Introduction

Welcome to the second page of my tour of the Isles of Lewis and Harris.

Eye Peninsula (An Rubha)

To the east of Stornoway, past the airport and along a narrow stretch of land is the Eye Peninsula. If the weathers nice, it is worth parking the car here and having a little walk on the beaches on either side of the causeway. If your lucky, you may even see seals in the sea.

At the start of the peninsula is the striking Aiginis Farm Raiders' Monument. One thing about the Isles of Lewis and Harris is the number of monuments to groups of people from the heritage of the islands. It is nice to see these people recognised.

Just beyond this is the Bed and Breakfast where we spent our first night and last couple of nights of our holiday. Ceol-Na-Mara in Aiginis is just off the main road, and is run by a lovely couple who will ensure your holiday gets off to a good start and pleasant finish. (We were certainly made to feel welcome, and our daughter took to them like a duck to water). The breakfasts were just what we needed to get our days off to a good start. (They have't paid me to say this, honestly!!).

When you reach the top of the peninsula, be sure to drive right to the end in Port nan Giuran where, if your interested in art, you'll find a small studio at the home of Susannah Maclean. She paints the scenery, landscapes and sunsets from around the Isles, and, if we'd had the money, we would have bought a number of the paintings to remind us of this wonderful place.

Finally, if you fancy a relaxing half hour, be sure to visit the pier and small beach near Pabail larach and Pabail Uarach. This will give you your first taste of what's to come (if your just starting your holiday).

Tolsta (Tolastadh)

To the north of Stornoway, is the coastal dead end road (B895) to Tolsta. While the scenery starts off unimpressive on the road, it is worth the trip.

Passing by the Griais Memorial to the Lewis land-raiders, at Griais Bridge, the first port of call along the road is Scotia Ceramics at Coll. Started in 1960 as Coll pottery, this small factory boasts a shop, tearoom and viewing area of where the pottery is made. As well as wildlife, various ranges of kitchen/dining ware are also made.

We were quite taken with the thistleware range, and actually purchased a salt and pepper pot to remind us of our visit (as well a replacing a broken salt pot). Take a look for yourselves at their range at www.scotia-ceramics.com.

Carrying on up the road, you'll eventually reach the two beaches at the top end, Tràigh Mhòr and Tràigh Ghearadha. This is where you'll really experience the two of the most fantastic beaches on the Isles. And these aren't even the best beaches.

Traigh Mhor is the biggest of the two beaches. However, we found Traigh Ghearadha the more scenic, as you can see from the cave we found.

A heritage trail continues on from this point to Port Nis, crossing over the "Bridge to Nowhere" which was built as part of a plan to make a road along the east coast. However, we never got the time to walk on any of it. (Who wants to walk when you've got two beaches to explore).

Well that concludes the second page of my tour of the Isles. Click here for Page 3.

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