An Unexpected Day on an Unexpected Island. Welcome to The Hebridean Isle of Harris!

My trip to St Kilda had been cancelled. It was the only reason I was here. So instead of feeling sorry for myself I embarked on a whirlwind tour of the island where my St Kilda adventure had meant to depart from - The Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles?) of Scotland. Knowing nothing (and I mean NOTHING) about the island, I jumped in the car for a journey of discovery and ever-changing weather. Why not come with me?

Filmed on Monday 29th April 2024
Thumbnail designed using Canva
This video is not sponsored and all opinions are my own

I don’t pretend to be a travel expert, but I love what I do and would be honoured if you came along with me. My channel focusses on the wide-eyed wonder and excitement of finding somewhere new, and my genuine reaction to it. You may not get a history lesson in my videos, but who knows, you might pick up some useful travel tips along the way, add a few destinations to your bucket list and hopefully be entertained by what you see. Thanks for watching, it means a lot to me :)

I do ALL of this myself. Planning, filming, editing, promoting, all with a weekly upload schedule, so please understand not every video will be an epic adventure. But my pledge is to always do my best in any situation and KEEP THE CAMERA ROLLING :)

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FAQs:
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
I was born in Glasgow but have lived in Carnoustie, Dalgety Bay, Stonehaven, Edinburgh, Montrose, and further afield (Salamanca, Spain & Devonport, New Zealand)
WHEN DO YOU UPLOAD?
Saturdays at 10am Scottish time. Occasionally a bonus midweek video will pop up (in which case, likely to be Tuesday at 5pm)
WHY IS THERE A DELAY BETWEEN TRIP AND VIDEO APPEARING?
This is both my business model and a result of doing everything myself. Editing takes time and I also like to schedule videos a bit in advance in case of any problems/illness/cancellations etc. Keeping my uploads appearing every Saturday is important to me, so I don’t want anything to get in the way of it. Also, I occasionally need some time off to recover from trips! But more than anything else, it's about budgets. I generally need to film a number of videos on each trip to break even. And each one of these take a while to fall into place on a Saturday morning.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE?
WHY DON'T YOU SPEND LONGER AT DESTINATIONS?
The usual suspects I'm afraid - time and money! Hotel prices especially these days make my eyes water like a true Scotsman. Also my weekly upload schedule means I need to keep on the move.
WHERE'S ALICJA?
Alicja will feature whenever possible, but she has her own life and a proper job so it can take a while for our schedules to match up. Trust me though, I prefer it when She is there too!
DO YOU PAY FOR YOUR OWN TRAVEL?
Yes I do. I've only ever accepted a complementary ticket as compensation for a previous problem. All my opinions are frank and honest reflections of travel as I experience it.
WHY THE ADS?
It's my income, I can't do this for free. Notice I don’t have mid-roll ads though!
CAN I CONTACT YOU?
I used to list my email address but felt bad not having the capacity to respond to everything so took it down (and I got a LOT of spam so missed many genuine messages along the way).
HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE CHANNEL?
Watching my videos is of course support enough, but if you'd like to support further, I'll pop links in here for Paypal and Patreon. All kind donations are super-appreciated and will go 100% towards future filming trips.
DO YOU ACCEPT SPONSORSHIPS?
I don't like to upset the flow of my videos, so I don't even include mid-roll ads anymore (at significant loss of income to myself), so I prefer not to include sponsorships either. I'm open to a small slide at the start/end of each video, but I don't want to get into talking about products, it's something I don't like as a viewer myself (especially as a viewer who pays for YouTube Premium). So it's probably a polite no, although all of this goes out the window if you offer me something which can give me the chance to make a video for my audience that would otherwise be impossible.

#SteveMarsh #Scotland #Harris

[jackoneil]

Your weather comments reminded me of when I asked a mate From Scotland I worked with with at BP, if the weather in Scotland was really as miserable as claimed, and he said: "Ah, don't believe it, the weather's always good in Scotland, Good 'n rainy, Good 'n snowy', Good and cold, Good n' windy, Good n' foggy, Good n' icy, Good n' dusty. In fact, the weather in Scotland is so good, it's the only place where you can can be standin' knee-deep in mud, in the pouring rain and have dust blowing in your face!"

[elspethhenderson]

We went to the Isle of Skye when I was a child when the roads had passing paces. My father was standing by a car somebody had left in the passing place. A lady drove passed in her car stopped and ranted and raved at my father for leaving his car there. She went on for ages. My father calmly let her finish and then said’thank you for that but it’s not my car”

[LauraMcLaughlin.]

When my dear late husband toured to the Hebredise in the 1990’s in a lovely Jaguar XJ8 the roads were completely untouched. A little to the right or left & a wheel would have fallen off the edge. We went to the island of Scalpy & a chap had to start up his boat up again in the inky darkness to take us travellers back to Tarbet. The sand was so beautiful & fine it would have gone into an egg timer. We travelled on to Lewis on Calmac from Stornaway to Ullapool. Oh I dream to go back. It would be easier for me now that the roads are so good. My dear Victor is gone 6 years last April ——
Parkinson’s. Lovely memories Steve. ❤

[MargaretMckenna-jcee]

Totally blown away by the scenery you have spoilt us again Steve

[Tatia]

I preferred South Harris. There is a Harris Tweed shop in Tarbet just behind the brewery. In the summer the camper vans and tourist busses descend on the islands and cause all kinds of traffic caos. People seem to loose their reading skills too and park in passing places! The St Kilda ferries are run by the Engebritsen family, originally from Norway. One of their grandsons runs a farm called the Maccauly farm on Lewis and people with learning disabilities can work there. North Harris and South Harris are both owned by trusts set up by people living there. Absolutely loved our time there!

[billwinward]

The look of joy when you reached Luskentyre beach was priceless.

[janetmackinnon]

THere are 13 places in Scotland called Tarbet or Tarbert. The name is from the Gaelic and means a narrow peninsula over which a boat could be carried.

[jimmcintosh]

So many memories of Harris...skinny dipping after a hot hill climb, midge at Horgabost camping and a wedding in St Clements church. Think one of these tv repair programmes should come up and sort that bus out!

[francismckenna]

Absolutely breathtaking scenery steve Absolutely amazing. 🙂

[BarnieCowan]

Boy when it rains in Scotland that is RAIN! Am so appreciative of being able to see these magnificent islands through your marvellous vids. Who cares about the weather, always beautiful!🇨🇦

[pandorabox]

This video not only made me miss my time on Harris, it showed me how much I have left to explore! The wanderlust is now strong to get back to Scotland, and Lewis and Harris! Thanks again for a great video, Steve!

[peterowen]

I know a couple of Motor Home owners who love this part of the world and visit at least once a year despite living in England. Just fabulous.

[josephmansfield]

Another beautiful video Steve. Countryside similar to Connemara in Western Ireland so remote . Hope you made it to StKilda cant wait for the next one. You always make my weekend.

[verabolton]

That beach is incredible! Wow! Just WOW! 😵

[imstuman]

Thanks for using the delay to make this beautiful video. Unplanned filming opportunities are a gift!

[scotlandfan]

„Berneray - never heard of it“. I travelled the Outer Hebrides by public transport (bus & ferry) in 2010 and since there‘s no such on Sundays, I chose to be stuck on Berneray because you can easily walk around the whole island in a day. What a lovely little island that is! ❤
Thank you for another great video, Steve. Brings back memories and makes me want to go to the Western Isles again.

[vebetka]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A wonderful trip down memory lane. One of my absolute favorite places I've had the privilege and pleasure to explore in this lifetime.

[telecasterbear]

Thanks for the wee tour today. I love the stone buildings and the sheep. A proper looking fish and chips.

[TheEddyrose]

What a beautiful island! These honest boxes would not last one hour in Florida where I lived most of my life, all the goods along with the money would be gone! Thank goodness I left and live in Austria since my wife passed away. Scotland is on my bucket list, thanks for taking us along.

[vovamccher]

Dear Steven! Thank you. Sheer unadulterated beauty.