T H E W I L D BEAUTY OF The Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides islands might be on the other side of the world , at the wind-blasted and rain-lashed edge of the North Atlantic , but they boast some of the most beautiful , white-sand beaches on Earth , writes Matt Brace .
The sun rode high in the early summer sky and the sand was as white and powdery as chalk . Behind us were low dunes and in front a deep-blue ocean with gentle , lapping waves . We weren ’ t in the Caribbean , although the crystal-clear , turquoise water was like St . Kitts . We weren ’ t in Australia , although the sand felt like Hyams Beach or The Whitsundays . In fact , we were about as far from Australia as it ’ s possible to travel . This was Huisinish on the west coast of the Isle of Harris and Lewis in the Outer Hebrides , off the northwest coast of Scotland . To get there we flew to London , took a train to Glasgow , drove 550 kilometres across Argyll and Bute and the Isle of Skye , and hopped on and off five Caledonian MacBrayne ferries . Journey ’ s end was a single-track , rollercoaster road with signs in the local language — Scots Gaelic — and a welcoming committee of sheep and newborn lambs . As we rounded the last headland we saw it : a stunning arc of white sand with bottle blue-green water and a resident seal bobbing its head out of the sea . My wife — a native Queenslander and all-year swimmer — was out of the car and through the dunes as if her life depended on it . She shunned her wetsuit despite the 10 ° C water temperature and was in , wearing just a one-piece , booties and gloves , and breast-stroking through the North Atlantic . Her initial yelps from the cold prompted a pair of oystercatchers to do a flypast to check out this new addition to their beach , while the seal slunk off around the rocks . I ’ m a 20 ° C water temperature kinda guy but managed to get in up to my thighs and
PHOTO : NILS LEONHARDT ; UNSPLASH
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