The Isle of Barra is a small island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, and it is the seat of The Clan Mac Neil.
It has a population of 1,100 inhabitants and it’s chief Roderick Mac Neil holds a clan gathering every two years. The next one will be in 2018.
St. Barr has a statue and a church dedicated to him on the island.
Barra now boasts many bed & breakfast homes, some small & three large hotels. The Isle of Barra Hotel is a little outside the main hubbub of the island but stands right on the beach. The Castlebay & The Craigard Hotel sit atop of the main road in Castlebay.
At the bottom of the hill you will find the landing for the ferry to Kisimul castle.
There is also a Post Office which also has a little café attached to it. Here they serve the biggest & best scones I have ever tasted. Together with small bowels of strawberry jam, clotted cream and a pot of tea, delicious fare you should not miss.
Next up the hill is a delightful restaurant that has several tasty dishes of curry on it’s menu besides all the usual beef burgers & chicken dinners. This place is so good and popular you must reserve your table. We managed to secure a table twice while in Barra – booking the morning we needed it – but beware – give them as much time as you possibly can to fit you in. You will not regret it.
The hill, up from the ferry dock, is also the home of a bank and other little shops.
At the top of the hill is The Castlebay Hotel. We frequented it only once in the evening for a couple of pints. The locals were very friendly, but beware – it does not serve food in the evening. The Craigard off to the right at the top of the hill stands besides the church. We again only visited it once at lunch time, but it serves a delicious huge sandwich, with pickles, chips (French fries) & beer. It has just been taken over by new owners and is in the process of carrying out some renovations, so check on it’s status before staying there.
We stayed in a lovely Guest house called Bay View in the village of Nask – just outside Castlebay. It took just 20 minutes to walk into Castlebay or five pounds for a taxi.
Most places close early on Barra and certainly on the road to Nask – where the street lightning is extinguished at 11pm sharp. If walking home around this time take a flashlight with you. We were lucky the moon slid from behind the clouds and lit our way around the inlet and so the road was well defined.
The weather is never exceptionally cold on Barra. They do not get much snow, but the winds and mists need a little protection. We had two days of sunshine and two days of low clouds and showers in early August.
We flew to the island and it was amazing to land on the beach . An Traigh Mhhor (the big beach) is the island airport and planes can land only at low tide. The two rainy days held up the planes coming to the island and on the last day the ferry from the mainland was also cancelled. They told us that we could have got a bus ride to another island & then a ferry back to the mainland if we had too. But luckily by the third day the clouds had moved off and we were able to fly back to Glasgow.
From Bay View to the airport it cost fifteen pounds for a taxi.
An amazing, wonderful trip.
