Highlands and Islands: The Shiants

Saturday, June 2nd. I began by photographing the ferry terminal from our hotel room window.

The ferry office offers electric vehicle charging.

Just one spot.

The day would be largely filled with a sea excursion along the coast of Harris and out to the Shiant Islands.

Our group's boat was this blue catamaran, the Harmony, captained by Angus with the help of his crew, Alexander (his son) and Michael.

We began by picking up supplies at a local shop and walked downhill to the Harmony, strolling past the new distillery.

Some gave it a wistful look.

The seas were gentle, thank goodness, giving us opportunities to use our binoculars and cameras.

We visited several bays, some of which held small settlements.

In one of these we saw a concrete pier that Angus had built as a young man of 16. There were also abandoned homes,

and ruins of blackhouses. One bay even harbored a sea-eagle nest.

This photo is of the "witch's seat." There is a legend associated with this throne, but I forgot to write it down 😞.

Not comfortable, but sturdy.

Not long after turning towards the Shiants we were joined by a pod of common dolphins,

some of whom drew near to check us out.

We also spotted couple of minke whales, but they were uninterested in us. They might be named after a whaling captain named Minke, who misidentified or exaggerated his catches.

Before we reached the Eilean Glas lighthouse (construction begun in 1787) we had a surprise birthday celebration, with Jonathan presenting a yummy cake.

The lighthouse.

We passed a flock of seabirds, including puffins.

The Shiants began with smaller, outlying islands.

We sailed towards the northeast corner of the major island, Garbh Eilean, meaning "Rough Island" in Scottish Gaelic.

The island's flanks were often covered in green moss and orange lichen nourished by seabird guano,

or displayed curving columns of basalt.

The cape had a cave tunneled through it.

The Harmony sailed to the eastern side of the narrow isthmus, and we were no longer alone. 

The Hebridean Princess

Fortunately, the passengers of this ship weren't ashore.

Visiting the seabird colony required a brief transfer by inflatable boat. Two trips were needed to land us all.

A short beach lay at the foot of a steep, boulder- and bird- covered slope.

A constant traffic whizzed to and from the sea, wings beating over heads. Among the rocks were razorbills and puffins,

and shags. All were in their breeding plumage.

Although the razorbills are sharp-looking in their black and white, and the shags have a jaunty crest, we couldn't get enough of the puffins.

Note the leg band

 Staring right at me, and unconcerned.

Joan admired the birds and their lithic quarters.

Then it was time for the first group to transfer to the isthmus. The wet, algae covered rocks could be slick, so we were careful even for the short distance to the boat.

At the neck, not far away, but it would have been difficult to reach here on foot.

Not just birds to admire.

Sea Pink / Sea Thrift

As at Handa Island, a group of volunteers is monitoring for rats and working to keep them under control. Otherwise the rodents could demolish the bird colonies, consuming eggs and chicks alike. We visited and signed into their log book.

Our first stop on leaving Garbh Eilean was to check a few lobster traps that Angus and his crew had deployed on an earlier voyage.

There was one keeper.

Driving past the various islets of the Shiants, we saw many grey seals.

A very whitewashed cliff,

and a narrow tower.

A farewell look at the chain of rocky promontories.

Two seals of differing color schemes, although you can still make out patterning on the darker one (click on the image to enlarge).

The Harmony returned to Tarbet, and our group thanked Angus, Alexander, and Michael for a wonderful expedition and favorable weather. On the way back to the hotel, some stopped at the Harris Tweed shop, some at the Harris Distillery, and Joan and I watched the operations of the departing ferry.

Looking straight down the throat of the vehicle deck.

Some cars were on 'standby' status, and today there was no room for a few of them. The owners dashed onto the ferry while someone else drove the cars back whence they came. You need a friend or neighbor on Harris to make that work!

The ferry pulled in the vehicle ramp,

and then lowered the bow as it was backing up.


Tomorrow we'll visit more of Harris, take the ferry to Uig, and drive back to Coul House, where our NatHab adventure began. But the trip won't be over yet!