The island of Harris is an island of mountains, beaches and rock. Its allure lies in the contrasting landscape of spectacular sandy beaches, high hills and the rocky lunar landscape of the East Coast. Harris is referred to as an island, even though it is attached to the Isle of Lewis. They are separated by mountains which in the past were as divisive as any stretch of sea. On the west coast of Harris, you can experience the carpets of wild-flowers on the machair, the pure white deserted beaches, and the luminous colours of the sea, ranging from aquamarine to an incredible red, where the peat-coloured rivers cross the white sands. On the east coast of Harris, or the Bays, the visitor can enjoy clean air, peace, and above all the incredible colours of the sea, moor and rock. The coast is a succession of little bays; deep blue sea fringed by luxuriant growth of seaweeds. Along the shores are the villages of the Bays - surely one of the most inhospitable lands from which to wrest a living - and behind them, the moors and the mountains - an incredible rock-scape of greys and browns, shot with whites and purples, and the azure blue of hundreds of lochs.
The ideal way to see the Bays is on foot, or by cycle. Roads run along the shores, twisting around the lochs - but the driver sees little of the surrounding scenery - his attention has to be concentrated on the road ahead! So leave the car at a safe parking place, and enjoy the Bays on foot - you will have more chance to explore the little by-ways, and be able to appreciate the smells of the sea and of the peat-smoke, away from the smell of exhaust fumes!. EMIGRATION AND CLEARANCES Until the end of the eighteenth century, almost all the habitation of South Harris was on the machair and the offshore islands, and the Bays of the east coast were used only as summer grazings, but in the 1780s the Bays were settled as fishing villages. At the same time the landlords of Harris began to introduce sheep-farming to the Island, and in the 1800s the villages of the machair were gradually cleared, and their people sent to Cape Breton or the Bays, until by 1852 not a single crofter was left on the machair. The whole area became sheep farms, and the remains of farm steadings can still be seen at Borgh Mhor, Sgarasta Bheag and Taobh Tuath (Northton). Later the farm at Losgaintir, which now included all the land north of na Buirgh, was made into a deer forest. Lochs were dammed to improve the fishing, like the Fincastle Pool at Losgaintir road-end, and the northern end of the machair was turned into a sporting estate, with the best land in Harris kept for feeding deer and rabbits!.
The turbulent times of the nineteenth century Clearances have left marks on the landscape of Harris. The ruins of the houses left after the people were burned out of them by unscrupulous factors can be seen on the hill slopes of the west side of Harris, evocatively lying beside the long strips of cultivation called runrigs or lazybeds, created by the very people who were forced to leave . The island of Pabbay was cleared of all its population and the lintels are still in place over the doors of the houses there, 150 years later. On the island of Taransay a series of water-mills lie in the stream on the hillside. THE ENVIRONMENT It is sometimes said that Harris is an example of wilderness in its natural state, but this is not correct. The hill-slopes are ridged with feannagan, or lazy-beds, where the thin soil was heaped in ridges to give depth and drainage for the growing of crops and fodder. The green patches of the airighean or summer shielings dot the hills, and the sites of pre-Clearance houses can still be seen amid the nettles around their ruins. FLOWERS The Bays of Harris are home to a surprising range of vegetation. Heather covers the moors, often mixed with creeping juniper. Patches of wild iris surround the drains of the old lazy-beds, while creeping buttercup and other acid-loving plants cover the patches. Many of the Iochs are almost covered in the summer with white water-lilies, and bog-bean and water-violet fill the shallower pools. On the islands in the lochs can be found stands of smaller trees and bushes - mainly rowan and aspen, with willow and honeysuckle among them. On the west coast there are wide meadows of sea-pink, or thrift, while the machairs behind them show daisies and buttercups, clover, orchids, harebell and knapweed, as well as the lowlier plants of gentian, centaury, eyebright and thyme. On the wetter lands there are clumps of iris, primrose and bog pimpernel, while the more acid peatlands are the home of heathers, milkwort and cotton-grass, as well as the interesting insectivorous plants of sundew and butterwort. BIRDS The machair side of Harris has a very varied bird life, since it has mountains, moors, machairs and shores all in close proximity. The buzzard and the golden eagle share the mountains with all too many ravens and hooded crows. The moors have populations of golden plover and snipe, and the strange humming sound of the snipe's aerial display can be heard most still evenings. The arable ground attracts the rare corncrake, while the wetter areas of machair form the breeding ground for incredible numbers of wading birds - redshank, lapwing and ringed plover being the most common. The seashores of the east are full of birds, from the stately heron to the sombre shag. The old lazy-beds are home to the pipit and lark, and the summer-visiting wheatear, while the cuckoo is a surprisingly common voice here. The moors have populations of golden plover and snipe. ANIMALS The rich shores of Harris are home to numerous otter and to the all-too-common feral mink. Seals are common on the offshore rocks, while the coastal waters may show porpoises and even basking shark. The rich fish stocks of the lochs have been depleted by commercial overfishing, but there are still many lochs where a pleasant evening can be spent in a boat, enjoying the surroundings - whatever the size of catch!. VIEWPOINTS The Bays of Harris are full of interesting views, and some favourites are the seascape of East Loch Tarbert from the road above Ceann Dibig, the intricate mixture of land and sea in Manais as seen from the Carnan Mor, and any of the innumerable freshwater lochs, glinting among the rocks. The machairs of Harris are full of arresting views. The colours of the sea-along the Losgaintir road in the evening light, the hills of North Harris seen above the sands from the parking place between Seilebost and Horgabost and the sands of Sgarasta from the parking place at the Golf Course, with the sun setting over the islands of St Kilda, out in the Atlantic, are only a small sample. TOURISM There are modern day industries like fish-farming and tourism but the traditional industries of fishing and crofting are still providing a living for some. As a few of the tourism operators are crofters it is possible to see various aspects of crofting like peat-cutting and sheep-shearing. The Gaelic language is an added attraction for the visitor. You will hear it as you visit shops and walk along the streets, and it is the language of many Harris homes. Many entertainments feature Gaelic singers. Harris has two ferry ports, Tarbert and Leverburgh, with ferry connections to Skye and North Uist. Stornoway airport is within easy driving distance. The hotel in Tarbert is an old established family business, and there are numerous bed and breakfast facilities in the island. There are bunkhouse facilities throughout Harris and a Gatliffe Trust hostel in Reinigeadal. Harris has a genealogy and exhibition centre in Taobh Tuath (Northton). Taobh Tuath also has the new centre named after William MacGillivary, the ornithologist , who lived in the area for a few years. In the summer there are events like the Harris Arts Festival, Feis Eilean na Hearadh, South Harris Agricultural Show and the Western Isles Challenge. Caledonian MacBrayne Hebridean & Clyde Ferries: Harris - Details of all the islands Caledonian MacBrayne serve between Uig - Tarbert & Berneray - Leverburgh
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