Harris Self Catering Accommodation: Scarista Blackhouse

Scarista Blackhouse

The photograph above shows the blackhouse at Scarista on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides/Western Isles of Scotland. At one time nearly every person in the Hebrides lived in blackhouses and many remained inhabited until the middle of the twentieth century. Today there are still a few blackhouses on the Isle of Harris but nearly all of them are little more than a mound of rocks having long been deserted in preference to more modern accommodation. On the Isle of Lewis there are a couple of places where blackhouses have been 'restored' to how they would have been in the past (most famously at Arnol on Lewis).

The balckhouse at Scarista was built using the exact same traditional techniques used for hundreds of years but inside the cottage like building is fully equiped with all things modern. It is possible to hire the blackhouse, so, if you are interested take a look in our self catering accommodation section where you will find more information including some further photographs of this wonderful little cottage in the Hebrides.