The earliest surviving written references relating to the islands were made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, in which he states that there … See more

The islands' total population was 26,502 at the 2001 census, and the 2011 figure was 27,684. During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. The … See more

There are more than fifty uninhabited islands greater in size than 40 hectares (99 acres) in the Outer Hebrides, including the Barra Isles, Flannan Isles, Monach Islands, … See more

The Outer Hebrides have a cool temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the North Atlantic Current. The average temperature … See more

The islands form an archipelago whose major islands are Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra. Lewis and Harris has … See more

Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from Lewisian gneiss. These are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe, having been formed in the Precambrian period up to three billion years … See more

The Hebrides were originally settled in the Mesolithic era and have a diversity of important prehistoric sites. Eilean Dòmhnuill in Loch Olabhat on North Uist was constructed … See more