Isle of Harris
‘You will never believe the colours in Harris until you see them”
This is a phrase that I consistently use when describing Harris to other people.
It must come as a shock when the boat from Skye glides into the barren inlet at Tarbert on the east side of Harris on what inevitably seems to be a grey misty day. The spirits must sink even further on the journey to the west side. On either side of the road it is like a lunar landscape with no layers of vegetation, just the bedrock - the basic grey gneiss of the Harris hills. Then comes the top of the pass and on the way down into Laxdale, we round a bend and there in the distance are the colours of Traigh Losgantir - the Bay of Luskentyre.
Throughout Harris, the colours of the sand and sea in the continually changing light are breathtaking. But it is Luskentyre that is the jewel in the crown. Take a drive along the road to Luskentyre and view the bay from the machair. We need to be there when the tidal pools are at their best - just as the tide is flowing into the bay or just before low tide. On sunny days the colours can range from turquoise, to blue, to aquamarine, and then change to greens on days with sunshine and showers. After a prolonged period of rain, brackish water flows down from the hills forming reddish brown pools that merge with the paler blue salt water. It is then that the full tapestry of colours becomes apparent..
This is a phrase that I consistently use when describing Harris to other people.
It must come as a shock when the boat from Skye glides into the barren inlet at Tarbert on the east side of Harris on what inevitably seems to be a grey misty day. The spirits must sink even further on the journey to the west side. On either side of the road it is like a lunar landscape with no layers of vegetation, just the bedrock - the basic grey gneiss of the Harris hills. Then comes the top of the pass and on the way down into Laxdale, we round a bend and there in the distance are the colours of Traigh Losgantir - the Bay of Luskentyre.
Throughout Harris, the colours of the sand and sea in the continually changing light are breathtaking. But it is Luskentyre that is the jewel in the crown. Take a drive along the road to Luskentyre and view the bay from the machair. We need to be there when the tidal pools are at their best - just as the tide is flowing into the bay or just before low tide. On sunny days the colours can range from turquoise, to blue, to aquamarine, and then change to greens on days with sunshine and showers. After a prolonged period of rain, brackish water flows down from the hills forming reddish brown pools that merge with the paler blue salt water. It is then that the full tapestry of colours becomes apparent..