Tarbert Stores, Harris
This is a cracking wee shop just up the road from the ferry terminal in Tarbert on Harris. Not a touristy shop, but one of those increasingly unusual shops that sells all manner of useful widgets and things you can’t find anywhere else.
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Taransay’s public transport system
A question I’ve been asked regularly about Taransay is “Where does the ferry go from?” One of the lovely things about this wee island in the Highlands is that there is no regular ferry service. It’s possible to find people who will take you across the Sound from Harris. Or you can BYOBoat.
There’s a small jetty at Paible. The beach on the South West of the island makes for a very attractive port!
The island transport – a quad bike and trailer – appeared a few years ago.
Sand dunes at Paible on Taransay in the Highlands of Scotland
Quad bike on Taransay in the Outer Hebrides
Dusk over Harris
Dusk falling over Harris in the Outer Hebdrides – the evening light brought out some lovely subtle colours.
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Harris, Outer Hebrides
Beautiful beaches in the Scottish Highlands
The last batch of photos from my recent trip to the Outer Hebrides.
We arrived off the Uig ferry in the early evening, and were treated to fantastic light on Luskentyre beach. We just had to stop for a wee wander, before heading on to pitch the tents!
Evening light on the dunes at Luskentyre beach, Harris
Sunset over Taransay, from Luskentyre beach, Harris
Before we went to St Kilda, we camped at Horgabost on Harris. It’s a great wee campsite, and a wonderful spot for taking photos. (Although the man I overheard telling his pal that he’d just dropped his expensive camera into the sea may not see it that way. He was rinsing his soggy DSLR out in a bucket of fresh water at that point!)
Horgabost beach on Harris, Outer Hebrides
There were some amazing patterns in the sand. This one looks more like a forest than a beach.
Patterns n the sand on Horgabost beach
We had an extra day’s wait for the St Kilda trip – delayed by a big storm that came in on the Friday afternoon – so we spent a grey windy day around the South end of Harris, and decided to go for a wander on the beach at Scarista.
Scarista beach and sand dunes, Harris
The wind was really whipping up - by this point I was pretty glad we weren’t on that St Kilda boat!
Waves on Scarista beach, Harris
From Taransay, you can see the West coast of Harris (most of the time!). It’s particularly spectacular as the sun rises.
Sunrise over Harris, from the island of Taransay
I’m sure those cloud formations over the hill tops must have a name – does anyone know?
Anyone who has been to the Outer Hebrides and seen the sea will know how clear the water is. it’s accentuated as soon as the sun comes out.
Clear water on the East coast of Taransay
I’m quite sure I’ll be drawn back to the Outer Hebrides before long!
Memories
Well, with a topic like that suggested for this week’s gallery, I have to post just one more Taransay photo. It’s been 10 years of fantastic memories for me, and I’m sure many of the other folk who’ve been to the fiddle camp can reflect on many happy times too. But Taransay has had many more inhabitants over it’s history – it’s a place full of evidence of folk who have lived there, from the community who called it home for hundreds of years, to the Castaways who spent a year in the first reality TV show.
Now we’re waiting to find out if the new owner of the island will continue to rent out the 2 houses that have become a regular holiday venue for so many folk who have fallen in love with the island.
How can you capture those memories in a single photo? I’m not sure it’s possible, but I was aware during the fortnight I spent there this year that I felt extremely lucky to have had the chance to spend so much time on the island.
I was also aware that nothing lasts forever.
Detail of outbuilding behind Taransay’s farmhouse
Taransay – Corran Raa
Photos from the Outer Hebrides
On the East side of Taransay there’s a sand spit called Corran Raa. It’s an an ever-changing area. It all but disappears at high tide, and at low tide stretches close to the beach at Luskentyre on Harris.
Corran Raa, the sandspit on Taransay in the Scottish Highlands
Looking West along Coran Raa to Taransay
At this time of year, the sun rises just behind the hills on Harris, creating some beautiful lighting effects early in the day – in the right weather conditions everything turns a glorious silvery blue.
Receding tide at Corran Raa, Taransay
Silver reflections on the sand at Corran Raa
The tip of the Corran Raa sandspit
Taransay – Paible and its surrounds
Photos from the Outer Hebrides
The Taransay fiddle camp has been based around the abandoned village of Paible on the island. It sits on the South East side of Taransay, overlooking Horgabost and Luskentyre on Harris. It’s an idyllic setting.
Taransay has some stunning beaches. Paible overlooks the main beach, where most boats arrive on the island.
The beach at Paible, Taransay
There are some impressive sand dunes at the back of the beach.
Sand dunes at Paible beach
South of Paible, the terrain is much rockier – this is the place to go if you enjoy watching the waves.
Waves on the rocks at Rubha nan Sgarbh, Taransay
Overlooking Horgabost on Harris
We’ve just spent two weeks on the lovely island of Taransay in the Outer Hebrides. I took this photo while we were waiting for the RIB back to Horgabost on Harris.
Looking towards Harris from Taransay in the Scottish Highlands
Summer evening on Taransay
This summer I spent a fortnight on the island of Taransay, off the West coast of Harris. Taransay is uninhabited most of the year, with just a few folk holidaying in the 2 houses in the summer months. For a week in July, a heap of happy fiddlers bring their tents and instruments for 7 days in heaven.
Evening sunlight on Taransay, Scotland
Taransay, and further afield
I took this one a few years ago, on a walk on the West side of Harris. We had a great view over Taransay, and (if you really squint) you can just make out St Kilda on the horizon. I’m very excited that I should be able to post some much better pictures of St Kilda next summer!
Sunset colours
This one ended up looking more like a volcano than a sunset. Cracking evening colours one evening on Taransay.
Sunset over the hills on Taransay in the Outer Hebrides
