Inhabited, west coast Scottish islands - The Outer Hebrides - Vatersay

 

Having been forced to leave my final few inhabited, inner and coastal Islands until another year (hopefully 2026), I decided to skip ahead and start to cover the Outer Hebrides (otherwise known as The Long Isle). 

As with the inner Islands, I'm going to travel from South to North but, since it is a long string of islands, forget about east and west (although some are further west than others due to the line The Long Isle lies along). I had also originally thought to lump islands of simiular appearance, and located next to each other, into single posts but I’ve now decided against that as the post for the small island of Vatersay was extensive enough to be given it’s own write up (when I had originally intended to deal with it along with Barra and Eriskay). Having said that, there are some very small islands close to either South or North Uist and Benbecula, which I will include with it’s adjascient large island. In truth, some of those islands are so small that you might not even be aware you’ve passed through them on your way to a different destination.

So the first island on this part of my trip is the most southerly, inhabited island (in the Outer Hebrides) of Vatersay.

 Vatersay is about 3 miles long, north to south, and 3.5 miles wide, east to west, along it’s northern coast. These days it is the most southerly inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides and the most Westerly inhabited British location outside of Northern Ireland. To the south of it lies a small scattering of uninhabited islands, including Barra Head, which is the most southerly. Barra Head was inhabited until the last remaining families departed around 1910 (no doubt finding life too hard when there were now alternatives not available before that). This left only the lighthouse keepers and their families on the island. During 1980 the lighthouse was automated and the keepers also relocated - leaving the island totally uminhabited. Immediately to the north of Vatersay lies Barra, with both islands connected by a causeway. To get to Vatersay you first have to get to Barra. You can take the ferry into Castlebay from Oban and follow the road signs leading west (not north) and a short distance along this road (the A888) turn south down an unclassified road indicating Vatersay at it’s end. Other alternatives would be to fly in to Barra airport or take the ferry from Eriskay. Either way you then drive south, either down the east coast road or the west coast road - but still keeping your eyes open for the unclassified road leading to Vatersay. Of course, if you are lucky enough to have your own boat you can ignore the above directions and sail where you want to.

 Vatersay is basically two main island hills, Theiseabhal Mòr at the northern end, at 190m (although a couple of lower summits are also noted), and Beinn Ruilibreac, at 85m, to the south. The two heather and rough grass clad slopes, littered with many outcrops of rock breaking through to the surface, are joined by a narrow strip of machar with sand dunes and two stunning beaches, one facing east and the other facing west. At the northern end of the island, where the causeway to Barra is located, there is a small township called Caolas. The main population, however, is at the township on the southern part of the island, also called Vatersay. After the road crosses the causeway it turns to the right (westwards) but then goes through (roughly) 180 degree turn and heads for Vatersay's east coast, which it follows south through the centre of the sandy isthmus between the two halves of the island and onwards to end at the village of the same name. When I last visited, there was an island hall and cafe at the northern end of the sandy isthmus. From what I understand this is a community cafe, rather than a private concern, so it has probably survived COVID. Looking south from the northern end of the isthmus I did not see much in the way of a village to investigate - but that is where the township of Vatersay is to be found. I can only presume that the village is hidden behind a low hill or two. If I’d bothered to take a closer look at my map then I’d certainly have gone down to take a look at it. Maybe an excuse to take another trip out to the Outer Hebrides while I still can?

Most folks visiting Vatersay will come here to enjoy the two sandy beaches, stroll along the two shores and wander through the sand dunes. The satellite view on my phone indicates a further couple of beaches which are a bit further off the road, so a visitor will have to go exploring to find these. The coast line, otherwise, is wild and rocky. It has to be admitted that there are not a lot of visitor facilities, or many things to do, on Vatersay once you get there. I did not see any shops on Vatersay but I did not go far enough south to the main township of Vatersay, so it’s possible that there’s a shop located there. I did some Internet research on this point but received only contradictory results (one saying there was a shop but another saying there wasn’t). There is the cafe (if still operational) but, as far as I could see and determine, no pubs or restaurants (although getting to the metropolis of Castlebay is achieved fairly quickly if driving). There are probably some locals offering B&B accommodation but no hotels of any sort. There are the gorgeous beaches with the associated water sports that might be enjoyed - but probably only if you bring your own kayaks, or whatever. There are few ancient sites to visit (if the famous online encyclopedia is to be believed) and, no doubt, some nice walks around the island to enjoy, when you can also keep your eyes open for otters, seals and herons, along with the domesticated sheep and (probably) cattle. As with just about all west coast islands, especially in the Outer Hebrides, there are no trees or bushes (or if there are any then they must be tucked away in spots sheltered from the wind). The only rare and special flower to be found is calystegia soldanella. This flower is only found, in the UK, on Vatersey and Eriskay. It is also known as the Prince's Flower as the story goes that Bonnie Prince Charlie scattered their seeds on Eriskay, on the grassy slopes above what is now known as the Prince's Strand. Eriskay was the first bit of Scottish soil that Prince Charles Edward Stuart set foot upon before his doomed adventure south to Derby got underway. Up until I read this I had always believed that they were only found on Eriskay but seemingly not so. The Prince’s Flower, from memòry, has five pale pink petals and grows close to the ground on short stems.

There is not much more to say about Vatersay except that I found it to be very quiet, peaceful and relaxing (despite the visitors at the beaches).

As usual, I’ll end with a few photographs.

 

 

The Only part of the above photograph that is of Vatersay is the foreground as it was taken from Vatersay towards Barra over the causeway. I've included this here because the causeway will have been a very important developement for Vatersay (as the causeways were for all the almost isolated islands of the Outer Hebrides).

 

The above photograph is similar to the previous photo in that it is really a photo of the Causeway between Vatersay and Barra. I've included this one just to show the causeway's contruction (that is - tons of rock dumped into the channel with a road surface constructed on top of that).

 

The above photo is of the sandy path, near the community hall and cafe, leading to the east beach (Traigh a Bhàigh or east beach).

 

The above photo was taken from the east beach looking south. As can be seen it was a rather cloudy day on this visit - but that does not take away from how stunning this beach is.

 

The above shot was taken from the southern end of the east beach looking back north towards the northern part of Vatersay. Apart from anything else, this shot gives an idea of how much rock is exposed on Vatersay's hills. This shot was taken on my first visit to Vatersay, on a sunny day around 1995. I was there with some friends (and to avoid any arguments, the chap looking back towards the camera is the late, sadly missed, Iain Banks).

 

 

The above photo was also taken from the east beach looking north. It gives and even better idea (than the previous photographs) of the pristine sands of Vatersay's east beach.

 

The photograph above is of the west beach, Traigh Shiar, looking south. This was also taken on my second visit around 2016 which is why is the sky is cloudy.