WeST iS beST AnD We SHOuLD KnOW! Want to add a little something extra to your stay in the West Highlands and islands? Just follow our advice. We love to live and work in one of the most beautiful places on earth where even the drive to and from work is breathtaking. Here are some of our favourite places and things to do.
QuALiTy iSLAnD TiMe
beach location and on-site food van. Look out for tiny roadside honesty box huts selling all sorts of things from mustards to cakes and jewellery.
WHen COMMuTinG iS A JOy GLORiOuS GOLf
HAve LunCH WiTH HiSTORy
niCKy MuRPHy, ADveRTiSinG DiReCTOR For the second time our family island-hopped in a campervan from Barra to Stornoway and then back home via Ullapool. We meandered along the stunning coastlines for a week, doing lots of beach hunting and seeking out incredible local craft and food producers. We watched the plane land on the beach on Barra, splashed about in the sea at Vatersay (great beachside Cafe there too; Vatersay Hall Cafe), spent all day basking in the sun at Luskentyre on Harris, invested in some lovely cushions and tableware from the Harris Tweed, Isle of Harris Shop; enjoyed fish and chips overlooking the harbour at Stornoway. I just loved whiling away the hours with our eight-year old as she got some quality, island-time with her mum and dad. TIPS: Don’t expect anything to happen on a Sunday on Lewis. Stock up on food and drink the day before and chill out, respecting the island’s traditional Sabbath. If you are in a camper please book onto a campsite - wild camping sounds great but if everyone did it the islands would be a chaotic mess. The campsites are fantastic, with great facilities and stunning views. Our favourite this year was Horgabost on Harris, mainly because of the amazing
MARiAn MiLLeR, Sub-eDiTOR I cross the Connel Bridge to and from work every day and while the bridge remains a constant the view from it shifts continually; whether it is the racing tides with kayakers, otters and seals playing underneath; Ben Cruachan painted pink by the setting sun or the heron perched on top of its struts. Looking down from the bridge, the traffic flow behind is forgotten as the mesmerising rush of Loch Etive’s water channels through the narrows that are the Falls of Lora while the seals snooze on a small island that gradually submerges on the incoming tide. Below the bridge on the north side, where the shore up the loch can be walked from the bridge as far as the eye can see, the power of the water and the scale of engineering is brought into focus. TIP: Above or below the bridge there is always something to see, take the time to park up and enjoy it. There is a pedestrian footpath across the bridge but it is narrow, so be careful.
STePHen DAy, iT MAnAGeR GeORGe GRAHAM, DiviSiOnAL DiReCTOR (NEWSPAPERS) I play golf five times a week at Glencruitten. The course is often described as ‘quirky’ with its hilly parkland, and some challenging, elevated tees and greens. There is an excellent clubhouse and visitors are always welcomed warmly; Glencruitten will never fail to give you a good day’s golf. Don’t forget that this is Robert MacIntyre’s home course; his dad is the green keeper. TIP: There are so many excellent courses in the West Highlands and islands, making this an ideal golfing holiday destination. The first hole at Machrihanish is world-famous, and special mention has to go to the way that club rebuilt after the disastrous clubhouse fire in 2018
My job takes me all over Argyll and up into the Highlands. After a stressful day of trying to make digital things work getting the chance to take my lunch and sitting up in the ancient Dunadd Fort can very much cool the brain and slow the heart. Sitting in a warm breeze I look over the fields and land below and wonder what life was like then when it was a bustling settlement and what my ancestors would think of the strange, hectic lives we lead now. TIP: Signposted two miles south of Kilmartin off the A816. Parking available. Grid reference: NR 837 936.
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