North East Lewis

The interior of the northern Lewis is mostly peat moor, a barren and marshy tract and consequently, its settlements are strung out along the coastline.

Exploring north east Lewis from Stornoway, the dead-end B895 to Tolastadh, 12 miles north along the east coast, is a good road to head out on. It boasts several excellent golden beaches and marks the starting point of a lovely coastal walk to Nis. En route, you'll pass the striking Griais Memorial, situated by Griais Bridge, above Gress Sands. The memorial recalls the struggle between the modernising demands of the island's owner in the early 1920s, Lord Leverhulme, and the traditional outlook of his tenant crofters.

Beyond Tolastadh is probably the finest of the coast's sandy beaches, Gheardha (Garry), and the beginning of the footpath to Nis. A little along the track, there's a fine waterfall on the Abhainn na Cloich (River of Stones).

The main road access to the northernmost tip of Lewis is the A857, which crosses the vast, barren peat bog of the interior heading towards the west coast. It turns northeast at Barabhas (Barvas) and continues through a string of straggling villages until it reaches the various densely populated settlements that make up the parish of Nis (Ness), at the northern tip of the island. The road terminates at the fishing village of Port Nis (Port of Ness) with its tiny harbour and lovely golden beach.

On the bleak and blustery northern tip of the island, Rubha Robhanais - well known to devotees of the BBC shipping forecast as the Butt of Lewis - a lighthouse sticks up above a series of sheer cliffs and stacks, alive with kittiwakes, fulmars and cormorants, with skuas and gannets feeding offshore. It's also a great place for marine mammal-spotting.