Top 5 Lewis and Harris Car Tours: A Detailed Review
Lewis and Harris, so it’s a combined island, are actually gems within the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, offering, like your driving experiences, stunning natural beauty and super rich history. Figuring out your best ways to take it all in often includes considering driving, giving one, too it’s almost, independence in exploration. Driving around this combined island really allows you to discover all that Lewis and Harris has to give, letting one tailor your explorations, discover cool hidden corners, at one’s pace, so very flexible. This article explores top car tours on Lewis and Harris, offers insights, helping your tour choices.
1. The Iconic Harris Coast Road: Seilebost to Hushinish
The Harris Coast Road from Seilebost leading into Hushinish is, in a way, the poster route for Lewis and Harris scenic beauty, providing vistas that are honestly amazing. Luskentyre Beach at Seilebost is seemingly the place to begin. What’s so incredible; your stretch of pure white sand contrasts with bright turquoise waters. Picture a scene out of paradise… is that what awaits!
From Luskentyre, continue your drive north on the single-track road, the very views alone turn, plus the stark, lunar land begins to show. Small villages dot the route. Stop at places like Horgabost for some pictures, giving those scenic views of Taransay Island (it got fame when it was a location on the TV series “Castaway”). You might notice how peace lives here! You know, past the amazing beaches, small, historical churches invite quick stops. That said, these quiet spaces often let reflection in peaceful beauty, apparently making it feel deeply moving.
That brings us to Hushinish, it feels quite rewarding when reached after, very winding drive! On one side sits, actually, the Atlantic Ocean! Turn another way you spot amazing views of the North Harris mountains. Walking there can be done, very wild walks that lead up some cliffs for more amazing photos, might be worth it too! Just exercise care while around cliff sides, just so that it is a very cautious kind of enjoyment. You might not have seen something more fantastic! The Harris Coast Road; too it’s almost, just more than just about driving routes. It is rather a real experience! Very few journeys can equal it with incredible views all throughout!
2. Lewis South Loop: Blackhouse to Standing Stones
Setting out on this path of Blackhouse at Arnol making way into Calanais standing stones, might give insight into Lewis, really rich with tradition and amazing history. You might, too it’s almost, decide to start your day traveling over at Arnol, you know there, at the Blackhouse museum, giving that preserved example that gives insight into just what rural life had to look like on Lewis, way back in the day. Seeing inside reveals some basic home setups, very informative glimpse past life.
Head northwest when you depart Arnol towards, basically, your Calanais Standing Stones. You will probably discover that countryside rolling gently with peat bogs spotted all around it, the scenic feel adds, clearly, quite a bit of feel of traveling throughout a wild place! Maybe you might see sheep lazily chewing as your car drives around too, adding peaceful feels.
Finally, arrive just at Calanais Standing Stones; honestly an impressive prehistoric site where the massive stones stand arranged in crosses. When going to these stones, try to see for yourself just how some of these standing stones make your hair stand tall, some really incredible photo potential right there! The Lewis South Loop is sometimes less seen, you know by tons, really adds history coupled with natural landscapes making it a good path that any history enthusiast shouldn’t look past or even not even care for!
3. North Lewis Explorer: Port of Ness through Butt of Lewis
Taking some time in the area of North Lewis? In a way, going for a roadtrip up through Port of Ness toward Butt of Lewis gives one a taste of rugged coastlines and little villages retaining genuine Gaelic lifestyle ways. Start going north driving through Port of Ness! Often the harbor displays, just beautifully, fishing boats. That makes taking shots from harborside a thing to think about, even something memorable at dawn if the skies turn red or pink.
Continue onward toward the Butt of Lewis. Views transition quickly toward rough cliffs that plummet in mighty fashion right into pounding waves crashing downwards powerfully; really magnificent. Here one has to check around the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, it stands strongly located just along the northernmost side, clearly being exposed directly to very blustery Atlantic weather blowing powerfully always without warning. One has good chances during good visibility periods when scouting upwards towards the seas finding a lot of seabirds flying.
Driving far and away along this strip sometimes offers simple glimpses into those little villages. Lifestyle lives close with lands plus maritime customs, the Gaelic lifestyle holds really solidly, it can be said. Butt of Lewis truly is very magnificent and a bit breathtaking especially during certain moments where big North Atlantic gales occur. If you like untamed vistas mixed with genuine flavor-ways relating directly towards Gaelic heritage, go drive through far northern portions across the combined islands.
4. Uig and Great Bernera Circle: Dramatic Beaches and Island History
That Uig area provides sandy places located against mountainous things all around, where one of your drives then can involve going right from Uig towards an isle just barely reaching a spot known by locals as The Great Bernera. Stop when near Uig Bay and go for walks across. Sands look especially majestic where your rolling Atlantic surf meets high rising, sandy formations all near cliffs around it that makes sight capturing even cooler during sunset periods most afternoons when sky colors dance perfectly across all scenery!
Then move onward circling far towards spots on Great Bernera. What lies nearby looks actually unique with your history coming across through points just similar towards where the Bosta Beach rests! Going towards beach makes visiting through reconstructed ironhouse dwelling seem real indeed where old village inhabitants dwelled.
That isle also just gives magnificent views overlooking your Atlantics all around. That combination having beach views added right next through cultural visits mixes through making Uig alongside your Bernera experience worthwhile.
5. The Golden Road: Stornoway Towards South Harris
Moving from Stornoway south, using this Golden Path offers scenery of terrain mixed plus sprinkled randomly plus lots of little seaside towns looking so peaceful. Near Laxe Grimersta might add views out from seas where islands lay! Then head onto places like Balallan, a local town feeling rather real as if stepping through village squares without other souls out.
As paths become, in some respects, increasingly thin the land gives dramatic features from your rugged hills; almost that of mountains looming just right alongside seas stretching really outward endlessly almost seemingly, might provide ideal scenery!
Continuing travels moving southbound right where you enter on North Harris that roads finally transform that landscapes then morph into looking wild, you could say very grand; actually. Then finishing that at points somewhere through parts in your Southern place just called Harris can definitely add good ending across amazing paths, very special spots providing unique perspective driving these Hebrides far. That Golden Road provides just that.