Our Wee Blog: Life at The Decca

Article re-posted from The Scotsman Lewis and Harris voted best island in Europe LEWIS and Harris in the Outer Hebrides has been named the top island in Europe and in the top five in the world by an influential travel website, ahead of popular sunshine destination such as as Capri, Naxos and Santorini. By FRANK […]

The Butt of Lewis lighthouse is at the northernmost tip of the Isle of Lewis. The lighthouse is surrounded by giant cliffs which house hundreds (thousands?) of seabirds and have spectacular views. VisitOuterHebrides.co.uk has a downloadable walking map (Outer Hebrides Walking Map #7). This walk is 3.5 miles (5.5 km) as listed on the map, […]

Port of Ness Beach is a gorgeous beach with a large breakwater to shelter boats and views to the mountains on the mainland on clear days. It is 1.3 miles away from The Decca, which google tells us is a 26-minute walk or a 3-minute drive. For beach access, park near the slipway then walk […]

Port Stoth is a lovely wee sheltered beach that we consider fantastic for swimming (if you don’t mind the cold water of Scottish beaches 😉). The water is typically clear with colours ranging from turquoise to teal and the cliffs have loads of little cracks that the sea birds will nest in. It is 1.3 […]

Eoropie Beach is roughly a 10-15 minute walk from the Decca (or a 2-minute drive). It is a huge beach with giant sand dunes and the award-winning Eoropie Dunes Play Park for kids of all ages. Check out the images below to get a sense of its beauty. The large sandy beach and play park […]

Loch Stiapabhat is a local nature reserve that is most well-known as being a habitat for the critically endangered corncrakes. The viewing observatory is approximately 500 metres or 0.3 miles from The Decca. It’s a lovely shelter with plenty of windows that lets you view the birds from inside. This is great because they can’t […]

The Ness Historical Society (aka Comunn Eachdraidh Nis in Gaelic) is our local museum complete with a gift shop, cafe (great for lunch!), and archives. If you have roots in the area, want to learn more about the local culture, or want to see some of the Old Decca machinery, this is the place for you! […]

Said to be the tallest standing stone in Scotland, the Clach an Truiseil or Ballantrushal standing stone is a behemoth at roughly 6 metres or 20 feet tall. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture, our sister-in law leaned a bit too hard last time she visited and knocked it a bit sideways… sorry […]

As you’re driving from Stornoway to Ness, just past Barvas and Baile an Truiseil (English: Ballantrushal) you’ll see a brown sign on your right for “Steinacleit Stone Circle.” While not nearly as famous (or extensive) as Calanais, Steinacleit Stone Circle overlooks Loch an Duin, a small loch with a wee stone island in the middle. According […]

As with any beach, there can be hidden hazards to understand before swimming in the Outer Hebrides. For any type of emergency, please dial 999 immediately. If you need to speak to a nurse about a non-emergency medical matter, dial 111 to speak to the National Health Service (NHS). Most visitors come to the Outer […]

We strive to be responsible citizens of Earth in all we do. That means living and promoting a low-waste lifestyle here at The Decca — for all types of accommodation (B&B, self-catering, and retreats). These are some of the eco-friendly choices we have made in running this business. You may not have given this much […]

Why should you retreat to The Decca? Well, you probably shouldn’t. 😉 (Just kidding, of course!) It’s hard to get here (all the ferries and planes, oh my!), we’re almost at the northernmost tip of this island, there are only 3-4 places nearby to go out and eat (fewer on Sundays), and there’s no high […]