Uig Sands (Tràigh Uige / Ardroil beach)

Uig sits on the around an inlet on the West Coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The name itself is derived from the Norse word for “bay” which makes it a little odd to refer to the beach as Uig Bay.

Also known as Ardroil beach, the bay here is home to an enormous stretch of sand, particularly if the tide is low when it is as deep as it is wide. Surrounded by gently sloping dunes and machair flower meadows with a backdrop of mountains this really is a beautiful spot.

In 1831 Tràigh Uige was the site of a fantastic archaeological discovery was made… by a cow. The cow was apparently scratching itself against the dunes when it inadvertently uncovered the Lewis Chessmen, 78 Viking chess pieces made of carved walrus ivory and dating back to the 12th century. Now residing in the British Museum and Edinburgh Museum of Antiquities it was only in 2019 that one of 5 missing pieces turned up in a drawer in Edinburgh.

These days the beach is popular with kite buggies - which is perhaps not surprising given all the space.