Isle of Vatersay

Located on the outer edge of Europe, the Isle of Vatersay is the most southerly inhabited island of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

The Isles of Vatersay & Barra

Lying to the south of the main island of Barra, to which it is connected by a causeway, the Isle of Vatersay is the southern-most inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides.

I’d wanted to visit Vatersay for some time after seeing images of its mesmerizing white sand beaches and wanted to experience the fabled beach landing on Barra, probably best known for having the only airport in the world where scheduled flights use a beach as a runway.

Windswept beaches bordered by rich Machair meadows

The first thing that hits you after arriving on the island is the spectacular scenery and unspoilt natural beauty. The rich machair meadows were awash with wonderful wildflowers, and the curving coastline revealed vast white sandy beaches lapped by turquoise waters.

The main, but tiny, settlement on Vatersay is located at the south end of the island, and comprises just a handful of houses, a play area and the country’s smallest Post Office … situated in someone’s garden.

The island is a walker’s paradise and has some wonderful walks, including a demanding Heritage Trail of approximately 4 miles. It also is a great place to go sea kayaking.

The local cows having a relaxing beach day!

One of the rarest habitats in Europe, the Machair meadows in the Outer Hebrides are a sight to behold when in full bloom. Apparently, the flowers are at their best between mid-June and mid-August. We visited in July, so were fortunate to see them at their finest. The sheer abundance of flowers was extraordinary.

That’s not a bus shelter, it’s baggage reclaim!

not your average aviation experience!

With timetables dictated by the ebb and flow of the tide, Barra is the only airport in the world to operate scheduled flights using a beach as a runway. Featuring highly on my travel wish-list, it was the main reason I chose to visit Barra & Vatersay over the other islands in the Outer Hebrides.

As expected, our flight from Glasgow aboard the pocket-sized Twin Otter was spectacularly scenic and didn’t disappoint.  And gliding down to land on the vast stretch of white sand is something I’m sure we’ll both remember always.

The tiny airport terminal comprises nothing more than an arrivals desk and café, with a fire engine which stands by for emergency calls. On landing, which was greeted by an eager crowd of spectators, our baggage was taken to the tiny baggage reclaim area under the control tower, which if it didn’t have a sign saying ’Baggage Reclaim’, could be easily mistaken for a bus shelter.

With the runway disappearing twice a day under the incoming tide, unsurprisingly, arrivals and departures are at low tide only. You’re even allowed to wander onto the beach when it’s not in use as an airfield.

Exquisite Beaches & Turquoise Waters

Welcome to the Outer Hebrides!

Vatersay has two main beaches – one facing east and one facing west, each stunningly unspoilt with long, sweeping white sands and turquoise waters.  Sitting between these two dazzling beaches on a thin, grassy peninsula is the tiny ‘village’. And our caravan, which was perfectly situated between them.

West beach is more windswept and popular with surfers, whereas East beach, also known as Vatersay Bay, is more peaceful. You can easily walk from one to the other across the fields. We visited in July and there was barely anyone else on the beaches at all, sometimes literally no one … apart from cows!

Our Caravan

I found the caravan on Airbnb after searching for somewhere affordable to stay on our trip. It was a static caravan alongside the owner’s house, which is the first house in the village, set in between Vatersay’s two glorious beaches, with lovely views across the meadows.

Unfortunately, we left it too late to hire a car, which I would say is fairly essential to get around, especially to get supplies from the Co-Op on neighbouring Barra. There is a lovely bus service which runs a couple of times a day connecting Vatersay with Barra, but generally needs to be arranged first by telephoning the company the day before.

Sadly this also proved a problem for us, as our phones didn’t work on the island.

Thankfully, the owner was extremely helpful, letting us use his phone to summon buses etc, and even took us to the Co-Op on Barra a couple of times to collect supplies.

Barra’s Kisimul Castle

A  fairytale Castle in the Sea

Built on a tiny rocky outcrop in the middle of the bay and looking like an illustration from a storybook, Kisimul Castle must be one of Scotland’s most beautiful castles. Dominating the bay and giving Barra’s main town of Castlebay its name, it can be visited via a short five minute boat trip. Rupert was also lucky enough to kayak around it.

Getting There

By Air: Operated by Flybe, Loganair flies from Glasgow to Barra daily except Sundays. Flights take about 75 minutes

By Sea: Caledonian Macbrayne operates a daily ferry service between Oban and Barra, which takes just under five hours

You can also get a ferry to Barra from Lochboisdale on South Uist, which takes a little over 2 hours, and from Eriskay which takes 40 minutes.