It was with some trepidation that we anticipated our family summer holiday. Camping in the Outer Hebrides with a toddler could go one of two ways. Very well or very badly!
Apart from our new tent blowing down on day 2 of our holiday I am pleased to report that camping in the Outer Hebrides exceeded all our expectations. The ten days passed in a blur of long walks on white sandy beaches, early morning swims, cycling on quiet single track roads, kitesurfing turquoise bays and feasting on chocolate.
Yes, of course we had a couple of wet days but with the right gear you can always get out and do something and these were more than made up for by the picture perfect days of huge blue skies. Robbie and the other kids we met just adored the freedom and space offered by a campsite backing onto a huge white sandy beach and the Hebrides is just a fantastic experience for kids and families.
The beauty of spending time on Lewis and Harris is that you really can get away from it all, the pace of life quickly slows you down and that feeling of space and tranquility just cannot be matched anywhere on mainland Scotland. If you haven’t yet had the privilege of exploring the Hebrides, get it down on your list now as it is truly spectacular and unmissable.
Will the empty white sandy beaches and wild beauty of the Hebrides make them the next beach holiday destination? I hope not as we are certainly going back next year and for some time to come.
When the nights get a little longer I will settle down to write a better guide to family holidays in the Hebrides and I am really looking forward to adding Lewis and Harris to our Hebridean holiday programme. For now I will just leave you with a few photos from the Outer Hebrides:
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I absolutely agree with all this. I have spent many holidays with my family in beautiful Scotland, buy the last time I was there was Easter 2011 and we went to the very western part of the Outer Hebrides – it was the best holiday we have ever had together as a family. The golden eagle topped it! Highly recommended. Thanks for this.
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