South Harris (Ceann a Deas na Hearadh)

The mountains of South Harris are less dramatic than those of the north, but the scenery is equally breathtaking. There's a choice of routes from Tarbert to the ferry port of Leverburgh, which connects with North Uist; the east coast, known as Bays (Na Baigh), is rugged and seemingly inhospitable, while the west coast is endowed with some of the finest stretches of golden sand in the whole of the archipelago, buffeted by the Atlantic winds. Paradoxically, most people on South Harris live along the harsh eastern coastline rather than the more fertile west side, though not by choice - they were evicted from their original crofts to make way for sheep-grazing.

The main road from Tarbert into South Harris snakes its way west for ten miles across the boulder-strewn interior to reach the coast. Once there, you get a view of the most stunning beach, the vast golden strand of Tràigh Losgaintir. The road continues to ride above a chain of sweeping sands, backed by rich machair, that stretches for nine miles along the Atlantic coast. In good weather, the scenery is particularly impressive, foaming breakers rolling along the golden sands set against the rounded peaks of the mountains to the north and the islet-studded turquoise sea to the west - and even on the dullest day the sand manages to glow beneath the waves. A short distance out to sea is the large island of Taransay (Tarasaigh), which once held a population of nearly a hundred, but was abandoned as recently as 1974. In 2000 it was the scene of the BBC series Castaway, in which thirty-odd contestants were filmed living on the island for the best part of a year; you can now take day-trips to the island (tel 07747/842218, www.visit-taransay.com). Nobody bothers much if you camp or park beside the dune-edged beach, as long as you're careful not to churn up the machair, and there are two very good B&Bs, Moravia (tel 01859/550262; under £40; March-Oct), overlooking the sands at Losgaintir (Luskentyre) and Beul na Mara at Seilebost (tel 01859/550205, morrisoncl@talk21.com; £40-50). The most luxurious accommodation, though, is five miles further south in SGARASTA (Scarista), where one of the first of the Hebridean Clearances took place in 1828, when thirty families were evicted and their homes burnt. Here, the Georgian former manse of Scarista House (tel 01859/550238, www.scaristahouse.com; £110-150; May-Sept) overlooks the nearby golden sands; if you can't afford to stay, it's worth splashing out and booking for dinner, as the meat and seafood served here is among the freshest and finest on the Western Isles.

From Taobh Tuath the road veers to the southeast to trim the island's south shore, eventually reaching the sprawling settlement of LEVERBURGH (An t-Ob), named after Lord Leverhulme, who planned to turn the place into the largest fishing port on the west coast of Scotland. From a jetty about a mile south of the main road, a CalMac car ferry runs to Otternish on North Uist. There are several B&Bs strung out within a two-mile radius of Leverburgh: try Caberfeidh House (tel 01859/520276; under £40), a lovely stone-built Victorian building by the turn-off to the ferry, or Sorrel Cottage (tel 01859/520319, sorrelcottage@talk21.com; under £40), which specializes in vegetarian and seafood cooking. A cheaper alternative is the welcoming purpose-built timber-clad An Bothan bunkhouse (tel 01859/520251), which has great facilities, and is only a few minutes' walk from the ferry.

Three miles southeast of Leverburgh and a mile or so from Renish Point, the southern tip of Harris, is the old port of ROGHADAL (Rodel), where a smattering of ancient stone houses lies among the hillocks surrounding the dilapidated harbour where the ferry from Skye used to arrive. On top of one of these grassy humps, with sheep grazing in the graveyard, is St Clement's Church (Tur Chliamainn), burial place of the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan in Skye. Dating from the 1520s, the church's bare interior is distinguished by its wall tombs, notably that of the founder, Alasdair Crotach (also known as Alexander MacLeod), whose heavily weathered effigy lies beneath an intriguing backdrop and canopy of sculpted reliefs depicting vernacular and religious scenes - elemental representations of, among others, a stag hunt, the Holy Trinity, St Michael, and the devil and an angel weighing the souls of the dead. Look out, too, for the sheila-na-gig halfway up the south side of the church tower; unusually, she has a brother displaying his genitalia, below a carving of St Clement on the west face. Beyond the church, tucked away by a quiet harbour, the newly restored Rodel Hotel is excellent (tel 01859/520210, www.rodelhotel.co.uk; £70-90).

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Our cottages:

Dunmorag Cottage Leverburgh, South Harris Sleeps: 2 (4), Bedrooms: 1

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