Photos of Uig Sands
About Uig Sands
Uig Sands is a vast tidal beach strewn with banded Lewisian gneiss sitting along the west coast of the Isle of Harris. The gneiss is grey, banded through with pink and white, and at roughly three billion years it is among the oldest rock in Britain. Outcrops and boulders sit out on the sand, worn smooth and streaked with quartz. At low tide the water totally disappears and leaves behind the rock standing clear on wet sand. If you are here just as low tide starts you can capture the wet stone when it shows the pattern far better than dry. The beach faces west, so sunset runs straight down the sand behind the rock. Winter is the ideal time to be here since the sun stays low all day giving you hours to experiment with various compositions until the tide comes back. A river channel cuts across the sands and shifts position, giving you leading lines to experiment with. Make sure to check the tide tables when you are planning your shooting day since high water covers most of the sand. (Uig, Isle of Lewis, Scotland)
