A Film Tour of the Hebrides!

Why not take a tour of the islands’ major filming locations... you could go through the islands with film as your theme, or make a point of visiting some famous sights along your way. The location managers of these productions were no fools and picked some of the most stunning and inspiring spots in the Hebrides. By taking a film tour of the Hebrides you are really seeing the best of what the islands have to offer, from hidden beaches and glens to offshore islands and villages which still retain their original character.

Here’s our suggested tour:

Day 1 & 2
Barra: Start in Castlebay and explore the whole island! visiting the beaches and villages where Whisky Galore was filmed. Make sure you visit ‘Dualchais’, Barra’s heritage and cultural centre, for a look around and a bite to eat. The local hotels have a fine selection of the "water of life" if all that talk of ‘Whisky Galore’ is making your mouth a bit dry.

Day 3 & 4
South Uist: Next stop the Isle of Eriskay, for a look at the real thing. Visit the Am Politician pub to see old newspaper clippings and artefacts from the real SS.Politician. This pub is also very popular for its fresh seafood meals. Take a walk around the island and spot the rocks where the politician foundered. Take the next day to leisurely drive up through the South Uist, Benbecula and North Uist, where you can visit Balranald Nature Reserve, as seen on Bill Oddie Goes Wild, the best trout fishing lochs in the Hebrides, as fished by Paul Young in Hooked on Scotland - Travel Fishing Log. Before you leave by ferry to Leverburgh in Harris, tour round the beautiful Isle of Berneray, the favourite destination of HRH Prince Charles, as recorded in Selina Scott’s "Prince Among Islands".

Day 5 & 6
Harris: Harris is the filming capital of the Hebrides, so it will be a jam-packed tour of these incredible locations. Before you head north it is worth visiting Rodel Church (a beautiful pre reformation church) and the hotel nearby if you are hungry. Going north along the west coast, stop off at the Northton machair and take a walk around Toehead to see the stunning scenery and wildlife used in the Rocket Post and Crowdie and Cream. The machair is a very rare sandy habitat, and is home to some exceptional birdlife and flowers (there is an unmanned wildlife interpretation centre here). Visit the Seallam centre nearby if you want to find out about the past crofting cultures on which Rocket Post and Crowdie and Cream were based. Travelling North you pass through Scarista, where the author of Crowdie and Cream, Finlay J Macdonald, spent his childhood.

If you have an adventurous spirit then the ultimate highlight of this tour would be to take a trip to Taransay, home of the Castaway 2000 and the Rocket Post. This island is absolutely stunning and is easily accessible with the help of local operators (see www.visit-taransay.com) Around the village of Paible there is still evidence of the Castaways’ presence, especially in their farming practices. If you have a whole day on the island it is worth going to the Bothy to see what the Castaways have written in the visitors book. To the north of the village is the large white sandy spit and grassy machairs where most of the rocket and village scenes took place in the ‘Rocket Post’.

Alternatively, if you stick to mainland Harris, there is still plenty to see. The sands of Seilibost and Luskentyre, where the Rocket Post was filmed, are too breathtaking to pass by. Explore the expansive beaches on foot, so you can stand and look across to Taransay and the Atlantic beyond. Further north, Tarbert is a beautiful wee village with plenty of lively places to eat and drink. A lot of the scenes for Crowdie and Cream were filmed in Tarbert and very little changes had to be made to take it back to its heydays of the 1930s!

On the east coast in the Bays of Harris you find some of the most incredible lunar scenery, where the Lewisian Gneiss (oldest rock in the world) becomes exposed to look like the surface of another planet. If this area hasn’t been used in sci-fi yet then it inevitably will be one day!

In North Harris, a trip to Huishinish beach (where the Rocket Post was filmed) will take you past Amhuinsuidhe Castle, where Channel 5’s Rosemary: Castle Cook was filmed. Although this castle is not open to public, the main road drives right past it and it really is in a beautiful situation, where the river joins the sea.

Days 7 & 8
Lewis: Once you have crossed the border into Lewis you drive north to the capital of Stornoway. From here it is worth doing a trip to Mealista beach in Uig, where the Rocket Post was filmed and then explore this gem of the Northern Isle. The road to Mealista takes you through Valtos Glen, once seen in Doctor Who, and past Uig Sands, which has a really fantastic view and is where the Lewis Chessmen were found. On your return from Uig, you could take the circular route around the west coast of Lewis which will take you past the famous Callanish Stones, Carloway Broch and Gearrannean village. The village has been fantastically restored to its former glory and it is a great way to see how people in the 1930s might have lived, (although many were in other types of housing by then too). This village also has a café, museum, self catering accommodation and hostel build in. There is a lovely coastal walk from Gearrannean to Dalbeg. See www.walkhebrides.com.