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On Leaving Home, and Loving the Hebrides

December 6, 2014 By Katie MacLeod 34 Comments

Taking photos at home in the Outer Hebrides

Some say home is where the heart is, but I think home is different things to different people.  I think, although I cannot speak for us all, that home has a particular meaning for us islanders: for the Leòdhasachs, the Hearachs, the Uibhisteachs.  The Hebrideans.

For those of us born and brought up in the Outer Hebrides, home can never really be anywhere else.  There is a connection here, not only to family and the house you grew up in, but to the island itself, its land, its wide skies, its culture and history.  We may have been gone for decades, lived across the globe, sailed the seven seas, and we will still call this island chain ‘home.’

As photographer Ian Lawson writes in his stunningly beautiful photographic book on the islands, From The Land Comes the Cloth: “The indigenous people of the Outer Hebrides feel a deep sense of place, a connection to the land on which they live and make a living that is rarely broken no matter how far from home they might travel.”

I have to admit that I didn’t always appreciate the wonders of the Western Isles.  Despite reveling in the freedom as a child, as a teenager I couldn’t wait to escape – and I’m ashamed to say I thought of it in those terms – to the bright lights of a big city, the coffee shops and boutiques and bustling streets.

It was never my plan to come home, to come back to the Hebrides, but after leaving for university on adventures that took me to China, America, and elsewhere in Scotland, I found myself back where I started – and now I couldn’t be more grateful for that unexpected turn of events.

Living in Lewis as an adult has made me appreciate, and love, the islands so much more than I ever thought possible.  I love the tangy scent of sea salt that fills the air when it’s damp.  The smell of that (now all too rare) puff of peat smoke from a chimney.  The sight by the roadside of yellow gorse against green grass and blue skies. The croaky sound of a corncrake in summer.  The ever-changing hues of the moors, from orange to brown to purple and everything in between.  The starry night skies that seem impossible in scope.

I love a good Gaelic joke, or the sound of sentence said with a Stornoway twang.  The smell of Harris Tweed that transports me to childhood.  The view of Point as you drive across the Braighe on a summers day; and the reverse, when the rest of the island is laid out before you like a perfect painting.  Those sands of Luskentyre – and Seilebost and Horgabost and Nisabost and Scarista – that take my breath away every single time.

I love the sense of shared history and community, where everyone (or so it seems) knows not just you and your parents, but of your grandparents and great-grandparents too.  I love knowing that where I walk and work and live today, so did generations of my family before me.

There’s nothing like starting the day by popping into the coffee shop where the ladies behind the counter (and even the other early morning regulars) know exactly who you are and where you’re from; nothing quite like venturing into adulthood with friends you’ve known for forever.  It’s heart-warming, belonging to a place like this.

I’m leaving soon – very soon – to set up a second home, in one of those big cities with bright lights that I dreamt of as a teenager.  But as the poetry and prose of islanders and Gaels long gone before me proves, my heart will always belong to the Hebrides.

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Comments

  1. blurredmoments says

    December 6, 2014 at 11:45 am

    Great article, Katie. I visited Lewis a couple of months ago with my fiance whose family is from the island and although she didn’t grow up on the islands herself, much of what you’ve written resonates with her. It was my first trip there but I also loved the place, can’t wait to go back for an extended stay in the area.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:04 pm

      Thank you so much! I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed Lewis, and hope you get to visit again sometime soon 🙂

      Reply
  2. Betsy Grzywa says

    December 6, 2014 at 3:00 pm

    Really beautiful, Katie 🙂

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:04 pm

      Thank you Betsy 🙂

      Reply
  3. Anne says

    December 6, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    So true, I echo your sentiments totally!

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:05 pm

      Thanks Anne, happy to hear you feel the same!

      Reply
  4. Carol Macleod says

    December 6, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    lovely Katie and we all wish you safe travel and good luck in your new home

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:08 pm

      Thanks so much Carol, that means a lot 🙂

      Reply
  5. Virginia says

    December 7, 2014 at 12:14 pm

    Lovely blog post. Where are you moving to?

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:35 pm

      Thanks Virginia 🙂 All will be revealed in my next blog post!

      Reply
  6. ericstewart5 says

    December 7, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    Replace the boutique with Ibrox and it’s exactly me! A very well presented articulation of growing up in the islands.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:10 pm

      Thanks Eric 🙂 Pleased to hear it resonates with you too!

      Reply
  7. Graham Barry Edwards says

    December 7, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    I wasn’t brought up on the island and have only lived here for forty of my seventy years but I feel the same. I am the first generation of my family living here. The second generation was brought up here and is married into the island as well. I think my son would write as you have written. I hope that his children will feel as you do and write as you have.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:13 pm

      Thanks for your lovely comment Graham 🙂 I’m happy to hear you feel as strongly about the island as I do!

      Reply
  8. mypurplesuitcase says

    December 7, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    What a beautiful post Katie. I have a friend from Orkney who I think has a similar sense of connection with the islands, despite not living there any more. It’s something that I envy, as having moved around both as a child and an adult, I don’t really have that same feeling of belonging anywhere.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:16 pm

      Thank you so much 🙂 Being from a small island definitely gives you a very strong sense of belonging that I would imagine is probably hard to find anywhere else.

      Reply
  9. Linda mcfadden says

    December 8, 2014 at 8:08 pm

    Having been brought up on the isle of tiree I can understand it gets into your soul from the long summer days to the stormy winters tiree has it all the beautiful beaches where I could lose myself for the day with my book beach towel and my bike it seemed like the days never ended the smell of wild flowers and the call of the oyster catcher are memories to treasure as people move on to another land the island stays the same .

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:17 pm

      Thanks for your lovely comment Linda. It sounds like growing up on Tiree is every bit as wonderful as growing up on Lewis 🙂

      Reply
  10. Karen says

    December 8, 2014 at 11:46 pm

    Brilliant article. Only thing is I think the Sgiathanach should also be included :). I grew up on Skye as did my parents grandparents and great grandparents as well as many generations beyond. I left home to study and and work in the city, since then I have travelled the globe and lived abroad but as u so beautiful put my heart will always be on the island :). Thank u for sharing

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:23 pm

      Thanks Karen! I can imagine growing up on Skye is a very similar experience. I’ve been to Skye twice, but only briefly (and in the middle of winter!). It’s somewhere I really want to visit properly when I get the chance 🙂

      Reply
  11. Ben Pritchard says

    December 9, 2014 at 10:55 am

    The Hebrides are indeed a special place, my Harris tweed cap bought on holiday there keeps me warmed.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 11, 2014 at 10:24 pm

      Thanks Ben – I agree with you there, the Hebrides are a very special place 🙂

      Reply
  12. Christina Breeze says

    October 23, 2015 at 10:18 am

    No matter how many times I moved to or lived in in the past 51 yes I have thought about the Hebridies every single day,not just through homesickness although there has been plenty of that but of the sheer beauty of the pictures in my mind and the music in my heart.Even the noise the wind makes on a winters day and the seagulls squall.I loved your blog.I am happier for it even though I am basically a happy person anyway,you raised my level of joy today.Beautiful writing.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      October 25, 2015 at 9:45 am

      Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Christina! I know exactly how you feel – it’s not necessarily homesickness, but every day I have fond thoughts of home 🙂

      Reply
  13. Katie Featherstone says

    January 3, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    It must have been amazing to spend so much time on the islands. I’ve loved living on Islay for a little while, but I never got as far as Lewis. Hopefully soon!

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      January 3, 2016 at 11:27 pm

      It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I do miss it now that I’m abroad. I’d love to see Islay, I’ve heard lots of good things about it 🙂 And if you make it to Lewis, let me know!

      Reply
  14. Christine Pratt (formerly Macdonald says

    December 3, 2016 at 10:10 am

    Although I left there at the age of 9, my heart is always there. Your blog stated my feelings exactly. Love that place to this day. In fact I will be 79 later this month so it’s been 70 years. To my regret, I have only been back one time. Took my two children there as teens to see where I lived as a child. Love all your blogs.

    Reply
    • Katie MacLeod says

      December 12, 2016 at 1:16 pm

      Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Christine. I know how much the island means to you 🙂 I would love to hear your stories from your childhood in Ness someday – when I make it out to Michigan, I will be sure to get in touch!

      Reply

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I'm Katie, an expat Scot in the States, and the journalist behind Stories My Suitcase Could Tell, the travel blog which inspires you to explore the world. Read More…

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