The Wildlife Map of the Hebrides

16. Mangersta

A large area of bare sand extends well inland from this exposed beach, illustrating the final stages of machair erosion. The beach has a ridge of cobbles and pebbles piled up by successive storms. The cliffs are the highest vertical cliffs on mainland Lewis and Harris, with lovage, roseroot and other cliff plants growing on the more easily reached sections. From higher parts of the main road here, the outline of St Kilda is sometimes visible in fine weather, as well as the famous lighthouse on the Flannan Isles. Three lighthouse keepers disappeared mysteriously from Eilean Mor in 1900 and are thought to have been washed away by a freak wave.