Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
marked hiking trail, the
Machair Way
, follows the coast - while the multitude of inland
lochs provide excellent trout fishing. The east coast, riven by four large sea lochs, is hilly
and remote, with spectacular
Beinn Mhor
(620m) the highest point.
Driving south from Benbecula you cross from the predominantly Protestant northern
half of the Outer Hebrides into the mostly Roman Catholic south, a religious transition
marked by the granite statue of
Our Lady of the Isles
on the slopes of Rueval (the hill
with the military radomes on its summit) and the presence of many roadside shrines.
The ferry port of
Lochboisdale
is the island's largest settlement, with a tourist office, a
bank with an ATM, a grocery store and a petrol station.
Sights & Activties
Loch Druidibeg National Nature Reserve
The northern part of the island is mostly occupied by the watery expanses of Loch Bee
and Loch Druidibeg. Loch Druidibeg National Nature Reserve is an important breeding
ground for birds such as dunlin, redshank, ringed plover, greylag goose and corncrake;
you can take a 5-mile self-guided walk through the reserve.
Pick up a leaflet from the Scottish Natural Heritage office on the main road beside the
loch.
WILDLIFE RESERVE
Kildonan Museum
(
01878-710343;
www.kildonanmuseum.co.uk
; Kildonan; adult/child £2/free;
10am-5pm Apr-Oct)
Six miles south of Howmore, Kildonan Museum explores the lives of
local crofters through its collection of artefacts - an absorbing exhibition of black-and-
white photography and first-hand accounts of harsh Hebridean conditions.
There's also an excellent
tearoom
(mains £3-8; 11am-4pm)
and craft shop.
Amid Milton's ruined blackhouses, half a mile south of the museum, a cairn marks the
site of
Flora MacDonald's birthplace
.
MUSEUM
Sleeping & Eating
INN
Polochar Inn££
(
01878-700215;
www.polocharinn.com
;
Polochar; s/d from £70/90; )
Run by local
sisters Morag McKinnon and Margaret Campbell, this 18th-century inn has been trans-