Sealladh na Mara (Ocean View) is located in the crofting community of Bru (Brue in English), near Bharabhais (Barvas) on the northwestern coast of Lewis. It is a traditional stone croft house in its own enclosed grounds, and is surrounded by working croft fields. Loch Mor Bharabhais, with excellent salmon and trout fishing, is a five-minute stroll through the field behind the house. The Atlantic shore is a ten-minute walk down the road from the house, with boulder and sand beaches, extensive dunes and coastal machair. A waymarked coastal walking path extends to the dunes on the far side of Loch Mor Bharabhais, and in the other direction follows sea-cliffs, lochs and heather peatlands to the village of Arnol before looping back to Bru. The house overlooks both the loch and the ocean, and in most weathers is within sound of the surf. Swimmers and surfers use the beach between Bru and Bharabhais, while the local winds attract windsurfers and kiteboarders. The extensive moors stretching inland from Ocean View offer unlimited opportunities for peatland and hill walking, loch fishing and bird watching.
ACCOMMODATION
The two-story traditional house has been extensively renovated and improved to modern standards. Downstairs there is a lounge with an open hearth and a large kitchen with dining area, both rooms with exposed stone walls; a large dining room seating six; a sunroom with glass doors leading to the patio overlooking the sea; a bathroom with large tub, shower, toilet, hand basin, and shaver point; and a utility room. Upstairs are two bedrooms, extensive closets, and a shower room with shower, toilet, hand basin and shaver point.
Outside there is off-road parking; paved patio area with picnic table; and a grassed 1/4 acre garden fenced from the road and croft, with a stile leading to the croft field extending down to the loch.
Features
GROCERY SHOPPING
Stornoway is located 14 miles away, and contains two supermarkets and several shops. The most convenient is the Co-op Superstore, located on Macauley Road (A857) just as you leave Stornoway travelling towards Bru. This store stocks everything that you would normally find in a mainland supermarket, as well as local produce and a good selection of wines, whiskys, and fine locally brewed ales and beers. Adjacent to the Superstore you will not miss the tartan-painted front of Charles Macleod's butcher shop, where you can purchase heather-fed lamb, renowned black pudding, and other traditional local foods. Islander Seafood, on Rigs Road in Stornoway, is a good source for local seafood, including hand-dived scallops. There are local shops in the nearby villages of Barvas and Bragar.
RESTAURANTS
Several excellent restaurants are found in Stornoway, and in the communities adjacent to Brue. For a selection of the latter, see the Links page.
PETS
This is sheep country, and dogs are not welcomed by the local crofters. The birds in the Outer Hebrides live and nest on the ground, so they are especially vulnerable to cats. Therefore, with regret, we do not allow pets.
SMOKING
Most of our guests appreciate a smoke-free house. We therefore do not allow smoking on the premises.
The Outer Hebrides have some of the best beaches in Britain, extensive tracts of open lands with a unique set of natural environments, and a rich history preserved in an exceptional concentration of archaeological monuments. A wealth of outdoor activities are at your doorstep, and in summer the days are 20 hours long. The beach and a waymarked coastal path are eight minutes walk from the house. To the north the path leads to a sand beach and a large field of sand-dunes, alive with rabbits. To the south the path crosses a burn where otters cam be found, skirts sea-cliffs and winds through broad fields of machair--the flower-rich meadows that form between shell-sand beaches and the moorlands of the interior--then loops back to Bru through hill-pasture and peatland. With a few short interruptions, coastal walking paths extend for over twenty miles along the west coast of Lewis.
The local beach is used by surfers, and the loch by wind-surfers and kite-boarders. With good roads, light traffic, and relatively gradual hills, Lewis is popular with cyclists. The peatlands between Stornoway and Bru form one of the most extensive moors in Europe, offering endless walking opportunities and hundreds of trout-filled lochs. Hill walkers can begin with Beinn Bhragair and other summits within a few miles of Ocean View, and continue with hill and rock climbing in the true mountains of Harris.
For those with historical interests, Ocean View is within a few miles of the Calanais Stone Circle (second only to Stonehenge); Dun Charlabhaigh, an exceptionally well preserved Iron Age broch; Arnol Blackhouse Museum, and many other archaeological monuments and cultural sites of interest. The Museum in Stornoway provides excellent exhibitions on the Prehistoric, Early Christian, Viking and Mediaeval history of Lewis, as well as on the traditional life of the past few centuries. At Gearrannan Blackhouse Village, a community of traditional houses is preserved and reconstructed as it was when occupied into the 1970s. The remains of traditional blackhouses line the roads in most villages, and a well preserved example lies in the croft field beside Ocean View.
The coast, machair, grazing and moorlands of Lewis are home and nesting areas to a remarkable number of sea and shore birds. This coast is a major migratory departure point for Iceland and the Arctic regions, and the area is noted for accidental arrivals from America and Siberia. Whales, seals and occasionally otters can be seen in the coastal waters of Lewis.
Lewis has become a centre of artistic activity. Paintings, photography, ceramics and other arts are exhibited and sold in several local galleries and artists' studios, some in Bru and the neighbouring community of Barvas (see the Links page). An Lanntair in Stornoway generally has an interesting exhibition of art from the Western Isles, as well as a bookshop and café. Other stores in Stornoway stock a wide selection of books of local interest and by native authors, as well as local music from traditional to contemporary and beyond.
Stornoway provides most of the facilities of a mid-size town, including a golf club adjacent to the wooded grounds of Lews Castle, the only patch of forest on the island. Information leaflets on the activities and places of interest listed above will be found at Ocean View, together with Ordnance Survey Maps and maps of walking routes.
NOTE: Because of the Covid-19 situation, many of these events may be cancelled or rescheduled in 2021
Lewis Half Marathon
The first of a number of half marathons takes place in Stornoway in May.
For information log onto www.srac.org.uk
Hebridean Celtic Festival
The Hebridean Celtic Festival is scheduled for 13-16 July 2022. For the
list of artists visit the festival website at www.hebceltfest.com
Sail Hebrides Maritime Festival
The Maritime Festival takes place in Stornoway in July. For more information
on the ever growing event log onto www.sail-hebrides.com
Ceolas Music School
This ever-popular event takes place in July, if COVID allows. It boasts
a large array of tutors and many visiting musicians, singers and dancers,
as well as an Artist in Residence and a Poet in Residence. If you are interested
in Celtic performing arts, you will have a fulfilling week whether you are
participating in class or not, and you will leave Ceolas with a few new
songs, tunes, dances and happy memories. For more information log onto www.ceolas.co.uk
Fëisean (Festivals)
The National Association of Gaelic Arts Youth Tuition Festivals run events
throughout the Hebrides and Scotland each summer. Fëis Eilean an Fhraoich
(Lewis), takes place in July. For a full list of Fëisean and further
information log onto www.feisean.org
The
Gulf Stream flowing off this coast of Lewis maintains a relatively even
climate throughout the year, as can be seen from the occasional palm trees
in Stornoway. Although most people choose the summer months from May to
September to vacation in the Hebrides--especially those wishing to swim
and play on the lovely beaches--other seasons also have their attractions.
The high swells of autumn and winter, for example, attract surfers and extreme
weather enthusiasts from around the world.
In
September the heather is still in full bloom and the moorland resembles
a gigantic Persian carpet. We have also found this to be one of the most
reliably sunny times of year. By October the brilliant colours are gradually
fading to a patchwork of browns and greens, but geese, swans and other Arctic
migrant birds are arriving from Iceland and Greenland. The days are becoming
shorter but the summer midges are gone, and walking and other outdoor pursuits
are still a pleasure.
Winters
are milder on Lewis than in most regions of Scotland, and snow is rare except
on the higher hills. Although rain is more frequent during the months from
November to February, outdoor activities such as coastal and moorland walking
can be enjoyed in comfort. The low sun of the winter months casts a marvellous
light on the landscape (the photographs of the house and the rainbow shown
on the main page of this site were taken in mid-December). In the afternoon
dusk and long evenings, the Christmas lights of Stornoway and other towns
seem brighter than those of more southerly regions.
Winter
brings two natural phenomena for which the Outer Hebrides are famous. This
is the season of powerful Atlantic storms that build huge waves along the
western coast of Lewis, astonishing to watch from the safety of shore or
from the windows of Ocean View. It is also the season of Northern Lights,
the ghostly swirls of colour that glow during the long winter nights of
the high latitudes. Far from the streetlighting of any city, on clear nights
the sky over Bru is brilliant whether or not the Northern Lights are playing.
Other
advantages of vacationing on Lewis during the months from October to April
are the easy availability of ferry and airline reservations, and the relatively
low cost of accommodation. Restaurants, stores and other facilities
have more time to engage with winter visitors, and visitors have greater
opportunities to participate in local activities (such as the Hogmanay celebration
in Stornoway). And for those simply looking for a restful holiday, the long
nights and windy weather of winter encourage quiet hours spent by the peat
fire.
March
brings the beginning of the lambing season, and during April and May the
countryside is alive with small animals leaping and tumbling. The ambient
sound in the fields around Ocean View is the bleating of lambs and the answering
calls of their mothers telling them to come home. Migrant birds are massing
to cross the sea to the north, others are nesting on Lewis, and the early
flowers of the machair are beginning to bloom. Trout are waiting to be caught,
and ferry reservations are easy to obtain until the summer visitors begin
to arrive in June.
Ocean View is devoted to responsible use of the environment in which you have chosen to holiday. You will be provided with information on the efficient heating of the house (including the use of peat supplied free of charge), and how to use the local recycling system.
The local bus system (https://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/public-transport/bus-services/lewis/) is an excellent alternative to using a car, providing both efficient transportation and an opportunity to meet local people.
Information will also be available on how to minimize your impact on the local environment (such as avoiding the major nesting colony of terns at the far end of the Brue shore). Your comments and suggestions on how we can improve our use of the Lewis environment are always welcomed.
By Ferry: Caladonian-MacBrayne operates at least two ferries a day, Monday to Saturday, between Stornoway and Ullapool. Ferries also travel between Uig (Skye) and Tarbert in Harris, as well as between North Uist and Leverburgh at the southern end of Harris. See Links page for ferry schedules, fares and information. You are advised to book early for these ferries.
By Air: There are a number of flights per day into Stornoway
Airport from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness, with connections to other
UK Airports. Flights operate Monday to Saturday. See Links
page for schedules, fares and information.
Local Car Rental: There are several car rental agencies in Stornoway, all with about the same range of vehicles at comparable prices. See Links page for the agency with pick-up and drop-off service at Stornoway Airport and Ferry Dock. There is also a link to the UK Highway Code, providing all the information needed by non-British drivers planning to rent a car.
Local Buses: The Stornoway Bus station is adjacent to the Ferry Terminal, and a local bus can drop you at the door of Ocean View. More frequent buses pass the end of Bru village, about a mile from the house. See Links page for timetables.