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The Old Place, 4 Cliasmol

A newly restored, single storey traditional croft house, adjoining recently planted native woodland.

Accommodation is open plan, ideally suited to one or two adults, with one or two small children. At the west end is a woodburning stove, sofabed and futon; at the east end are the bathroom and kitchen area, table and chairs, and a spare bed.

The kitchen is equipped with electric cooker, kettle, toaster and refrigerator (small freezer compartment). The bathroom has a large electric shower, washbasin and toilet, and heated towel rail. The use of a washing machine is included.

Enclosed parking is available next to the cottage.

Cliasmol is about 7 miles along the B887 from Tarbert to Hushinish. The seashore is within easy reach, and rising behind are the North Harris hills, with good tracks for walking nearby.

Landforms in the Western Isles, and especially the North Harris hills, are dominated by the effects of the last ice age on an underlying geology of Lewisian gneiss, which at around 3 billion years old is among the oldest rock on the surface of the planet. (Our solar system itself is estimated at only 4.5 billion years old.) Outlying islands, especially St Kilda to the west and the Shiant Isles to the east, are by contrast the result of very recent volcanic activity, and now host large colonies of seabirds.

The machair is a beautiful shifting landscape, based on wind-blown shell-sand and geologically still in its infancy. And finally the peat bogs, only a few hundreds or perhaps thousands of years old, are a source of fossil fuel. They have traditionally been a valuable local resource, and now largely left to themselves are a valuable means of capturing carbon from the atmosphere.

Caledonian MacBrayne ferries sail Monday to Saturday from Uig in Skye to Tarbert, Harris, and from Ullapool to Stornoway.
Coach services to Uig and Ullapool are operated by Citylink and Rapsons (check timetables for connections with ferries).
By car, Cliasmol is less than half an hour from Tarbert and about an hour from Stornoway.

Local buses run Monday-Saturday between Stornoway, Tarbert and Leverburgh. Buses between Tarbert and Hushinish are scarce.

BA flights are frequent to and from Stornoway, seven days a week. Car hire can be arranged for collection at the airport.