Local Area and Activities

Relax, unwind and enjoy the beautiful islands!

Hebrides Bothy offers you a peaceful retreat with coastal views in a traditional crofting village with the benefit of being centrally located to explore the beautiful Isles of Lewis and Harris.

Enjoy coastal views with beaches, lochside walks, a local shop and cafe all in walking distance.

The Bothy allows you to walk, cycle and explore the beaches, shores, moorland and coastal paths of Lewis and Harris with one of the best viewing points for whales and dolphins in the UK just up the road at Tuimpan Head! We are just 5miles from Stornoway and its restaurants, cafes and historic Lews Castle.

The Bothy is within a 40min drive to the historic Callanish Stones, Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, Uig Sands, Tolsta beach and within a hours drive to the Isle of Harris, as Lewis and Harris are one island, connected by road.

Take your pick of activities, which include walking, beach days, boat trips, kayaking, surfing, body boarding, guided wild sea swimming, beach horse riding, a variety of sea and outdoor activities, golf, bird and sea life watching, fishing, sailing, take the Peter May tour, see Katie Morags home from the BBC series, experience the atmosphere of a traditional blackhouse village, walk or cycle parts of the Hebridean Way, buy Harris Tweed and surround yourself with the culture and history of these amazing islands.

The Callanish Stones, just a half hour drive from Hebrides Bothy

Take your pick of unspoilt beaches, where this is considered busy….

Hebrides Bothy overlooks panoramic coastal views and is within walking distance to beaches and shores within Point. The island coastline is dotted with amazing beaches to explore. You can visit the main beaches or we can help you discover some hidden gems.

There’s something for everyone; enjoy sitting and listening to the waves, skim some stones, have a family beach day where you can spend hours making sandcastles and being rockpool explorers or explore the history of the island.
You don’t have to go far from the Bothy to start your Hebridean experience…. take a ten minute walk to the small Swordale shore or carry on along the road past our local shop to find the larger Braighe beach. Alternatively, the small but perfectly formed sandy Bayble beach is a few minutes drive away from the Bothy.

You will be spoilt for choice – the main problem is how to fit everything in. We would recommend Traigh Mhor at Tolsta, Dailbeag, Luskentyre, Seilbost or one of our favourites walks, the windswept beauty of Eoropie beach in Ness.

 

What to see…

As we are located on the Point, or Eye (Gaelic is Ui), Peninsula, the Bothy is perfectly located to explore the Hebridean Whale Trail - Tiumpan Head is a ten minute drive away with a spectacular lighthouse. It is considered one of the best places for land based whale watching in the UK - a must see during your stay! Visit https://whaletrail.org for more info!

Walk down the road and discover the Braighe beach and the historic 13th century ruins of the Ui Church. The Church is also referred to as the Eye Church or its Gaelic equivalent, Eaglais na h-Aoidhe. It is located on a sandy isthmus – a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land – Ui being the Gaelic for isthmus.

Briagh Beach in Winter, Isle of Lewis
A Braighe beach winter walk

This medieval church, which was one of the most important medieval churches in the Western Isles, find out more at http://www.uichurch.co.uk/

Make your way to Stornoway….

Carrying on across the Braighe, Stornoway is a ten minute drive away and offers the amenities you would expect from a small town, including restaurants, the An Lanntair Arts Centre and coffee shops, such as Kopi Java on Cromwell Street, Artizan on Church Street or the Blue Lobster on the Quay.

Walk along Stornoway quay, stock up on fresh seafood at Islander Seafood shop, enjoy the views of the harbour or stroll around the town centre. One of our favourite places on the island are Lews Castle Grounds, where you can explore the many walks and cycle paths to enjoy the views over Stornoway and surrounding areas. The Castle Grounds contain the famous Lews Castle and it’s gardens and it’s recently renovated Museum.

The Castle Grounds also offer the perfect place to enjoy lovely home cooked lunches, baking and buy local crafts in the Woodlands Centre, which is perfectly placed to enjoy the views of Stornoway harbour. The Centre is also a music venue and more info can be found here www.facebook.com/TheWoodlandsCafe

 

Explore the island…

Enjoy the turquoise seas, white sands and open space of the islands beaches.

Drive 40mins from the Bothy to the beautiful, picture perfect white beaches of Uig which can be explored at Adroil in the south of Uig Bay and Kneep, Reef and Valtos in the north of the bay, all within the dramatic scenery of the Atlantic Coast. We love days spent relaxing on the beach or having fun at water sports in Uig!

In 1831, the world famous 12th Century Lewis Chessmen were found on Adroil. The Chessmen were carved from walrus ivory and whale tooth between around 1150 and 1200. You can now view the Lewis Chessmen at the new Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway.

Bosta Beach, Isle of Lewis
Bosta beach, Great Bernera

Uig offers the chance to book boat trips with Seatrek around the coast of Lewis and as far as St Kilda. The trips are highly recommended and a great fun way to see the islands! Visit the Sea trek website.

Great Bernera is an island community joined to Lewis by a bridge and a must see when visiting the island. Benera has amazing beaches, including one of our favourites, Bosta, which is next to an Iron Age settlement. It also offers beautiful coastal walks and a lovely community café with local history on display. Bosta beach is one of our favourites all year round.

Take a drive up to the north of the island to Ness, under an hour away from Hebrides Bothy, where you can walk on Port of Ness beach at the north point of the island, visit the craft shops and see the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis in this beautiful coastal setting. Be sure to stop at Borve Pottery and the Morven Gallery on your drive to Ness for quality arts and crafts. Eoropie playpark in Ness is a brilliant place for big and small kids alike…! It is our kids favourite day out; a playpark set into the sand dunes, it’s a unique and fun outdoor coastal play ground with stunning views. Carry on walking past the play-park to the vast Eoropie sands, which give you a truly Hebridean beach experience.

Swordale Coastline, Isle of Lewis
Swordale village coastline,
where a variety of sealife is regularly spotted

Visitors

We are centrally located to reach all local visitor attractions such as the Callanish Stones, the Carloway Broch and the Blackhouse village – it’s a perfect base for you to explore from!

Sealife

Come and enjoy the amazing sealife of the Outer Hebrides. Dolphins, Minke and Humpback whales are regularly seen off Swordale  – we have provided binoculars to help you experience the wildlife of the islands! There are brilliant boat tours available, ranging from an hours tour from Stornoway harbour to whole day tours to help you see porpoises, orca whales, minke whales, basking shares and numerous species of dolphins in the waters surrounding our islands.

There are a number of sea trips available and leaving from Stornoway, such as Stornoway Sea Safari www.facebook.com/StornwaySeafariLtd

Birdwatching

Creed River, Isle of Lewis
Creed River, Lews Castle Grounds,
Stornoway

Hebrides Bothy is perfect for bird watchers!

Our island is among one of the top destinations for birdwatching in Europe, with Western Isles birding offering the opportunity to spot iconic bird species in a range of exciting island habitats, including mountain, moorland, machair (grassland), fresh water lochs and miles of coastline. It offers opportunities to see everything from birds of prey to seabirds, waders and the corncrake.

The islands offer a Bird of Prey Trail which spans the Outer Hebrides. For more information, please visit http://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/see-and-do/nature/bird-of-prey-trail.

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