Step Back in Time.
Live the Blackhouse Experience.
Historic homes. Wild Atlantic views. An unforgettable escape.
Step Back in Time.
Live the Blackhouse Experience.
Historic homes. Wild Atlantic views. An unforgettable escape.
Welcome to Another Century
Feel the Atlantic breeze carry the scent of peat smoke in the air. Hear the gentle bleating of sheep across the moor, the distant crash of waves against ancient stone. Here, time moves differently – measured not by clocks, but by the rhythm of tide and weather, the warmth of a turf fire, the slow dance of light across endless sky.
These aren’t just holiday homes. They are portals to a way of life that shaped the Scottish Highlands for centuries – where every stone tells a story, every window frames a masterpiece, and every night brings you closer to the essence of this wild, beautiful place.
Seasonal Update - Visitor Facilities
Self-catering cottages and the hostel remain open year-round and can be booked online.
The Visitor Centre, Museum, Café and Shop are open from 30 March until the end of October 2026.
Choose Your Blackhouse
Taigh an t-Seòladair
Cozy warmth after a day’s adventure
Step into this lovingly restored fisherman's cottage where weathered stone walls hold centuries of stories. Perfect for couples seeking an intimate escape with direct access to the coastal path.
- Fuel burning stove
- Wi-Fi
Taigh Làta
Sleep by the sea in a traditional stone building
The accommodation is bunkhouse style, sleeping up to 14 people in areas of six, six, and two. The house also has two toilets and two shower rooms, making it perfect for a large family or organised group.
- Wi-Fi
Taigh Thormoid ‘an ‘ic Iain
Cosy sea-view retreat in a historic blackhouse
This unique blackhouse is in the oldest part of the Geàrrannan Blackhouse Village. It offers a sea view, solid fuel stove, underfloor heating, double bedroom, shower room, fully fitted kitchenette, and a sitting room. It is perfect for a single person or a couple.
- Fuel burning stove
- Wi-Fi
Taigh Glass
Rest in this charming, accessible cottage where tradition meets modern comfort.
This beautiful cottage offers a solid fuel stove, underfloor heating, shower room, double bedroom, single bedroom, fully fitted kitchenette, and a living area with a double sofa bed. It is perfect for a family. The house has been restored with the needs of disabled visitors in mind.
- Wi-Fi
- Adapted House
Hostel / Taigh Dhonnchaidh
Duncan’s House – Duncan Macleod 1861–1940
On the outside, The Geàrrannan Hostel is still ‘Taigh Dhonnchaidh’ (Duncan’s House) with its solid drystone walls and thatched roof, but the newly refurbished inside offers all the comforts of a modern home, with a well-equipped kitchen and cosy warmth from radiators heated with renewable energy. The bedrooms have cosy bunk-beds, and all linen is provided. There are two modern shower rooms. The hostel offers accommodation for 10, plus a family room for 3.
- Wi-Fi
- Adapted House
Your Blackhouse Awaits
Limited stays available – especially in summer months
Guest Reviews of Geàrrannan Blackhouse Village
“Refreshed and uplifted by the beauty and warm welcome here, and the deep honour for our ancestors.”
C&G
Isle of Lewis / Hawaii
"An incredible place. I’m so glad to be here! Friendly hosts & very comfortable accommodation."
FL
Australia
“Wonderful and special location - rest day on the Hebridean Way. Enjoyed coastal path!”
SM
London
“Lovely place! Warm and cosy, fantastic landscape!”
MT
Bavaria, Germany
“Two sweet nights in a very special hostel. Clean and cozy! Thank you :)”
DB
California, USA
“A Wonderful location, great accommodation. Perfect place of retreat. Staff very helpful!”
JJ
Motherwell, Scotland
Geàrrannan Through the Years
Gearrannan Gaelic Song
- 1800s
The Original Village
The restored Geàrrannan blackhouses date from the 1800s, a time of land re-lotting and from the period after the Crofting Act, when tenants were able to build their houses in some confidence that they would not be evicted.
The houses were now in line at the ends of crofts, not clustered in a group as they had been in the pre-lotting hamlet of Sìthean (the original Geàrrannan settlement, occupied by a family of MacLeods in the late 17th century and previously occupied in pre-history).
- Early 1900s
Peaks and Troughs
Until the First World War, the township continued to survive, sometimes to thrive, on the produce of the land and the sea. A little money for the rent and for purchasing some basic essentials could be earned at the local ling fishing, or at the herring fishing in Stornoway or on the East Coast. The population increased, with as many as 84 of the pupils of Carloway School in 1904 from Gearrannan.
No villages escaped the effects of the war – not just a loss of life (compounded by the loss of the Naval Yacht Iolaire), but also a decline in markets leading to economic depression. Crofting could support families to a degree, but young men needed employment or crofts of their own, and the answer was often emigration.
- 1800s
The Blackhouses
You will be visiting or staying in a village which is alive with history. The blackhouses have seen the cycle of life through generations of crofting families. They were occupied until the early 1970s when the last few elderly residents moved to new accommodation that didn’t need the annual maintenance of thatch and stonework.
The old houses and their environs were declared a conservation area shortly after the last residents left as there was a unique opportunity here to preserve a style of house building which had survived for centuries but which had almost disappeared in the last half of the 20th century – the blackhouse.
The double drystone walls, the low profile and the insulating thatch made the houses suitable for the Hebridean weather, and they were indeed eco-friendly houses in that all the building materials were natural and found locally.
- 1800s
Crofting Life
Families lived off the land, weaving, fishing, and farming in harmony with nature's rhythm.
- 1900s
peat cutting
The annual harvest of peat provided warmth through long winter nights.
- 1920s
Women at Work
Teams of women from Gearrannan leave to process fish, traveling the herring routes from Stornoway to the east coast of Scotland and England, returning home at season’s end.
Gallery
Please note: drones are not permitted at Geàrrannan.
- Life in the Village
- Dramatic Landscapes
- Guest Moments
