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Heading up to Skye and over the sea to North Uist or Harris over a week 16th onwards. I was hoping STW could advise on fun things to see do for non MTBers as I've always seen Scotland through outdoorsy eyes so tend to miss all the other stuff even though I've been to Skye a few times.
We were also hoping to head across the water but I'm not sure which is best from Harris and North Uist in terms of beaches, nice walks and general stuff to do.
We're heading up from Oban so hopefully doing the Ben on the way up, anything else worth doing en route to Skye?
Everyone's in their 20s and reasonably fit and able but I was looking for stuff to do other than a week of hillwalking.
Any help much appreciated.
Beaches on Harris are stunningly beautiful. There's also the Callanish standing stones on Lewis.
North Uist - head to the Hebridean smokehouse.
Skye - Talisker distillery do tours, and do a wildlife boat trip out to some of the smaller islands. If the non-biker is into walking there is of course the Cuillin ridge.
Surf? Climb?
There might be a fast boat trip to St Kilda (H&L), mate did it last time I was up - he loved it (I was biking)
Skye - Otter spotting - http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=179206&y=822161&z=120&sv=179206,822161&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=748&ax=179206&ay=822161&lm=0 - getr there before dawn, flask
also Otter spotting boat trip at Kyle of L
Plockton very scenic and I think it does row boat hire (train there as well)
edit talisker bay worth a visit (good waterfall)
Gleelg Brochs
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=183227&y=817435&z=120&sv=183227,817435&st=4&ar=y&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf&dn=748&ax=183227&ay=817435&lm=0
*go further up road is a hippy garden with an old showmans caravan doing teas
coastal walks , bird watching , body boarding
North Uist is ace.
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ahhh....
On the way up:
You could try Sea kayaking with your mates. [url= http://www.rockhopperscotland.co.uk/ ]Rockhopper[/url] based nr Fort William do day trips to Arisaig and other local lovely places. They're really good guys and take good care of you.
I'd avoid Ben Nevis unless the weather is stunning. It's a long walk on a busy wide path and if you're in clag it's pretty pointless.
The Ballachulish Horseshoe is a very nice walk with amazing views in all directions but again not worth doing if the cloud in.
[url= http://www.lochlevenseafoodcafe.co.uk/ ]Loch Leven seafood cafe[/url] is an amazing fish restaurant on your way north. Looks like a posh cafe but all the fish is fresh from local sources, or visiting Spanish trawlers. Top quality food.
Skye:
Lots of nice places to eat on the island. Some great short walks too like The Storr, The Quirang. Amazing sea cliffs, just don't go too near the edge. The Elgol to Camasunary walk is stunning.
The eastern peninsulas are very quiet and certainly worth exploring
If you pop down to the Point of Sleat you'll see lots of sea birds. We saw a white-tailed eagle fly past there on its way to Rhum.
Get the wee ferry to Raasay for a day of easy walking and exploring.
Cheers guys, some lovely pictures there! Can't wait!
The ferry between North Uist and Harris is worth doing. The skipper certainly earns his keep threading through all the rocks. While there, pay a visit to the church in Rodel.
Harris is just stunning, one of my favourite places. Seilebost beach on a summers day is an absolute joy. The biking on Harris is awesome too, was the place to go a few years back, but you don't see it mentioned much any more.
Bandito, that beach, third photo; bloody amazing! All that sand, and barely a soul to be seen, my idea of heaven.
St Kilda?
As above. I think there's a campsite on it too.
Three Chimneys restaurant.......nr Dunvegan, Skye.
Probably the best food in Scotland.
That menu looks fantastic, leeph. Unfortunately we're all cash-strapped postgrads so even the 3 courses at £60 is a touch out of our price range. We could maybe raid the bins? Likewise the boat trips look great but are far too expensive.
If you get the chance (i.e. favourable weather/seas) take a trip to St. Kilda.
A truly amazing place.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartie_c/sets/72157627288147474/show/
Harris beaches just unbelievable - we went on honeymoon June 2010 and enjoyed vast deserted beaches with perfectly clear water - made all the better by a week of lovely warm sun and blue skies.
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Three Chimneys on Skye also ace as leeph said, though, yeh, not cheap!
We have access to a family cottage on North Uist, so get there regularly. We usually do a few days fishing, some walking around the lochs with a bit of fishing, a few days on the beach with a bit of fishing and if we have any time left try and squeeze in a bit of fishing.
For seafood just head to the docks and buy langoustine and lobster fresh off the boats for beer money, mussels and other shellfish can be collected easily from the shoreline, and I might not have mentioned it, but you could always catch and eat some fish!
The beaches of Sth Uist - I used to spend hours in the sea there when I was a kid. Take wetsuits. 🙂
Coming from Uist to Harris you'll land at Leverburgh previously Obbe. Like most island settlements, its history is interesting. It's worth heading south on the road to Rodel before going north.
Rodel - the hotel there was the scene of an interesting tale - the abduction of Jessie of Balranald. Google it. Bear in mind that they sailed through those waters at night in a howling gale and found the harbour. There's a really good restaurant there now, but don't believe the BS the southern owners give about Jessie's ghost etc. She's safely buried in Melbourne in Oz. (One of my family was somehow involved in this event, but most of the detail has been lost.)
Then there's St Clements church at Rodel - historically interesting, and burial place of clan chiefs.
Also around Rodel are the remnants of various WW1 and WW2 defences. You'll have to poke around to find them.
Further up the Harris West coast is Northton. If you have any island blood then it's worth popping in to the genealogy centre because in once typical island fashion, the genealogist can probably recite your ancestry back for generations. There's huge expanse of shallow sandy lagoon there if there's kids to amuse.
As you go up from there there's a smorgasbord of beaches to play on and even a golf course. Turn off to Luskentyre for a beach which is sensational and empty, but has the convenience of toilets for the nearby cemetery.
If you take the west road from Tarbert you'll pass Amhuinnsuidhe Castle - you can Google that - and eventually end up looking at the abandoned Isle of Scarp. Its significance is that it is the site of the world's first rocket mail. Really! - and I've got a stamp to prove it 🙂 (My family lived there)
And I haven't even got you into Lewis yet.
Bugger, wish I was there right now.
Thanks guys, I'll be sure to take my fishing rod along! Any tasty sea life within snorkelling range will be in danger! I hope we get the highland spring sunny-heatwave, but I fear we may have had that Feb-mid April.