Harris Tweed?
 

Wondering who has been to the Isles of Harris and Lewis? Was it a worthwhile trip? What things should be be expecting to see and do? Thanks.

No, but if you want Harris Twead come to the suit length centre in Bradford

My son in law worked on an archeological excavation there when he was a student, roughly 20 years ago.

It is beautiful, isolated, very quiet and peaceful. Exceedingly quiet on Sundays. Don't go during midge season. We have a photo of him that looks like he is covered with fur: midges.

We were there a couple of years ago, and it was certainly worthwhile for us. We hired a guide for day-- money very well spent as he explained to us a lot of things we wouldn't have understood on our own. (Chris Ryan @ http://tourguide-hebrides.co.uk/)

Harris and Lewis are very different geologically, and the landscapes are beautiful. If you're into prehistory and old rocks and old ways, there are quite a few sites to visit - Calanais, Arnol Black House, the chapel at Rodel for example.

We stayed at a B&B on Lewis that was a little remote; we generally had a decent drive to find somewhere to eat.

If you do a search on this forum you may also be able to find GreenDragon's trip report - it was part of our inspiration for our trip.

Lewis and Harris are <u>definitely</u> <i>worth</i> it. But it is hard to answer in a vacuum. How many days would you have? Where would you be driving from?

We are flexible on our days, but no more than 5. We would be driving from Edinburgh.

We were there last year and loved it. It was arguably the highlight of our tour of the Hebrides and in my opinion even better than Skye. The wild scenery (particulary on Harris) is like nothing else in the British Isles, and there are many fascinating Viking and pre-historic sights to see, but without the hordes of camera-toting coach parties you'll see at Stonehenge for example. Harris also has some of the most beautiful (and deserted) sandy beaches I've ever seen.

Half the fun of the place is the getting there on the CalMac ferry - either via Skye or direct from the mainland from Ullapool. It's a long way from Edinburgh though, so unless you fancy a mad dash across the entire length of Scotland, it'll take you 2 days to get there and another 2 to get back. I'm not sure if your 5 days is 5 days in Harris & Lewis or 5 days total, in which case it's not really enough.

For the best beaches in the World - yes! Of course the Harris ones deservedly get all the attention but my fav is Garry Beach at Tolsta, Traigh Mhor is fantastic too - not to mention the drive north from Stornoway (20km/12miles)
Here is a quirky tale about Hebridean beaches

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...ch-resort.html

Back on Harris is the best preserved pre reformation church in Scotland, St Clements at Rodel.

It's beautiful. I stayed one night in Leverburgh on Harris and two nights in Stornoway on Lewis in late June 2008. Leverburgh was quiet, while Stornoway was a larger town with a lot more to do.

I did not have a car, so I went by bus and then took a daytour on Lewis to see the standing stones at Calanais/Callanish, the ruin at Dun Carloway and Gearrannan/Garenin Village.

I think both Harris and Lewis were worth seeing. Most of the Hebrides trip was, actually, except the rainy Sunday in Lochmaddy (on North Uist) when I was so bored I wanted to scream.

Ah, Sunday in the Highlands is "peaceful" enough, but if you were stuck inside by rain pitching down, I can only imagine. I hope you were staying in a hotel where you could have a wee dramie, or perhaps six.

Ackislander: Well, I did stay in a hotel, but I'm not much of a drinker. Hmmm... Perhaps one small glass would have been a good idea, then I'd have slept the rest of the day and never noticed anything else. I'll have to remember that for next time I'm that bored.

Thanks for all your information - wish I could be sure of the weather! I'm now intrigued by the Uists and Barra. Any one been to Barra?