The Isle of Barra Hotel :: Tangasdale :: Barra :: Outer Hebrides T: +44 (0)1871 810 383 E: stay@isleofbarrahotel.co.uk
Extra Mile Scotland
www.extramilescotland.co.uk/the-western-isles.asp
Sunday Mail Magazine 25 January 2009
Travel Section: Western Isles - Outer This World - Isle Hopping in Hebrides is Adventure of A Lifetime - By Cat Harvey
" Exploring in Scotland has provided me with some fantastic breaks, but island-hopping through the Western Isles is right up there with the best adventures I've ever had ".
" I started off from Oban to Barra, a five-hour sail that was spent peacefully watching basking sharks tail the boat.
Barra is a gem of an island and was probably my favourite of them all. It is only eight by four miles long and was recently voted the most beautiful island in the UK. The hospitality is second to none.
The main town of Castlebay overlooks Kisimul castle, built around 1039 and ancestral home to the Clan MacNeil. For £4.50 you can get a boat from the jetty out to the castle to explore. Sea-kayaking off Barra is a must. Even if you've never done it before, Chris who owns Clearwater Paddling, will patiently explain the basics and guide you to the best wee beaches in the area. We paddled out around the Castle and over to Vatersay. The turquoise sea is simply stunning and I was delighted to paddle with seals for company. Thrill-seekers should book a kite-buggying or kite land-boarding session on the famous Barra airport beach. It takes fine hours to master but with the right wind they can reach speeds of up to 35mph so its best to know how to handle them.
I stayed at the Isle of Barra Hotel, magnificently perched on a cliff top at Halaman Bay with possibly the finest view on the island. the golden sunsets over the beach are so amazing everyone at the hotel gathers outside to enjoy the spectacle".
British Airways High Life Magazine September 2007
OH WE DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE.....especially when it means staying in one of these stylish boutique hotels each a world away from the traditional beach-front boarding house. Emily Mathieson puts our ten favourite coastal retreats on the map
2. ISLE OF BARRA HOTEL, Outer Hebrides
"On Barra, in the undeveloped wilderness of the outer Hebrides, the closest you'll come come to nightlife are the two pubs in the tiny main village of Castlebay. Peace and quiet is what the Isle of Barra Hotel is all about, and its quests don't come to this striking (and award-winning) angular Seventies building for the interior style, although its 40 rooms are due a makeover next year. Rather, the attractions are walking, bird-watching and the windswept islands that make up the Hebridean archipelago. Dramatic vistas across Tangasdale Beach can be enjoyed from the hotel's cosy new dining room, while tucking in to hearty meals of local lamb and fish ".
