Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
holiday resorts if they were transported to somewhere with a warm climate; as it is,
they're usually deserted.
The
east coast
is a complete contrast to the west - a strange, rocky moonscape of naked
gneiss pocked with tiny lochans, the bleakness lightened by the occasional splash of green
around the few crofting communities. Film buffs will know that the psychedelic se-
quences depicting an alien landscape in
2001: A Space Odyssey
were shot from an aircraft
flying low over the east coast of Harris.
The narrow, twisting road that winds its way along this coast is known locally as the
Golden Road
, because of the vast amount of money it cost per mile. It was built in the
1930s to link all the tiny communities known as 'The Bays'.
Sights & Activities
Seallam! Visitor Centre
(
www.seallam.com
;
Northton; adult/child £2.50/2; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat)
The culture
and landscape of the Hebrides are celebrated in the fascinating exhibition at Seallam! Vis-
itor Centre.
Seallam
is Gaelic for 'Let me show you'. The centre, which is in Northton,
just south of Scarasta, also has a genealogical research centre for people who want to trace
their Hebridean ancestry.
VISITOR CENTRE
HISTORIC BUILDING
St Clement's Church
(Rodel)
At the southernmost tip of the east coast of Harris stands the impressive 16th-cen-
tury St Clement's Church, built by Alexander MacLeod of Dunvegan between the 1520s
and 1550s, only to be abandoned after the Reformation. The fortified construction leaves
little doubt that the church was built in troubled times.
There are several fine
tombs
inside the echoing stone hall, including the cenotaph of
Alexander MacLeod, carved with hunting scenes, a castle, a birlinn (the traditional long-
boat of the islands) and various saints, including St Clement clutching a skull.
Leverburgh
(An t-Ob;
www.leverburgh.co.uk
)
The village of Leverburgh is named after Lord Lever-
hulme (creator of Sunlight Soap, and founder of Unilever), who bought Lewis and Harris
in 1918. He had grand plans for An t-Ob, as Leverburgh was then known - it was to be a
major fishing port with a population of 10,000 - but the plans died with him in 1925 and
the village reverted to a sleepy back-water.
VILLAGE
