I crossed the bridge connecting Harris with the Island of Scalpay to visit the Eilean Glas Lighthouse, built in 1789, one of the earliest lighthouses in Scotland.
Eilean Glas was one of the first four lighthouses to be built in Scotland. It takes its name from Glas Island, Scalpay. (Northern Lighthouse Board)
There is a little parking area at the start of the walk, and the path to the lighthouse is straightforward to follow.
Even today, the Eilean Glas lighthouse can only be reached by foot or by boat. The shortest and easiest walk is the one I took from/to Out End, which is around 30 minutes. The keeper’s family had to take a familiar route.
One of the former keeper’s wives recalled how once a month, they would go to Stornoway to do their shopping. “First,” she said “, we had to walk over the moor to meet the taxi on the road. If we had been soaked on the moor, then someone in the village would take our coats and dry them for us until we came back. Sometimes we would stay with our friends at the halfway house if the weather was too bad to cross the moor back to the lighthouse”. The grocer apparently came once a week by boat. If he couldn’t make it by boat, he would walk instead. Once a week, the wives would go to the village to get meat. (Lighthouseaccomodation.co.uk)
First peek of the lighthouse tower.
There is also a little café at the lighthouse but unfortunately, I was too late to visit it.
Going back towards the car park.
View towards Harris
A ferry leaving Tarbert.
