Lewis

Lewis is the largest Island in the Outer Hebrides with most of the Islands population and the archipelagos administrative capital, Stornoway. The Gaelic for name for Lewis, ‘Eilean an Fhraoich’ meaning ‘the heather isle’ is a good description of the island. Lewis is dominated by a vast area of peatland in the north.

This is one of the largest peatlands in north western Europe which forms a huge carbon store. The blanket bog is an internationally important habitat for breeding waders, divers and merlin. The North west coast is fringed by a strip of fertile machair and croftland which holds a healthy corncrake population. In the south east of the island, long fjord-like sealochs; Loch Erisort and Loch Seaforth cut into the landscape creating the remote Pairc peninsula. This coastline is a stronghold for the recovering white-tailed eagle population. The Uig distrct to the west hosts large expanses of sandy beaches and the highest peaks on the island. Although they are not as high as mainland mountain ranges the Uig hills and North Harris hills make up one of the largest areas of un-roaded wild land in Scotland.

The trail locations found on Lewis are Aline Community Woodland, Ravenspoint and Loch Staipabhat. Aline and Ravenspoint are excellent areas for white-tailed eagle and the wetland at Loch Staipabhat attracts several bird of prey species during passage and winter when large numbers of wildfowl and waders congregate.