Most of the best beaches on Lewis are on the Atlantic facing west coast, but Gary Beach (or Traigh Ghearadha) at the end of the B895 on the north-east coast of Lewis is also worth a visit. The beach of fine silver sand is in a small bay, but the main attraction for photographers is the group of sea stacks at the south end of the beach. Also of interest is the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ which is behind the beach and visible from the car park. This is a relic of Lord Leverhulme’s plan for a road up the east coast of Lewis all the way to Port of Ness. In the end, the bridge is all that remains of this plan as work was stopped in 1921. Today there is a footpath to Port of Ness which starts from the bridge, but this is extremely rough and hard going in parts.
There is also a small lochan behind the beach, and when we visited there were numerous birds about – a cormorant, swans and geese on the lochan and oystercatchers on the beach.
Just before Gary Beach is the far larger beach of Traigh Mhor, which offers a much wider expanse of sand, however this lacks the scenic attraction of the rock pinnacles at Gary Beach.
Location and Parking
Postcode: HS2 0NN
The post-code shown above is for the last houses in Tolsta, about 1 mile south of Gary Beach. Simply continue along the B895, which is a narrow single track road. Past the turning for the car park at Traigh Mor, the road climbs to give a good view over Traigh Mor, before swinging inland to reach the car park at Gary Beach. The road continues a few hundred yards beyond the car park to end at the Bridge To Nowhere.
