A recent survey from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) made a big claim: that the Outer Hebrides was the happiest place in the UK.
Not only is it one of the best places to travel to, it’s now considered one of the best places to live as well, thanks to happiness levels of its residents.
The survey made headlines, and has reappeared in the press in the past few days. But what makes these Scottish islands such a happy place? Using far less scientific methods than the ONS (my own, very subjective, experience as a Leodhasach), here’s why I think people in the Western Isles are among the happiest in the country…
THE STRONG COMMUNITY
It’s not for nothing that island expats and exiles around the world call the Outer Hebrides ‘home’, no matter how far they’ve travelled or how long they’ve been absent. As I’ve said before, there is a connection here, not only to family and the house you grew up in, but to the very island itself. It’s why the word cianalas exists in Gaelic, one that loosely translates to ‘homesickness’ but means so much more.
Apparently wellbeing is also higher when we have some form of contact with our neighbours. In the Hebrides, most of us know the names of our neighbours, who can be called upon in various emergencies, both big and small. (My next door neighbour and I used to enjoy a good chat when she gave me a lift to work in the mornings.) Most people have friends they’ve known since they learned to walk and talk, not to mention family friends who know their parents and grandparents and that second cousin once removed (I’m not even joking!).
Of course, then can be occasional downsides to living in a small, close-knit community (as a teenager, your parents will know your every move!) but most of the time, you’re comforted by the support system of friends, family, and neighbours that have always been – and will always be – there for you, no matter what.
THE LOW CRIME RATE
Contrary to what the multiple murders in Peter May’s best-selling Lewis Trilogy (or his recent stand alone novel, Coffin Road) might lead you to believe, the Western Isles have an extremely low crime rate. In fact, the region’s crime rate is one of the lowest in the UK – this is a place where it’s only in recent years that people have started locking their doors when they leave the house, and where one of the most popular eating options in Harris operates using an honesty box at the side of the road.
On a personal note, I feel privileged to have grown up in a location where as I child I was free to jump on my little bike and take off with my friends, a place where the only warning needed was one about remembering to wear a helmet. The safety of the islands is just one aspect of what makes this a wonderful – and happy – place for children to grow up.
THE RICH CULTURE
The media might have you believe otherwise, but cities don’t have a monopoly on arts and culture. Despite the archipelago’s location on the northern edge of Europe, the cultural events and activities here can hold their own against some of the UK’s best.
Not only do you have a rich, traditional Gaelic culture – in music, art, history, and literature – but the award-winning arts centre in the heart of Stornoway, An Lanntair, is responsible for bringing the brightest and best in the modern arts world to the Hebrides. It’s there that I’ve seen the Moscow State Ballet dance on stage, listened to Jenny Colgan chat about her latest novel, and heard politicians pontificate on their tenure. You can’t claim to be bored when the events calendar is as good as this!
THE FABULOUS FOOD
Easily accessible, fresh, healthy food is important for any community. While supermarket prices in the island might cause consternation in comparison to those in places like Inverness, the abundance of local butchers, bakers, and fishmongers – not to mention cafes that offer locally made menu items, like 40 North – are a huge benefit to the people who live here.
I’d always vaguely assumed that the likes of fresh local eggs, scallops straight from the sea, and warm freshly baked breads were commonplace. Moving away from the Hebrides soon taught me otherwise. The presence of similar ‘farm to table’ produce in urban areas is a fashionable trend – and an expensive one at that. You wouldn’t believe how much I’m looking forward to fresh Stag bread and Air an Lot eggs when I’m back in the islands next month!
THE PRISTINE ENVIRONMENT
As a child, I thought the visitors who came to the islands and waxed lyrical about how fresh the air was were crazy. What was so special about fresh air? A decade or so later, and I was one of those people going crazy about the fresh air, having returned home after spending a year living in the clogged US cities of Philadelphia and NYC.
The air in the Outer Hebrides is clean, and the environment is pristine: miles of open countryside and beaches and crofts where children can play freely, and adults can decompress. One of my favourite things to do on a Sunday afternoon in Point is to leave my phone at home and go for a pre-Sunday roast walk on the beach.
Exposure to nature has been shown to reduce stress and improve well-being (as explained here, here, and here), but even without the hard evidence, do we really need science to tell us that waking up to a view like this every morning is going to give your happiness levels a bit of a welcome boost?
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It looks and sounds wonderful! I hope to have the chance to visit when I am in Scotland this May.
It really is wonderful, Kaelene 🙂 I hope you get to visit in May – that’s usually when we get some of our best weather, too!
Hi, I found your blog on the GirlvsGlobe FB group 🙂 the outer Hebrides sounds (and looks) absolutely amazing! It’s funny to think the simplicity of your home actually promoting happiness until you gain another perspective, lol. I haven’t really had a winter in a couple years, and this year I’ve returned to my home state of Oklahoma to be with family. And I was just thinking today how long it’s been since I’ve be enable to just lounge outside in the grass or on a beach. I would love to visit this place when I visit the UK. I’ll have to put it on my bucket list 🙂
I’m so happy you found the blog, Kellie! Winter must be an adjustment for you, if you haven’t experienced it in a few years! Hope you make it to the Outer Hebrides some day 🙂
I can’t wait to visit the Outer Hebrides! It’s definitely on my Scottish bucket list – and I want to go for a week or two to fully experience it! 🙂
Delighted to hear it’s on your Scottish bucket list 🙂 And you could fit in a lot in two weeks! I’m going back for three weeks next month, so I’m planning on squeezing in seeing all my favourite places (as well as some of my favourite people, of course!). x
Seeing your posts on the Hebrides always makes me want to visit so badly! Definitely going on the UK bucket list 🙂
Yay I hope you make it up there sometime soon, Amy 🙂
I so agree with everything you say Katie – but in case it sounds as though only indigenous folk can be happy in the Hebrides, I’d just like to say that I’ve lived here for 25 years now and despite lacking a large family network or a lifelong association with the islands I’m also one of the happiest people in the UK to be living here as is the rest of my family. In fact, it can’t be denied that since there is a larger number of incomers than there was a quarter of a century ago and greater cultural diversity life for us has been happier and happier. Brilliant article – I hope it encourages many more visitors.
Thanks Debbie! Glad you enjoyed the blog. It was not my intention at all to imply that only people originally ‘from’ the Hebrides can be happy there – there is a strong community in the islands that I’ve always seen include everyone, no matter where they’re from.
Hey 🙂 I’m from the UK (Devon though) and so about as far away from the Outer Hebrides as you can get! It looks like a great place to visit though and I can’ believe how blue that sea is! 🙂
Hi Sophie! I’ve heard amazing things about Devon – I’ve only been once, when I was quite young, but I’d love to go back 🙂 And yes, the Outer Hebrides are a wonderful place to visit!
Now that’s the Hebrides I know and have loved for the last 40+ years.
Glad you enjoyed it, Graham! I thought I needed to dig this post out again after Friday’s awful article!
great story ! I grew up there from ’66 to ’85 – the family owned The Lewis and The County hotels. Not been back for a while – planning on next June as The Minch in October (when I’m in Edinburgh) might be a bit choppy !
Thanks, David! I’m delighted to hear you’re heading back next year – I agree that June is probably a better idea than October!
We`ve visited the Outer Hebrides on many occasions. Wonderful place and friendly people. If only Donald Trump`s mother had just stayed home….
I’m delighted to hear you’ve enjoyed your many visits to the Outer Hebrides 🙂 And not too many people seem to know about Trump’s Hebridean connections – he doesn’t advertise them often!
Hello Katie,
At first, I had no travel plans for 2017, but just 2 days before Xmas I saw an advert from a Dutch travel agency for ‘Island Hopping in the Hebrides’, viz. Skye, Uist, Lewis and Harris. They were already on my list anyway, but this is the chance. It may be a coach tour, still I am sure I will see and experience enough of these islands to savour. In 2003, by the way, I did a group walking holiday during the second half of July of that year: From the Central Highlands to Mainland Orkney bu train, four days of cycling there (also on Hoy and Rousay), then a six-hour train journey to Skye (Sligachan and Black Cuillins) and then back by bus (past Eilean Donan Castle) to Fort William, changing for a train to Edinburgh there. Super, super, super!
Hello Robert! Thanks for your comment – it sounds like you’ve seen more of Scotland than I have! I’d love to make it up to Orkney some time. I’m delighted to hear you’re visiting the Hebrides in 2017! I’m sure you will love them. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good weather for you, too!
My wife and I are making our third trip to Scotland in 3 weeks. We are spending 2 nights on North Uist and 2 nights on Lewis. We are then joining a MINI rally for 5 days on the North Coast 500. Last year we did Speyside, Mull and Skye along with the Tattoo. A previous trip had been in the Eastern highlands and the southern borders. We are particularly looking forward to this trip to the Outer Hebrides and the far northwest of Scotland. Both of our families have Scottish roots and probably emigrated to USA as a result of the Clearances which were most profound in the areas we will be visiting this year. Thanks for your wonderful insights to this area.
Thanks for your comment, William! It sounds like you’ve got a brilliant holiday ahead of you. Obviously I’m biased towards the Hebrides, but the NC500 is a beautiful area too (I loved it even though I visited in the middle of winter!). And I’m delighted to hear the blog has been helpful for you!
I left lochmaddy at the age of 15 I’m now 70 but it will always be home. I miss the way of life, the people, the beautiful clean beaches, the food. The island will always be in my blood
Thank you so much for your comment, Marina. I think most islanders feel the same – it’s a place that always stays with you.