Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tigh na Mara£
(
01859-502270;
www.tigh-na-mara.co.uk
;
East Tarbert; per person £25-30; )
Excellent-value B&B (though the single room is a bit cramped) just five minutes from the
ferry - go up the hill above the tourist office and turn right. The owner bakes fresh cakes
every day, which you can enjoy in the conservatory with a view over the bay.
B&B
CAFE
First Fruits£
(
01880-502439; Pier Rd; mains £3-10; 10am-4pm Mon-Sat Apr-Sep)
This is a cosy
little cottage tearoom near the tourist office - handy while you wait for a ferry.
NORTH HARRIS
Magnificent North Harris is the most mountainous region of the Outer Hebrides. There
are few roads here, but many opportunities for climbing, walking and birdwatching.
The B887 leads west, from a point 3 miles north of Tarbert, to
Hushinish
, where
there's a lovely silver-sand beach. Along the way the road passes an
old whaling station
,
one of Lord Leverhulme's failed development schemes, and the impressive shooting lodge
of
Amhuinnsuidhe Castle
, now an exclusive hotel. Between the two, at Miavaig, a park-
ing area and gated track gives hikers access to a
golden-eagle observatory
, a 1.3-mile
walk north from the road.
Just northwest of Hushinish is the uninhabited island of
Scarp
, the scene of bizarre at-
tempts to send mail by rocket in 1934, a story that was recounted in the movie
The Rocket
Post
(2001), which was shot in Harris.
Rhenigidale Crofters' Hostel
(
www.gatliff.org.uk
;
Rhenigidale; dm adult/child £12/7)
can be reached on foot from Tarbert (6 miles, allow three hours). It's an excellent walk,
but take all the necessary supplies for a mountain hike (map, compass, protective clothing
etc). Take the road towards Kyles Scalpay for 2 miles and, at a bend in the road just bey-
ond Laxdale Lochs, veer off to the left on a signposted track across the hills (marked on
Ordnance Survey maps). The hostel is a small white cottage standing above the road on
the eastern side of the glen; the warden lives in the house closest to the shore.
The remote hamlet of Rhenigidale can also be reached by road; bus W11 (request ser-
vice) will take you there from Tarbert (30 minutes, two a day Monday to Saturday), but
you'll have to book in advance (01859-502871).
SOUTH HARRIS
The west coast of South Harris has some of the most beautiful beaches in Scotland. The
blinding white sands and turquoise waters of
Luskentyre
and
Scarasta
would be major
