Walk: Berneray - Borve, beach & beinn
Berneray | Harbour | Half day walk | ★★★
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[View north to Harris from the summit of Beinn a' Schèibhe] |
Berneray is one of several islands scattered across the Sound of Harris; a causeway to North Uist and a car ferry to Leverburgh on Harris provide vital transport links. The famously tall Angus MacAskill was born here in 1825 and must have felt like a big fish in a small pond: most of the island can be explored in a single day on an scenic, varied circuit waymarked erratically by wooden posts. Expansive beaches, windswept summit vistas, seals and a colossal standing stone are among the highlights.
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[Berneray West Beach] |
📌 Walk: Berneray - Borve, beach & beinn ★★★
Start / finish at car park at Berneray harbour, G.R.: NF 923811 ///hindering.piano.expert
▶ 12 km / 7 mi | ▲ 160 m | ⌚ Half a day | ⬤ Moderate
Features: Cladh Maolrithe; Berneray West Beach ★★★★; △ Beinn Schlèibhe (93 m); Loch a' Bhàigh; Sheila's Cottage
Terrain: Often quiet roads or sandy beaches; hill sections on faint paths or pathless grass with occasional waymarkers.
Route & map
Car park - leave road at G.R.: NF 917806 ///doctors.paradise.mistaking - Cladh Maolrithe - Borve village hall - northwest to Berneray West Beach - follow beach north then east to end - Beinn Schlèibhe by northwest ridge - Taraloch - Berneray hostel via beach - Loch a' Bhàigh & Sheila's Cottage (heritage centre) - start
Route credit: Scotland Off the Beaten Track / locally waymarked
On our visit
Wildlife: Seals on the rocks in Loch a' Bhàigh. Noisy oystercatches, gulls, sheep.
Weather: Mostly cloudy at start with increasing amounts of sunshine. Brief rain shower on Berneray West Beach, light winds.
Chronological photo guide
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[Berneray harbour] |
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[Berneray harbour] |
[Berneray harbour] |
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[Road south of the harbour] |
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[Climbing the hill to Cladh Maolrithe] |
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[Cladh Maolrithe - 8 feet above ground, 8 feet below!] |
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[Descent from Cladh Maolrithe] |
[Moth on the walk to Berneray West Beach] |
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[Berneray West Beach] |
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[Northeast end of Berneray West Beach] |
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[Beinn Schleibhe] |
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[Possible chambered cairn on Beinn Schleibhe] |
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[View south from Beinn Schleibhe] |
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[View north from Beinn Schleibhe towards Harris] |
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[Following the marker posts away from the summit] |
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[Berneray east coast below] |
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[Berneray East Beach] |
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[Berneray East Beach] |
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[Berneray hostel] |
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[East coast of Berneray] |
[Seals in Loch a' Bhàigh] |
[Seals] |
[Seals] |
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[Loch a' Bhàigh] |
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