{"id":46261,"date":"2025-08-01T11:59:29","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=46261"},"modified":"2025-08-01T11:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:59:39","slug":"a-return-to-the-outer-hebrides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/2025\/08\/a-return-to-the-outer-hebrides\/","title":{"rendered":"A Return to the Outer Hebrides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post marks the beginning of a series documenting our return to the Outer Hebrides \u2013 retracing old steps, making new memories, and walking the full length of the Hebridean Way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in the Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Outer Hebrides are one of our favourite places. I\u2019ve been there a number of times to go surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing, and Anna has joined me a couple of times too. We even went there for our honeymoon. It wasn\u2019t the most glamorous of honeymoons, as we were staying in the back of a transit van, but it suited us at the time \u2013 and when you\u2019re in the Outer Hebrides, luxury doesn\u2019t really matter as the natural landscapes are all you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was 21 years ago, before I (or pretty much anyone else, for that matter) had started blogging, so there\u2019s no record of it here, and even our photos are a little faded and not great quality. Here are a few from \u2018back in the day\u2019. We were quite young then, weren\u2019t we!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Anna<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Me<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Uig\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Having<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Return to the Hebrides<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A lot has happened since then, and with so many other places to visit around the world, we hadn\u2019t been back. We\u2019ve recently put that to rights with a lovely trip that allowed us to revisit our favourite places, re-take some photos, and reminisce. We did things a little differently this time and, for the first week, had a bit more luxury \u2013 but it was great to be back in the Outer Hebrides. Hopefully, it won\u2019t be quite so long until we return again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting to the Outer Hebrides<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For some reason, we chose fairly complicated travel plans. In the past, we\u2019d taken the ferry from Oban so that we had a van to stay in and all of my windsurfing and surfing toys. This time, we wanted to fly into Barra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took the train from Borth to Birmingham, spent a night in a budget hotel near the airport (which included a temporary evacuation due to a fire alarm), then hopped on a flight to Glasgow. We had a 6-hour wait at Glasgow Airport for the connecting flight to Barra \u2013 which turned out to be an adventure in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Flight to Barra<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Barra Airport is the only one in the world where scheduled flights land on a beach. Yep \u2013 the plane actually lands on the sands of Traigh Mh\u00f2r, so flight times are determined by the tides. The size of the plane is also somewhat limited, so excitement mounted as we headed to the departure gate along with just 12 other passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Out<\/a>
Out of the big plane and into the little one<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There was a bit of discussion at the gate when they decided the plane was overweight, and someone would need to leave some luggage behind. We each had a 15kg allowance \u2013 Anna and I had just under 20kg between us, so we were well under. Thankfully, someone else volunteered to leave their bag behind, and we were good to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were ushered onto a tiny Twin Otter plane, and even had to change seats to help balance the aircraft. It was all a little cramped inside, and there was no door \u2013 or even a curtain \u2013 between the passengers and the pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Onto<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Cramped<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once everyone was on board, the pilot turned around, knelt on the floor (there wasn\u2019t enough headroom to stand), and gave us the usual safety briefing himself \u2013 there was no room for cabin crew. Then we were off!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight was smooth, gaining altitude slowly and never very high, so we had great views as we lifted out of Glasgow, passed over Loch Lomond, flew by the Isle of Mull and Tobermory, and on past the islands of Eigg, Rum and Canna. The window I was sitting by steamed up a bit, so it wasn\u2019t great for photos, but it cleared up as we approached Barra for a fairly smooth landing on the sands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Out<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Overtaking<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Flight<\/a><\/figure>
\"Approaching<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Tobermory\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n