Why The Outer Hebrides is Scotland’s ultimate wellness escape
Exquisite silence and beautiful beaches in The Outer Hebrides, Scotland’s wildest part
I’m floating above luminous purple coral and brilliant white starfish. The water below me is so clear that I can see individual grains of sand and the scales on the fish. One giveaway that I’m not somewhere exotic? I’m wearing a wetsuit and my hands have gone numb.
It’s the kind of numb that aches so much it sort of stops aching again, as if there’s no hand there at all. I come up for breath and take off my mask to soak in the immaculate Bayble beach some 30 metres away.
Under the glare of the sun, the sand is so white it’s hard to look at. I pause for a moment to take in the strange reality of snorkelling in Scotland. I’m certain there is no one around for miles. I had been bobbing about in the ocean with SurfLewis, who collect me from the beach and return me to warm up in Stornoway, the largest town in the Outer Hebrides.
Arriving to Stornoway
To paint a picture of the remoteness, the recent announcement that Tesco would open on a Sunday was so controversial that an elderly local still petitions outside. It is a town of opposing vibes. In The Star Inn, the oldest pub in the Outer Hebrides, I’m invited into a music circle one weekday evening.
While most of the crowd are older men, the make-up of this group is more diverse than I expected. On the contrary, late-night spot McNeills is where people go to drink shots chased with bottles of Smirnoff Ice (why did Smirnoff Ice go out of fashion everywhere apart from the Outer Hebrides?).
Late on a Saturday, there is a charged energy. There are only 20,000 residents, and half of them seem to be sitting on top of one another. All the dry humping suggests it must be slim pickings on the dating front. You can lap Stornoway on foot in about the same time as it takes the locals to sink a Smirnoff Ice. After a night in town, head outwards into the profound emptiness. And profound beauty.
The Outer Hebrides by beach
One of the beaches here was once used by the Thai tourism board in promotional material, and with the weather going the way that it is, Scotland is more likely than ever to have temperatures that match the vistas. I explored caves on Garry Beach, took in Reef Beac Reef Beach and – when it did get cold one day – warmed up in the Saltbox Sauna on Horgabost Beach.
Heed the advice of the locals when it comes to getting in without a wetsuit: “It can’t hurt you, it’s just cold!”
Saltbox Sauna was set up by local couple Neil and Norma MacLeod, who wanted to introduce their international wild swimming community to the Outer Hebrides.
“I was staring out at the views from this sauna in Iceland and I knew that the Outer Hebrides had just as stunning if not better views,” says Norma. “There was something about the silence, the heat, that felt healing and disconnected from daily stresses.”
For sheer Instagram potential, Luskentyre and Seilebost Beach an hours’ drive away at the bottom of the neighbouring Isle of Harris are the most panoramic, the former curving and undulating daily according to the tide. The miraculous washes of blue are best seen from above. Drive to cafe Talla na Mara for a hot drink and a chance to buy local art from the series of artisan studios, each with impeccable sea views.
Hipsterisation of Scotland’s remotest part
Saltbox isn’t the only hipster development. In Stornoway, the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of Stornoway Distillers stand out against the pubs and fish ‘n’ chip shops. Husband and wife duo Gez and Nat make gin using foraged items from the Hebrides, running workshops from their distillery, which has an industrial, stripped-back feel. Over on Harris (famous for Harris Tweed, connected to Lewis by car), Italian pop-up Blasta Pasta sells out weekly foodie experiences, and the Crust pizza restaurant occupies a shipping container a short drive outside of Stornoway.
The following morning I’m lying on a rock near Uig sands, a 45 minute drive from Stornoway. Mairi Gillies, a local visual artist, pours me my second whisky in ten minutes, instructing me to lay on my back and listen to the sounds of the Hebrides. It is exquisite solitude, mildly enhanced by the inebriation. Here lies not just the permission to slow down, but to come to a complete halt.
“When people tell me the Outer Hebrides are remote, I say remote from what?” Gillies says during our walk. Gillies, who is strikingly Celtic, with orange hair, pale skin and a broad smile, is resting her hand on a cairn, an ancient pile of stones designed for navigation. I’m tasked with walking to the next cairn without any help; I traverse bogs and clamber over rocks, feeling my way. I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I ascend the hill opposite. “You found higher ground, found your way out,” says Gillies. It feels like outdoor therapy.
Very little changes
I took a pitstop at the Isle of Harris Brewery before boarding the hour’s ferry to Uist, one of the remotest places in Europe. On this collection of six islands, there are no trees, due to acidic peat soil and strong Atlantic winds. There are 50 miles of islands and few major settlements: I’d advise you not to miss closing time. Stay in one of the handful of pubs-with-rooms, all of which feel like they haven’t changed since the 1970s.
One long road runs down the island, and this simplicity shapes your trip, taking you over dramatic causeways as you traverse from one island to another. On North Uist, eat lobster and whelks at The Seafood Spot by Kallin Harbour, where day boats offer nature tours.
A short drive south, the island of Benbecula puts its remoteness to use for testing space rockets. It’s an hours’ drive further down to the island of South Uist, where you can stand feet away from Highland cattle and go whale-watching with Long Island Retreats.
DJ doesn’t mince his words
The 4×4 ‘crofting’ experience is worth booking for Donald ‘DJ’ Cameron alone, who runs the company with his partner Lindsay Robertson. Not a man who minces his words, he’s full of incredible local stories and Uist gossip. Once you reach the most southerly island of Eriskay, go for a pint at the Am Politician pub, which houses some of the last remaining bottles of whisky saved from the SS Politician ship, which ran aground near the island in 1941. Islanders were drunk for years on the haul that came ashore, an event that inspired the film Whisky Galore!
Minke whales and dolphins show off as I take the ferry back from Lochboisdale to the Scottish mainland port of Mallaig, a fairly common sight in these parts. Then there’s a whimsical drive through the Highlands as I head back south. With its lack of tourists, spectacular beaches and profound sense of calm, the Outer Hebrides truly stirred something in me.
Visit The Outer Hebrides yourself
Adam spent five nights exploring The Outer Hebrides in Scotland. He drove north to south, arriving at Stornoway via CalMac ferries, spending a night at Broad Bay House 7 miles north of Stornoway; two nights at The Royal Hotel in Stornoway; and two nights at the Polochar Inn at West Kilbride on South Uist. For more information and inspiration on holidays in Scotland and to plan a trip go to visitscotland.com and visitouterhebrides.co.uk