Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
The real wonders of the world
Why you’ll want a beach day at the Isles of Lewis and Harris
Turquoise waters lap chalkwhite sands and emerald hills are pockmarked with wildflowers. There’s hope for an island escape this summer yet, and one that’s only a short plane or ferry hop away. It may be more windswept than Krabi, but there’s a reason one of the Hebrides’ beaches was once used to adverterise Thailand, and the isles of Lewis and Harris are home to some of the most desriable and diverse.
These range from the Caribbean curls of both the isle of Harris’ popular Luskentyre and Lewis’ Traigh Na Beirigh (‘Reef Beach’), to coves like Borve beach (on Harris), where you can spy dolphins and seals. What every beach has – and what makes them so alluring – is a stretch of eye-squintingly bright sand.
Be sure to walk along the machairs (grassy banks) that back the sands to spot birds such as eagles and puffins. From this vantage point, with the sun glinting on the waters below, it’s easy to believe you actually are in Thailand, and you’ll soon be running towards that alluring shoreline. Although you might want to think about a wetsuit before diving in.