We fly into Inverness on July 5, arriving at 12:35. We have 5.5 days before we go to Edinburgh. We have been to the Highlands and Skye once before, but not for an extended time. I have this urge to visit Lewis and Harris, as the history and remoteness intrigue me. We would go from Ullapool to Stornoway, then back from Tarbert to Uig on Skye. We could spend 2 nights. I've checked the ferry schedules, and we can do it. However, I could use some opinions about spending 2 days in this endeavor as compared to seeing some other area. If you think another area is better, I'd appreciate that information. We will have a car, and we will need time to drive to Edinburgh on the last day. It is my wife and myself with our 20 year old son.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2758 posts
I went to Harris and Lewis as a day trip from Skye about three years ago. I loved it and wished that we could stay over night. Unfortunately, we couldn't work it out. I was very glad we took the opportunity we had to at least see the island. Unfortunately, I can't tell you for sure if two nights would be too much. I would not think so. If the two nights only gives you one full day to sightsee, you will find plenty to do to keep busy.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1850 posts
We took the ferry from Uig (on Skye) to Harris last June and returned the same way two days later. Our objective was to see Callanish, but we found all of Lewis fascinating. There's a myriad of tiny lakes (lochans) dotting the western shores and many megalithic stones. You can walk around Callanish at anytime. We also enjoyed the Viking sites and Carloway. Broch. We found two nights was just the right amount of time. We had both the best dinner and the worst dinner of our entire three week trip while on Lewis. The best one was at Digby Chicks in Stornoway. DH also bought a beautiful tweed sport coat in Stornoway.
Posted by
OP
Texas
518 posts
Carroll and Cynthia, Thank you so much for you replies. I'm glad to know that the island was interesting to you. That helps me make my decision. Thanks again.
Thomas
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
I did the route that you are planning. It was a great trip. We stayed longer, but you can see the Stones and some beaches in that time. We drove up to see the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis. The cliffs were quite spectacular. The Carloway Broch is very good. We also saw St. Clements which was interesting to visit, but the best part was the scenery on the way. We also went out to the beach at Luskentyre. It was spectacular. We also visited Donald John Mackay's weaving workshop and bought some tweed. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeromelorieau/4302816993/ We stayed in the Doune Braes Hotel on Lewis. It was fine for us, but gets mixed reviews. We stayed at the Harris Hotel in Tarbert. It too gets mixed reviews, but my room was very nice and our meals were very good. We got to hear a presentation on St. Kilda one night which was excellent. The ferry leaves in the early morning, or at least the one we took left then. We saw spectacular sunrise. Skye was beautiful. Pam
Posted by
OP
Texas
518 posts
Thank you, Pam. I had actually looked at both of those hotels, so I'm glad to hear your experience. I'm leaning more and more toward doing this trip. We just want to leave time for at least 3 days in Edinburgh at the end of our trip. This is sounding good. We will have just finished 2 weeks in Ireland.
Thomas