and Port of Ness, respectively.
Lewis and Harris, or Lewis with Harris, is a single Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, divided by mountains. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and the island of Ireland, with an area of 841 square miles (2,178 km2), which is approximately 1% of the area of Great Britain. The northern two-thirds is called [the Isle of] Lewis and the southern third [the Isle of] Harris; each is referred to as if it were a separate island and there are many cultural and linguistic differences between the two.
Stac Dhòmnuill Chaim, or Stac Dhòmhnaill Chaim, or Stac Domhnuill Chaim, is a fortified promontory located near Mangursta on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The stack and its surrounding site is listed and protected as a scheduled monument. The site of the stack is located at grid reference NB00223152. The site is named after Donald Cam Macaulay, the early 17th century hero of the Macaulays of Uig. The site was documented in the late 19th century, but today it is considered inaccessible. In 2003 and 2006, an archaeological team of rock climbers scaled the promontory and documented the site; finding in 2006 a piece of possibly Neolithic pottery.
Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, designed by David Stevenson, was built at Butt of Lewis to aid shipping in the 1860s. Unusual for a lighthouse in Scotland, it is constructed of red brick, and is unpainted. The station was automated in 1998, one of the last to be converted. A modern differential GPS base station has now been sited on a nearby hill to further aid navigation. This hill was also the site for a Lloyd's Signal Station from the 1890s.
Slipway onto the beach
View showing brick storage building
View from the cliff top
View from north of the track
