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The Outer Hebrides |
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The Outer Hebrides (also known as the Western Isles), one of the most beautiful and remote areas, offer the visitor a unique holiday experience. This 130 mile long chain of islands lies to the north west of Scotland, on the edge of Europe and bordering the wide Atlantic ocean. |
| Steeped in history, the
islands have been inhabited for over 6,000 years. The spectacular Standing
Stones of Calanais (Callanish) remind us of that ancient past. Today some
28,000 people live on the twelve populated islands of Lewis and Harris,
Bernera, Scalpay, Berneray, North Uist, Baleshare, Grimsay, Benbecula,
South Uist, Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay.
The combinations of land, sea and inland water found in the Western Isles have produced landscapes of national and international importance. There are four National Nature Reserves and a large number of other designated sites. A lot of the area has been identified as of outstanding scenic value. The islands also boast superb, clean sandy beaches which are washed twice a day by the Atlantic waves. |
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Few areas of Britain
can produce such a variety of birdlife in such diverse surroundings as can
be seen in the Western Isles. The islands are also a marvellous place to
see wild flowers, particularly along the west coast ‘machair’ land.
The people of the Western Isles are Gaels, bilingual Gaelic and English speakers. They are the guardians of a rich culture which is most accessible to visitors through its music, celebrated each year in various festivals - feisean, mods and ceilidhs - throughout the islands. Another influence, that of Scandinavia, can be seen in the placenames which, particularly in the north, are almost all of Norse origin. The Vikings invaded the islands from the ninth century onwards, and it was not until 1280 that the Norse handed the Western Isles over to the kingdom of Scotland under the Treaty of Perth. |
| Despite their
remoteness, the Western Isles are easily accessible today. Modern car
ferries ply back and forth every day from two mainland Scottish ports (Ullapool
and Oban), and also from the Isle of Skye (Uig).
These sailings reach the Western Isles at five island ferry ports - Stornoway (Lewis), Tarbert (Harris), Lochmaddy (North Uist), Lochboisdale (South Uist) and Castlebay (Barra) so making it easy to reach anywhere the length of the island chain and to make round trips. The islands in the Uists and Benbecula are linked by road causeways with inter-island car ferries joining North Uist to Harris and South Uist to Barra. This flexibility of travel within the islands gives the visitor the wonderful opportunity to travel the length of the Outer Hebrides from Lewis in the north to Barra in the south. There is also an excellent public transport bus service if you do not have your own transport.
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