Scotland has beautiful beaches. One of them lies on the small island of Berneray, and is apparently so enchanting that some Thais used it, without further ado, to advertise their own island.
Ian McNamara was rather taken aback when he saw this photo on the information board at the visitor centre of the Thai island of Koh Chang. It was advertising the beach “Kai Bae”, with azure water and white sand stretching as far as the eye could see. There was just one problem: the beach shown in the photo wasn’t in Thailand at all.
What the picture actually showed was the West Beach on the small Hebridean island of Berneray.
McNamara himself lives on Koh Chang and writes a blog about his new home. Naturally, he briefly mentioned the mistaken photo in it. His theory: the staff member at Koh Chang’s visitor centre had probably been too lazy to walk the five kilometres to Kai Bae Beach and take a photo themselves. So they downloaded pictures from the internet instead, mistakenly including the Hebridean beach among them.
What was a mere footnote for McNamara was gleefully picked up by the British press. “They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” a VisitScotland spokesperson commented on the incident.
What’s the lesson here? The beaches of the Outer Hebrides are among the most beautiful beaches in the world! And West Beach on Berneray can easily hold its own against those of Thailand.
There are a few differences, of course. For one, it’s likely to be a fair bit colder on Berneray at times, even though the Gulf Stream keeps the climate mild and the sun barely sets in summer. For another, the five-kilometre-long beach isn’t the only interesting thing Berneray has to offer. Because a few metres behind the beach, something begins that you certainly won’t find in Thailand: the machair.
Machair is a narrow strip of fertile land where peat soil and shell sand overlap. The sand neutralises the acidic peat, allowing lush vegetation to thrive. So when the machair on Berneray blooms, you get a beach with a wildflower meadow behind it, one that plenty of rare bird species also find rather appealing.
Know: A small population and one very tall resident
Berneray covers just 10 square kilometres, roughly a tenth the size of Sylt. The island has 138 residents – and pleasingly, that number has risen by two since the last count. That’s surely partly thanks to the causeway that has connected Berneray with North Uist since 1999, and to the car ferry from Harris that docks here.
The name “Berneray” likely comes from Old Norse, since the Vikings once settled here too. It’s thought to have originally been “Bjarnar-øy”, meaning “Björn’s island”.
Worth noting: Berneray has a world record holder among its own. A son of the island, Angus MacAskill, is still considered to this day the tallest person in the world with entirely natural proportions. He’s said to have stood 2.36 metres tall. Of course, the record does him no good any more, since he died around 150 years ago. But the islanders still honour his memory, and have erected a monument to “Aonghas Mór”, the Great Angus, at the southern end of the island.
Personal note: Almost missed the beach
We visited Berneray in May last year. The weather was rather cool and windy, so we ducked into the small fair at Berneray’s community centre. We got chatting, and when we finally asked what else was worth seeing nearby, we were vaguely pointed in the direction of the beach.
Well, the weather did put something of a damper on our beach mood, if we’re honest. Even so, we made our way there – and we’ve never quite got that beach out of our heads since.
Tip: A circular walk around the island
Visitors to Berneray can walk the handful of sights on a circular island route. It’s around 12 kilometres long, and you should plan for at least half a day if you want to enjoy the walk properly. Along the way you’ll also see A’Clach Mhor, a standing stone two and a half metres tall that has overlooked the island since the Bronze Age. Also on the itinerary are MacLeod’s Gunnery, the oldest house on Berneray, the picturesque youth hostel housed in old blackhouses, the nearby seal colony, and the ruined Telford Church – and, of course, West Beach.
Getting there:
With a sat nav: “HS6 5BJ” takes you straight to Berneray.
Without a sat nav: in principle, there are only two options. Either take the ferry from Leverburgh on Harris to Berneray, or cross the causeway from North Uist.
