The Wildlife Map of the Hebrides

39. Barra

If you take a circular tour of Barra you will see an unusually large range of habitats for such a small island, from the machairs and machair lochs of the west coast through the moorlands and uplands of the interior to the inlets of the east coast, and there are even a few planted woods. The Tangusdale machair has been badly eroded in the past and is now being reinstated slowly, so it is essential that cars stay off this machair to avoid further damage. Loch Tangusdale is possibly unique in having another name in common use derived from a work of fiction - Loch St Clair, from St Clair of the Isles by Margaret Helm.