North Uist Webcam – Watch the Tide Over Vallay Strand

The North Uist Webcam looks out from Uist Forest Retreat at Claddach Vallay, on the northwest coast of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Rough golden grass and scattered boulders fill the foreground, then a broad stand of conifers, and above the treetops the view opens across Vallay Strand to Vallay, the low tidal island with pale sand along its shore. Faint hills sit on the far horizon to the right, and a white house stands near the water on the same side. The main event here is the tide. Water spreads over the strand and drains away again with every tide, so the stretch between the trees and the island can change from open water to wide sand flats in a few hours. Mist, showers and the long northern summer evenings change the light from hour to hour.

About North Uist and Vallay Strand

The camera belongs to Uist Forest Retreat, a set of three cabins raised among the trees at Claddach Vallay, about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the sandy shore. The retreat describes the outlook as a rare three-way view of forest, beach and sea, and that is a fair summary of the frame. The weather panel on the stream is set to Malaclete (Malacleit), a small settlement just east along the same coast. Lochmaddy, where the ferry from Skye comes in, is about 25 minutes away by car, and Benbecula Airport about 30 minutes.

Vallay is an uninhabited tidal island off the northwest coast of North Uist. For about six hours around each low tide it can be reached on foot across roughly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of sand known as Vallay Strand. The island has no fresh water supply of its own, so its last owner had water piped across the strand.

That owner was Erskine Beveridge (1851 to 1920), son of the founder of the St Leonard’s linen works in Dunfermline, who used his private income to pursue archaeology and photography. Vallay House, a two-story Scots Baronial mansion with crowstepped gables and round turrets, was built for him between 1901 and 1904. He excavated sites on the island and published North Uist: its Archaeology and Topography in 1911. His son drowned crossing the strand in 1944, and the house was abandoned not long afterward. It stands as a ruin today.

Weather and Climate in North Uist

North Uist has a mild, wet oceanic climate with a narrow range of temperatures. Met Office averages from South Uist, a little to the south, put January highs at 7.7 C (46 F) and lows at 3.1 C (38 F). July and August both average highs of 16.1 C (61 F), with nights around 11.5 C (53 F). October runs at about 12 C (54 F) by day and 8 C (46 F) at night. Rain totals about 1,190 millimeters (47 inches) a year. April to June is usually the driest stretch, while autumn and early winter bring the heaviest falls.

Light is what changes the camera most through the year. At this latitude the sun is up for about 18 hours at midsummer, so the strand can still be lit late into the evening. In late December daylight shrinks to roughly six and a half hours, and the noon sun climbs only about 9 degrees above the horizon. Showers can blur the distance and then clear, and mist can hang over the trees on still mornings. In autumn the grass in the foreground turns gold and rust, and the retreat says red deer stags can be heard roaring in the forest during the rut.

Things to Do Near North Uist

The obvious walk is the one in the picture. At low tide the sands of Vallay Strand lead across to Vallay and the ruins of Vallay House, but the tide comes back over the flats, so check the tide times before setting out and leave plenty of margin for the return. The retreat notes that corncrakes, eider ducks and little terns can be found on the island. Back on the North Uist side, the Udal peninsula has beaches facing both east and west along with an archaeological site, and the woodland around the cabins has its own forest walk.

Along the west coast, RSPB Balranald Nature Reserve has an information center and a route of about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) past beaches and flower-rich machair, where corncrakes and corn buntings nest. Nearby, Scolpaig Tower is a Georgian folly standing in a loch, and on a clear day St Kilda can show on the horizon about 65 kilometers (40 miles) out in the Atlantic. Inland is the huge chambered burial cairn of Barpa Langass, and in Lochmaddy, Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre combines exhibitions and concerts with a museum of island life. The retreat lists white-tailed eagles, golden eagles, hen harriers and short-eared owls among the birds of prey seen around the forest.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is North Uist located?

North Uist is an island in the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. This camera is at Claddach Vallay on its northwest coast, about 25 minutes by road from the ferry terminal at Lochmaddy.

What can you see on the North Uist Webcam?

A wide view from Uist Forest Retreat over a stand of conifers to Vallay Strand and the tidal island of Vallay, with open water and faint hills on the far horizon. Grass and boulders fill the foreground, and the strand alternates between water and sand with the tide.

What is the weather like in North Uist?

Mild and often wet. Winter highs average about 8 C (46 F) and summer highs about 16 C (61 F), with around 1,190 millimeters (47 inches) of rain a year. April to June is usually the driest part of the year.

Can you walk to Vallay Island?

Yes, at low tide. Vallay can be reached on foot for about six hours around each low tide across roughly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of sand. Check the tide times first, because the water returns across the whole strand.

Who built the house on Vallay Island?

Vallay House was built between 1901 and 1904 for Erskine Beveridge, the son of a Dunfermline linen manufacturer, who was also an archaeologist and photographer. It was abandoned after his son drowned crossing the strand in 1944 and is now a ruin.

How do you get to North Uist?

By ferry from Skye to Lochmaddy, about 25 minutes from Claddach Vallay by car, or by plane to Benbecula Airport, about 30 minutes away. Ferries from Mallaig and Oban arrive at Lochboisdale on South Uist, about an hour’s drive south.

How many hours of daylight does North Uist get?

About 18 hours around the June solstice and roughly six and a half hours around the December solstice. The North Uist Webcam is at its brightest in the long summer evenings and around midday in winter.

Source: Uist Forest Retreat