9 January 2012, UK, 213 views

In the main frame of this Scottish marine collage is a picture, shot by my assistant, DJ, of the ocean on the Atlantic seaboard of the Isle of Harris taken from Luskentyre Beach, one of many beautiful beaches on the Isle of Harris, a hilly and sparsely inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides archipelago off the North-West coast of Scotland. Boats in Stornaway marina on the Isle of Lewis and in Ullapool harbour on the mainland fill the smaller frames. The Isle of Harris is joined by a causeway to the larger and more populous Isle of Lewis and together they are called “The Western Isles”. However, they are very different in character, Harris being hilly, whereas Lewis is more low lying. The climate is much milder in summer than its latitude (just below the Arctic Circle would suggest) and it receives very little snow in winter compared to mainland Scotland.