Kisimul Castle at sunrise, Castlebay, Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK

            Barra is nearly the southernmost of the Outer Hebrides; with Vatersey (off the right of the background, linked by causeway), it's the southernmost inhabited island of the chain.  Its overall dimensions are 18×10 km but it's shaped a little like a long-necked turtle, so its area is only 60 km²

Surprisingly enough, the island's capital, Castlebay, lines the shore of a sheltered bay guarded by a castle ~90 m offshore. Tiny as it is (the whole island's population is ~1,175, never mind Castlebay alone), I was impressed that the village provides the full range of emergency, medical, educational and community facilities one would expect of a substantial town.

Kisimul Castle, built in 1039 and never taken by an attacker, was the seat of Clan MacNeil until the twenty-first chief was obliged to sell Barra in 1838. Stones from the castle were recycled as fishing boats' ballast and even paving in Glasgow, but thankfully it was leased to Historic Scotland for 1,000 years from 2001, so is now better protected.

We'd only visited Barra for the day, to experience the world's only airport where scheduled flights (by 18-seat Twin Otter) operate to and from a tidal beach.  It's surprisingly inexpensive to fly from Glasgow, passing over Scotland's west coast, Oban and Mull at just ~2,500m – I highly recommend it.
However, the service is vulnerable to low cloud – instrument-only approaches really aren't an option – so when the weather turned we were stranded overnight, returning the following morning by ferry (~5 hours to Oban) and taxi.

All part of the adventure!  When else am I going to experience this sunrise view before passing some of the world's most beautiful islands, in the company of dolphins?

Taken in: UK / Scotland / Castlebay (show map)

Taken on: November 3, 2019

Tags:

kisimul

castle

chiosmuil

castlebay

bagh a'chaisteil

isle

barra

outer hebrides

scotland

hebrides

island

sunrise

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Sets appears in: • Hebrides

Groups appears in: • Scotland • Beautiful Clouds more » • Seascapes and Seashores • Castles of Europe • Outer Hebrides • Castles from the world. • Sunrise, Sunset • UK Landscapes, Sea and Country. • Landscape photography • Historic Buildings (Great Britain & Ireland) • Rocky Coastlines and Shores • Landscapes of Scotland • Scotlands west Coast • Scottish Landscapes • Scottish Coastline • Scotland's Water • Castles of the British Isles • British and Irish Coastline Topography • Smaller Scottish islands • Isle of Barra • Western Isles Landscape. • Barra & Surrounding Islands • Scenic Scotland • SEASCAPES!!! • Dusk / Blue hour • ! * British seascapes and coastal views « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II, f/4.0, 1/125 sec, 10.3mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II
Lens:	8.8-36.8 mm
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	10.3mm
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (Windows)
Show full info

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