We caught the ferry at 9.50 after a big breakfast at our hotel. If breakfast is included we eat up and skip lunch.

The ferry takes 2 hours from Uig in the nothern part of Skye to Tarbert on Harris around the middle part of the Hebrides.

It’s around 11.30when we arrive so after a look at Harris Tweed we head north to Stornaway the capital of the islands.

The drive up is via the only main road and takes about an hour. Stornaway is much livelier than Tarbert with its harbour, narrow streets, little shops and cafes.

The castle and museum is the draw card in this town. We make our way there and like all museums it’s is free.

The castle is old and the museum extension new but have been sympathetically joined together

The museum tells the history of the Hebrides from the earliest inhabitants to the present and how the land and sea have shaped them.

They have a very good screen section with people from different parts of the Hebrides talking about their lives. I learned a lot about island life and by the end felt I knew Sophie, Callum, and some of the other residents. One thing is clear. Living here gets under the skin.

It may look remote ( it is) lonely ( it’s not) but they are definitely a community who pull together. People leave but often come back.

The museum also houses 6 of the 12th century Lewis chess men found here. They are in perfect condition and each piece is constructed to tell a story.

The buildings in Stornaway are old and mostly dark on a grey day they look particularly dark

We drove out of the town towards the Calanais standing stones. they are dated to be 5,000 years old, older than Stonehenge and many stories surround their erection.

I thought if I touched one I might be transported back in time. A bit like Claire in Highlanders.

We continued driving, stopping here and there to admire views or houses. These islands are about absorbing the land.

Our hotel the Harris is an old world one with staircases going up and off in different directions. Creaky floors , doors that stick just a little, hot water that takes 15min to travel up to our attic apartment and of course no wifi in the attic.

So we spent time in the comfortable lounge before a lovely dinner in the lovely dining room . I seem to only eat seafood here. Salmon, cod, scallops or prawns. No haggis for me.