JPG: Stories: Photo Essay: Barra Lights

Barra Lights

By Alistair Keddie

5 Oct 2008

The Isle of Barra lies at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, an island chain that lies about 90 miles off the west coast of Scotland. A small island you can easily drive round in a morning, that offers a wealth of opportunity for coastal photography. Fantastic beaches, huge Atlantic surf, rocky and barren stretches, ancient sites, small farms and crofts.

I visited there last in July 2007 and spent most of my time around Eoligarry, a village on the northernmost tip of the island that sits out on a spit of land from the main body of the island. Eoligarry and has managed to collect around its peninsula an impressive system of white sand beaches, massive dune systems and shallow bays which empty at low tide. The biggest of these is Traigh Mhor, literally big beach, a huge cockleshell bay and also, strangely, the island's airport, the only tidal airfield in the world apparently. Traigh Mhor forms a large and sheltered easterly facing bay that floods with the tide but only to a couple of feet and is remarkably flat and firm underfoot at low tide. You can walk a long way out onto the sands, following the retreating tide and the colours on a sunny day are breathtaking. Caribbean greens and blues against white sand, blue skies and white cumulus sailing majestically overhead make the place seem like anywhere but Scotland. Another hidden gem that this country has to offer. And its more or less empty. No intrusive holiday resorts, no massive impact on the landscape, you can easily find shots that focus on the natural beauty of the place.

Traigh Mhor forms part of a large coastal dune system which connects to Traigh Eais, the beach on the western side of the Eoligarry peninsula. Traigh Eais is a narrow strip of sand that runs for a mile or two backed by high dunes and is battered by some big Atlantic surf making it violently impressive, even on a summers day. You get a feel for the whole system by climbing up to Dun Sgurabhal, an ancient bronze age fort that lies at the top of a low hill above Eoligarry and affords a view of the whole peninsula.

Around Eoligarry you'll also find some smaller and beautiful tidal bays and beaches, notably Traigh Cille-bharra, after the ancient church nearby and Traigh Sgurabhal another massive tidal flat and named after the fort mentioned above. There's also an attractive scattering of cottages, crofts, fields of wildflowers and small jetties around the coast.

While out and about on Barra, I also spent time on around Allathasdal on the western side of the main island and found some more great beaches and rocky coastline looking onto Ben Tangaval, a low rising but prominent hill above the shore. The coast here is dominated by big skies and, like Traigh Eais, big surf from the open Atlantic.

Lighting well towards sunset and into the long summer dusk, the colour takes on a surreal intensity with glowing green seaweed against black shelving rock and boulders, while high level clouds smear pink against the darkening sky.

I shot here from sunset on into the late evening as the shore turned red with the setting sun, but the golden hour made it as the colours intensified, taking on the strangest hues and giving me some of my favourite shots from the trip.

A fantastic place and well worth a visit if you're in the isles.