Barra
11 April 2023 · Outer Hebrides, Scotland, Scottish Island Bagging
This is the first post to my new site and covers the first few days of my 2023 trip to the Outer Hebrides.
Barra is the southernmost island of the Outer Hebrides that has direct transport links. I find it to be the quietest and most peaceful island relative even to the rest of the islands which, Harris aside, can hardly be described as busy.
My base for the week was Croft No. 2 in the village of Eoligarry, a small village located on the northern coast of the island with good walking around and over Beinn Eolaigearraidh and a wonderfully interesting beach.
The road to the village passes the airport which opened in 1936 and is, as far as I know, the only one in the world where scheduled flights use a tidal beach as the runway. The beach is set out with three runways in a triangle, marked by permanent wooden poles at their ends. This almost always allows the Twin Otters that serve the airport to land into the wind. At high tide these runways are under the sea so flight times vary with the tide. Emergency flights occasionally operate at night from the airport, with vehicle lights used to illuminate the runway and reflective strips laid on to the beach.
Here’s a video from Highlands and Islands Airports