Outer Hebridean landscapes 2011
Northton (Taobh Tuath) towards the mountains
South Harris is the most mountainous part of the Outer Hebrides.
Along with the mountains on South Uist it attracts the most cloud
(as moist air can't hold its moisture when it rises and cools).
Luskentyre beach towards Taransay and the Harris mountains
Luskentyre Beach has acheived fame as THE beach to go to in the Outer Hebrides.
It has lovely views, and is gorgeous, but there are plenty of others that I preferred.
North Uist and Berneray towards Harris
What some (but not the Ordnance Survey) call the Udal Penisnsula sticks about 3 miles out into the Sound of Harris.
It is almost entirely machair and dunes and beaches latched on to a few rocky outcrops.
There are no roads, so it's lovely and quiet.
Berneray, on the other hand, recently acquired a road causeway to North Uist, and they built a road
to make access to the west beach much easier, so is much busier than it used to be, but it still has space.
The Machair, Baghasdal, South Uist
Machair is the name for grassland which grows on dunes along the low lying wester coasts of the Hebrides.
It's the most fertile land around and is covered in a carpet of flowers during spring.
Crofters have rights to graze animals on them and cultivate them, so the grass is kept short.
East coast of Barraigh (Barra) - murky and early morning
Northern Barra - airport and towards South Uist
Barra airport is famous for being the only airport on a tidal beach, where the tides determine the timetable.
I may be wrong but I think It's also the only airport with shell mosaics of wild birds
on the walls of the cafe,
and where you can buy a haggis and cheddar toastie.
It's on Traigh Mhor, which means Big Beach.
Traigh Sgurabhal or Scurrival
Traigh Sgurabhal or Scurrival is the most northerly beach on Barra.
It mainly faces north and, like most other beaches around has beautiful white sand
which makes the water a kind of turquoise you expect from the tropics.
Take a look at Google maps or Google earth at a smallish scale and it shows you can see the turquoise from space.
Looking West - Looking East
Barra is about 8 miles by 5, and each coast has a different face.
It's a bit like the whole Outer Hebrides in miniature, though that would play down the other islands,
and miss out some of the special characteristics of Barra.
Shells, sand and dunes
Dunes, Traigh Sgurabhal, Eolaigearaidh, Barra
The outer Hebrides have a very varied landscape, but I concentrated on views of the sea and beaches.
When I was there, the further south I went, the better the weather got, so I have more of Barra than elsewhere.
For what I wanted to photograph the Sound of Harris and the Sound of Barra offered the best opportunities.
Gaelic is the main language on the Outer Hebrides, and newer maps use it to name places
(but most internet maps use English/ Scots). I've used a mixture and have been totally inconsistent.