For her fortieth wedding anniversary, Ann and her husband Charlie decided to plan a romantic get-away. “nothing unusual about that”! as Ann puts it but finding the appropriate location was a bit of a challenge, as some of you may suspect!

Read all about the fantastic trip Ann and Charlie had to the Outer Hebrides a remote and interesting location characterized by amazing scenery, very few tourists, “AND bolts and bolts of woolen tweeds”!!!

For our fortieth anniversary my husband Charlie and I decided to take a trip…nothing unusual about that, but where to go always leads to long discussions.  We travel frequently so have been to the usual places and some not so usual.  For a summer trip we were somewhat restricted, because I loathe heat and if he wants to enjoy himself he can’t have me constantly carping about the weather.  Our choices were Scotland (we’ve been many times) and the Scandinavian countries, primarily Sweden which we haven’t explored.  I lobbied for Scotland, primarily the Outer Hebrides as it’s remote, geologically interesting, amazing scenery, very few tourists, AND bolts and bolts of woolen tweeds.  Charlie concurred and after making the arrangements and finding a hotel that was well located off we went.

After flying into Inverness and picking up our car, we headed to Ullapool for the ferry to Stornaway.  Our first mistake was not prebooking the ferry.  After a tense wait in a “waitlist” queue we finally got on and were off to the Isle of Lewis.  The trip over took us along the gorgeous Scottish coastline and an archipelago of small islands that were home to wildlife and little else.  The temperatures were a glorious 65 degrees and the skies clear.  Perfection!

We stayed on the Isle of Harris at a hotel (some would call it a B&B) called Scarista House (www.scaristahouse.co.uk )   Charlie found it and as usual, picked well.  The Grade 2 listed Georgian house sits in a sea of heather overlooking a three-mile long shell sand beach.  The house is slightly worn but has that warm country house atmosphere.   Sheep graze all about and the smell of peat smoke fills the air.  We were on sensory overload. 

I can’t write about Scarista House without mentioning the food.  Locally sourced fish, shellfish, game and lamb are served with imagination and skill.  From the starters to the mains and desserts all was done with a delft touch.  Breads are baked daily and as I’m a jam snob, I was in heaven at breakfast.  We were well fortified for our explorations of Harris, Lewis and North and South Uist.  We never made it to Barra because of ferry schedules, but plan to do it next time.

We spent our week exploring the islands and the unique gifts they have to offer.  I can’t finish without mentioning the weavers of Harris and Lewis.  Small cottages abound with signs of “Harris Tweed”.  We stopped frequently to watch the individual weavers making the cloth that is unique to their island.  All Harris Tweed is homespun and hand woven or it doesn’t get the Harris Tweed label.  We had so much fun meeting the people who wove the cloth and of course could not leave without armloads of fabric.

Both of us were inspired to not only spend more time in the Outer Hebrides (we are anxious to fly into Barra landing on the sand beach) but to also explore other remote islands off the Scottish coast.  We’ve had many interesting trips, but this ranks in the top three.  Call or email if you have questions This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it