OVERVIEW

Explore a starkly stunning landscape by panoramic coach and visit a small factory where world-famous Harris Tweed is woven. Scotland’s Outer Hebrides archipelago is a remote and special place, and this leisurely excursion captures fascinating glimpses of the varied sights and terrain to be seen here. Among them: fjord-like sea lochs, villages nestled along rugged roads ascending to majestic mountain vistas, sweeping beaches, sheer sea cliffs, ancient rocks and abundant wildlife including otters and eagles. In Tarbert, Harris Island’s charming answer to a big city, you’ll call on a small shop and adjacent tweed storehouse with the opportunity to purchase woolen items made here. A bit of free time in this loch-side town is followed by a drive across lunar terrain strewn with tiny inland lakes, leading to a beautiful white-sand beach framed by turquoise sea, steep dunes and even steeper mountains. Relax awhile here and snap memorable photos of this pristine setting as you gaze out toward Taransay, Scotland’s largest and arguably most beautiful uninhabited island. Circling back to Stornaway via the scenic route, you may well find yourself dreaming of picking up a secluded Hebrides getaway cottage.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Experience a guided survey of the diverse, ruggedly unspoiled Outer Hebrides landscape.
• Travel by panoramic coach through scenic villages, up to high mountain overlooks, along sea cliffs, beaches and heather uplands.
• Enjoy a Harris Tweed weaving demonstration and some browsing time in the town of Tarbert.
• Stop and relax awhile along magnificently scenic Horgabost Beach on the waters of Luskentyre Bay.
• Admire the uninhabited island Taransay, setting of Britain’s first reality TV series, Castaway 2000.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear layered, weather-appropriate clothing; conditions are changeable in the Hebrides.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed.

OVERVIEW

Take in the spectacular scenery of Lewis island, including its remarkable Standing Stones at Callanish and the Black Houses of Arnol. Actively inhabited for 6,000 years, the Outer Hebrides landscape is not only fascinating but historically significant. Setting out by coach, you’ll traverse the isle’s loch-and-moor midsection, emerging on the west coast near a formation of megaliths that rivals even Stonehenge in its scale and archaeological importance. The Calanais Standing Stones. You will pass by these on the way further up the coast. Visit Arnol’s round-cornered Black Houses where local crafting families’ vital shelter against howling Hebrides winds. Peat from the bogs in this region is still cut, dried and burned as heating fuel today.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Inside Visit Arnol Blackhouse, built to shelter farming families from raging coastal winds.
• Drive Passed the Mystical Calanais standing Stones, believed to be older than Stonehenge!
• Cross the isle by panoramic coach, viewing rolling moorlands, innumerable tiny lochs and picturesque fishing villages.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear layered, weather-appropriate clothing; conditions are changeable in the Hebrides.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed

OVERVIEW

Discover landmarks that showcase the history and culture of Lewis, largest and most populated of Scotland’s Western Isles. Shaped by its surrounding ocean and extreme climate, this island has been inhabited by stalwart folk for well over 6,000 years. On the west, you’ll visit Gearrannan – a coastal village of outstanding beauty where once-derelict homesteads are being painstakingly restored using traditional dry-stone masonry and communal thatching methods. During your visit, you’ll see how generations lived together in this small-plot farming community, in “blackhouses” – long, round-cornered structures uniquely designed to keep their residents warm and dry in even the most ferocious weather. Not far from this place, where Loch Carloway carves a deep path into this craggy coastline, you’ll stop to take in a 2,000-year-old circular fortified tower still clinging stubbornly to a hillside overlooking the sea. Well-known and exceptionally well-preserved, Carloway Broch still has partial walls 30 feet high, with interior galleries and stairways dramatically exposed. Before turning back inland across the moors, your circular Lewis itinerary will carry you yet further along Lewis’ western coast, a region at times pounded by the full unbroken force of the North Atlantic.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Experience a guided survey of the diverse, ruggedly unspoiled Lewis island landscape.
• Cross the isle by panoramic coach, viewing rolling moorlands, innumerable tiny lochs and a picturesque fishing village.
• Stop for photos at the Black Houses of Gearannan, built to shelter farming families from raging coastal winds.
• See peat bogs where this ancient and abundant earth-fuel is still cut and dried to fuel local home fires.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Wear layered, weather-appropriate clothing; conditions are changeable in the Hebrides.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as needed

OVERVIEW

Explore the island-dotted western coast of the Isle of Lewis, a gorgeous seascape known for its natural beauty and abundant wildlife. After an extraordinarily scenic drive across the Isle of Lewis, you will board a boat in Maivaig, a settlement of just a few buildings. The name Maivaig is Norse for “narrow bay” and perfectly describes its setting. As you head into more open water, you will pass beautiful Reef Beach – whose sugar-white sand and turquoise waters look surprisingly Caribbean – and a collection of islands such as uninhabited Pabaigh Mòr, which is known for its sea caves. If the conditions permit, you may enter one of the caves before continuing on to the blue lagoon of Pabbay. Because this area is so remote and undisturbed, marine life such as seals, dolphins and basking sharks are often spotted. Seabirds are also plentiful so keep an eye out for gannets, guillemots and razorbills.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Cruise along the remote, sparsely inhabited western coast of the Isle of Lewis.
• Pass beautiful beaches, craggy sea caves and islands where nature reigns supreme.
• Look for seals, dolphins and seabirds, which flourish in this rather isolated setting.
• Appreciate the coastal beauty and natural wonders in the isle’s interior.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Settle in for a spectacularly scenic drive to the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, a landscape that the Guinness Book of Records recognized as the windiest place in the United Kingdom. On the way there, you will pass remote beaches, atmospheric moorlands and peat-covered plateaus. No matter where you look, the natural beauty will be stunning. Upon reaching the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, you will pause for photos and hear fascinating facts about this beacon built in 1862. Although keepers once manned the lighthouse, using fish oil and paraffin to power it, the red-brick lighthouse has been automated since 1998. In heavy storms, which are frequent in this area, water spray can cascade over the top of the 120-foot-tall lighthouse. While stopping at the nearby Port of Ness Beach – the island’s most northerly stretch of sand – you can’t help but appreciate its isolated, incredibly pristine setting and clear water.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Stand at the island’s northern tip, the windiest place in the United Kingdom.
• Snap photos of the rare, red-brick lighthouse that overlooks the dramatic coastline.
• Stroll the island’s wonderfully isolated and most northerly beach.
• Enjoy a stunningly scenic drive through the island’s wild northern landscape.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Witness how single-malt whisky and botanical-infused gin are made at the Harris Distillery and sample the final products that reflect the locally sourced ingredients. The waterfront distillery lies on the Isle of Harris, the southern third of the island – the northern two-thirds being the Isle of Lewis. On the way there, you will pass majestic mountains and rugged beach-rimmed coastlines, a wild and dramatic landscape just as inspirational as the distillery’s spirits. You will see how the whisky is produced with little automation, which imparts it with an elegant flavor. As you sample a dram of this small-batch whisky, its complex character will slowly unfold, enhancing the sensory experience. You will also be offered a dram of gin made with hand-gathered ingredients such as sugar kelp seaweed, coriander seeds, licorice root and bitter orange peel. Feel time follows in surrounding Tarbert, a town known for its Harris tweed and knitwear.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Watch small-batch whisky and gin being produced at a distillery on the Isle of Harris.
• Sample a dram of both spirits, whose tastes reflect the locally sourced ingredients.
• Enjoy a picturesque drive through the mountainous landscape south of Stornoway.
• Meander about the town of Tarbert on your own.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Take an enlightening walk through the island’s largest town of Stornoway and explore its landmark Victoria-era castle. Originally a Viking settlement, Stornoway grew substantially in the 18th century due to herring fishing. The town is now better known for manufacturing Harris tweed, producing a tasty designation-of-origin black pudding and as a hub of Gaelic heritage. You will likely hear Gaelic widely spoken as you follow the guide through the pedestrian-friendly streets. Across the harbor, you will find Lews Castle, a Gothic Revival-style icon that opium and tea trader Sir James Matheson built on the Isle of Lewis, which he also owned. The castle was converted into a naval hospital during World War II, became a college dormitory afterwards and is now a luxury hotel. While strolling the wooded grounds and gardens – which once held the widest range of exotic flowers in Scotland – you will surely be taken by the serenity of the setting.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Walk through the heart of Stornoway with a guide that will describe its history in detail.
• Discover how Stornoway evolved from a fishing port into the Isle of Lewis’ largest town.
• Hear about the influence of Sir James Matheson, who built Lews Castle in the mid-1800s.
• Stroll the walking paths that wind through the grounds of Lews Castle.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Take an exhilarating cruise through the sheltered waters off Stornoway in a high-speed vessel made for adventure. You will ride in a rigid inflatable boat – more commonly known as an RIB – which is high-powered, open-air and remarkably fast. Even so, RIBs are surprisingly stable. They allow you to reach places other boats can’t and get close to marine life because of their small size and easy maneuverability. You can expect to pass landmarks around the harbor such as the Neolithic burial grounds on Gallows Hill and Lews Castle, a Victoria-era residence that now houses a luxury hotel, museum and shops. While scanning the water’s surface, you may spot seals along the shore, frolicking dolphins just outside the boat’s wake and large black-and-white orcas, which are easy to identify by their prominent dorsal fins. The skipper will describe the marine life when possible and offer a dram of warm whisky when the cruise ends.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Take a thrilling ride off Stornoway in a high-speed rigid inflatable boat.
• Pass historical landmarks such as Gallows Hill and Lews Castle.
• Take in the surrounding natural beauty, a hallmark of the Isle of Lewis.
• Look for seals, dolphins and orcas, which are commonly spotted.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.