United KingdomOuter HebridesIsland
Lewis and Harris
2,138 km² rising to 714 m out of the Sea of the Hebrides.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
2,138km²
Area
1,129km
Coastline
714m
Highest point
Clisham
21,031
People
14°C
Warmest sea
August
668km
To the mainland
When to go to Lewis and Harris
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (14 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Largest island in Scotland, part of the Outer Hebrides
Lewis and Harris is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Outer Hebrides. It covers 2,138 km², with 1,129 km of coastline. Its highest point, Clisham, rises to 714 m. About 21,031 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 668 km away.
Getting there
- Stornoway Airport (SYY)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at INV airport (Inverness)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesUig - Tarbert, Ullapool - Stornoway
- 668 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Lewis and Harris.
- 222beachesCliff Beach, Tràigh na Cleabhaig, Tràigh Sgarasta and 219 more
- 16viewpointsBridge to nowhere, Mangersta Stack, Eagle Observatory and 13 more
- 2lighthousesRubh Uisenis
- 7ferry terminalsTarbert Ferry Terminal, Stornoway Cruise Terminal, Stornoway Ferry Terminal and 4 more
- 4marinasStornoway Marina, Stornoway Port, Visitor Moorings and 1 more
- 251named peaksClisham, Mulla bho Dheas, Uisgnaval Mòr and 248 more
- 9waterfallsSteall Abhainn na Cloich, Easan Gascleit, Easa Dubh and 6 more
- 3castles and fortsLews Castle, Ardvourlie Castle, Dùn Èistean
- 3,011ruins and archaeological sitesMacLeod’s Stone, Habost WWII CHB radar station, Garrabost Brickworks and 3,008 more
- 1surf spotsHebridean Surf
- 4waymarked walking routesHebridean Way (Hiking), Harris Walkway, Huishinish Trail and 1 more
- 19campsitesArdroil Sands Campsite, West Harris Trust Camping Spot, Ardroil Sands and 16 more
- 147hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 44restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Lewis and Harris in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Lewis and Harris, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
33mountainsPeakyas
21lakesLakeyas
1waterfallCascadyas
Highest point
572m
Beinn Mhor
prominence 555 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
2.2km²
Loch Suainaval
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
20.2°C
Loch Faoghail Kirraval
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
13.7°C
Skebadale Bay
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Dalmore Beach13.7°C
- Dailbeag Beach13.6°C
- Skebadale Baycove13.7°C
33 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Beinn Mhorprominence 555 m572m
- Roineabhalprominence 406 m460m
- Taran Morprominence 146 m303m
- Clishamprominence 799 m
- Tiorga Mor
- Uisgneabhal Mor
- Mealaisbhal
- Chaipaval
25 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
21 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch Suainaval2.2km²
- Loch Langavat1.3km²
- Loch Mòr Bharabhais0.76km²
- Loch a' Ghlinne0.41km²
- Loch Acha Mòr0.33km²
- Loch na Scaravat0.26km²
- Loch Steisevat0.25km²
- Loch na Moracha0.19km²
13 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Steall Abhainn na Cloich
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 99 m above the sea. 89 % of it is below 200 m.
- 32 %0–50 m
- 57 %50–200 m
- 11 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Isle of Lewis18,500 people
- Stornoway7,500 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 136 | 104 | 96 | 72 | 78 | 73 | 94 | 107 | 105 | 131 | 128 | 134 |
| Wet days | 22 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.1 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 38 | 36 | 34 | 29 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 37 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.6 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.1 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.7 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +1.7 | −0.2 | −0.5 | −0.5 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Great BerneraUnited Kingdom20 km²77 m11 km away
Isle of SkyeUnited Kingdom1,628 km²993 m102 km away
North UistUnited Kingdom298 km²334 m82 km away
BenbeculaUnited Kingdom76 km²124 m97 km away
South UistUnited Kingdom305 km²620 m116 km away
Isle of RaasayUnited Kingdom62 km²443 m102 km away
Eilean DonanUnited Kingdom0.01 km²3 m128 km away
RùmUnited Kingdom107 km²812 m140 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q363778) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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