WHAT A PLACE!
With Shimmering hills, Turquoise waters and a calming peace that just stays with you. Isle of Harris was the most amazing place that I have ever visited.
My hope is that this gorgeous place stays true to these words and doesn’t loose its soul to the endless social media junkies out there. The one blessing is that this star is so difficult to get to.
For me, the above words, is what I battled with most of all. Were my intentions clear? Was I just following the latest craze? Pressing the book button was one of the hardest decisions but in the end I wanted to go to do my version of this place.
I will always remember when I opened my hire car at the side of the road looking over Lushentyre sands for the first time and heard absolutely nothing. Just my tinnitus ringing in my ears, the natural sounds of wind blowing and birds singing.
The joy of finding such a place is beyond any of my words. Hopefully my pictures will remind me of my new happy place and give me solace when needed.
DAY ONE
My journey up to Isle of Harris was a flight from Southampton to Edinburgh and then onto Stornaway in the Outer Hebrides. I hired a small car for my 45 mile journey to Luskentyre where I stayed in a pod at the side of the sands. It was an amazing location which I was very thankful as I arrived with an amazing sunset. I literally dropped my bags and ran straight down to the beach to watch nature at its best.
DAY TWO
I remember my first visit on Luskentyre beach with high emotions. I have been wanting to be on this beach for quite some time and when I arrived on the top of the dunes looking at the view I became quite lost for words. It is so hard to put into words what I felt at that moment. I pretty much ran down with camera at my eye level.
I have seen so many pictures of this place from so many amazing photographers and all of a sudden it was in front of me and I felt over whelmed about how absolutely stunning it was.
The best moment, from that morning, was meeting Shona from ‘My beautiful Scotland’ who I have chatted on Zoom a few times a couple of years ago on my ICM journey. It made my trip all worth it in my opinion.
After going back to my pod to have a cuppa I went back out to journey down the coast to Scarista beach. The weather was coming in at that point but that didn’t stop me getting a couple on an absolutely disserted beach.
DAY THREE
Whilst I was on Harris I didn’t want it to turn into a tourist trip. I wanted to dedicate my time in one area and try to get to ‘know’ it a little bit. Working out what time was best .
On my third day I arrived on Luskentyre beach, for sunrise, with a low tide which I found rather tricky. The wind had also changed which changed my opportunities. I decided to come back at full tide to see the differences and was pretty taken back with the amazing wave action. I spent a good couple of hours and rather happy with my results.
DAY FOUR
The weather on the final day changed again with absolutely vista drama’s on every view. Due to this I turned into a tourist and stood in awe watching what was in front of me.
It is pretty much the only time I regretted not having my wide angle lens. I kept trying to get everything in and wasn’t able to.
I will remember it next time.
What a place. It will always stay in my heart as one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.
