Western Isles

The Western Isles, also known in Gaelic as Na h-Eileanan Siar, is the name given to the Outer Hebrides, a chain of islands off the north-western coast of Scotland stretching for approximately 130 miles. The islands, including Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra, are exposed to the full force of the Atlantic Ocean and are characterised by a treeless landscape of peat bog, moorland, machair grassland, and rocky coastline. The Outer Hebrides are a stronghold of Scottish Gaelic language and culture, with a higher proportion of Gaelic speakers than almost anywhere else in Scotland. The islands are renowned for their prehistoric monuments, including the standing stones of Callanish on Lewis, and for the Harris Tweed industry, which produces hand-woven cloth regulated by a specific Act of Parliament.