The Hebridean Way

Map key

Route summary table

Overview maps

Trek planner

Introduction

How the Hebridean Way came into being

Planning your trip

Selecting a schedule

When to walk

Getting there

First and last nights

Accommodation

Facilities

Money matters

Baggage transfer

What to take

Planning day by day

Using this guide

Maps

Waymarking

Weather forecasts

Phones and Wi-Fi

Emergencies

All about the Outer Hebrides

Geology

Plants and flowers

Wildlife

The history of the Outer Hebrides

Economy

The Hebridean Way

Stage 1 Vatersay to Ardmhor

Stage 2 Eriskay to Howmore

Stage 3 Howmore to Baile nan Cailleach

Stage 4 Baile nan Cailleach to Lochmaddy

Stage 5 Lochmaddy to Berneray

Stage 6 Leverburgh to Horgabost Township

Stage 7 Horgabost Township to Tarbert

Stage 8 Tarbert to Aline

Stage 9 Aline to Laxay

Stage 10 Laxay to Stornoway

Additional stages to the Butt of Lewis

Stage 11 Stornoway to New Tolsta

Stage 12 New Tolsta to the Butt of Lewis

Appendix A Useful contacts

Appendix B Accommodation

Appendix C Common Gaelic and Norse name elements

Appendix D Further reading

June 2019

Updates

The Hebridean Way will become one of the classic long distance paths of Britain. This guide provides an excellent basis for planning and enjoying a walk along this new route.

The Hebridean Way is a 155 mile waymarked route which opened in 2017 after several years of planning and £1.4m investment. The waymarked route, which utilises both older and specially laid tracks, runs the length of the Outer Hebrides, from Vatersay in the south to Stornoway in Lewis in the north, with six causeways and two ferries joining the nine islands. The route is never far from the sea and generally keeps to lower ground, but nevertheless encompasses an extraordinary variety of scenery: the silver beaches of Barra, the mountains of south Harris, the myriad of tiny lochans of Benbecula, peat and heather moorland, rocky hill sides and farmland.

Richard Barrett's comprehensive guide, in the usual Cicerone format and with colour pictures on every page, will both enthuse the reader to visit these remote and peaceful islands and provide the information needed to facilitate a trek along all or part of the route. lmportantly. the book provides information on how to get there (normally by boat, though a more exciting approach is to fly to Barra Airport and land on the beach which serves as the runway) and on accommodation, with suggested 8 and 14 day itineraries for those walking the entire distance. There is a detailed route description as well as 1:50000 OS map sections covering the
route itself, although further mapping will be needed for a wider overview or if venturing away from the trail.

The book has sections on the islands' geology, a result of complex interactions of volcanic activity and glaciation, on the wildlife, from puffins to eagles, and on the local history, from the romantic to the violent. Even so, a few pages cannot hope to do justice to the origins and natural history of this rich and varied environment; rather the book will inspire readers to go and explore it for themselves.

The Hebridean Way will become one of the classic long distance paths of Britain. This guide provides an excellent basis for planning and enjoying a walk along this new route.

Ken Falconer, Strider

A tempting guide to the latest long-distance route in Scotland

This is a tempting guide to the latest long-distance route in Scotland: the 155-mile Hebridean Way, which runs the length of the Outer Hebrides from Vatersay on the southernmost tip of Barra, through the Uists to Stornoway, in the north of Lewis.

Purists will undoubtedly want to add the dramatic extra sixteen miles to the Stevenson lighthouse at the northernmost Butt of Lewis which, because of lack of funding, is still not officially part of the Hebridean Way. Further future options might include routes running up both the east and west coasts of Lewis.

The route owes much to the pioneering work of Dr Peter Clarke, whose 2006 book The Outer Hebrides: The Timeless Way was the inspiration for the creation of the new Way. It was not until 2012 that Clarke's idea received official financial support, and work began on improving and waymarking the Route.

Highlights along the route include retracing parts of Bonnie Prince Charlie's flight from Government forces after the Battle of Culloden in 1746; the magnificent, flower-filled machair meadows and dazzling white sand beaches of South Uist, and, just off route, the imposing standing stones of Callanish on the west coast of Lewis.

Roly Smith, Outdoor Focus

This should be on your UK bucket list

The Hebridean Way is one of Scotland's newest long-distance walking routes, and despite its young age, it's one that should be on your UK bucket list. The 155-mile trail runs across 10 spectacular islands of the Outer Hebrides from Vatersay to the Butt of Lewis, and offers nothing short of stunning landscapes, fascinating wildlife, ruggedly wild moors and beautiful white shell beaches.

This handy little pocket book will guide you through the full two-week route in 10 stages plus two additional stages between Stornoway and the Butt of Lewis. Clear some space in your calendar because this is one you simply can't miss.

Adventure Travel magazine

This book is essential reading for anyone contemplating walking the Hebridean Way

"The Hebridean Way: Long-Distance Walking Route Through Scotland's Outer Hebrides" by Richard Barrett is a superb pocket-sized guide to the walk. Most walkers will be familiar with the approach that publishers Cicerone take to guides like this, and it's probably sufficient for those familiar with their output for us to say that this book lives up to the extremely high standards we have come to expect from them. For those who have somehow missed Cicerone's extensive range of excellent guides, what you get is just about everything you need to walk the Hebridean Way in one small package.

The contents include an introduction, a stage planner, sections on practicalities and planning, and background about the Outer Hebrides. The bulk of the book comprises descriptions of the walk broken down into twelve stages. The first ten cover the current "official" route, which ends (assuming you are heading from south to north) in Stornoway. Anyone who knows the Western Isles will feel this is an odd ending point, as the Isle of Lewis extends considerably further north. This oddity is addressed by the inclusion of two additional stages in the guide that extend the route to a much more satisfying conclusion, the Butt of Lewis, which marks the true northern end of the archipelago. The result is to give the reader the option of a true "end-to-end" walk. The section about each stage includes a series of full colour extracts from Ordnance Survey 1:50K maps showing the route, plus colour photographs, a detailed route description and boxed sections on points of interest, ranging from places visited to flora and fauna. Appendixes cover useful contacts and accommodation. The whole thing comes in a waterproof slip-on jacket. This book is essential reading for anyone contemplating walking the Hebridean Way: and an essential companion for anyone actually doing so.

Undiscovered Scotland

This book is a must for those intent on planning [to walk the Hebridean Way] or those who want a guide in hand.

Scottish Islands Explorer