Driving the scenic A888, a loop road around Barra
A888 (Barra Ring Road) is a very scenic loop road located in Barra, an island at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides, in Scotland.
How long is the road around Barra?
The road is totally paved and forms a circular road around the island serving the many coastal settlements. It’s 12.9 mile (20.8 km) long. It is very narrow in parts. It is the only classified road on the island and one of very few classified roads in the UK not to meet another. The road is single-track with passing places and it does not take much more than half an hour to travel along. The road is open all year round.
Is the road around Barra worth it?
The journey across Barra, the most southerly of the inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides, offers an exhilarating driving experience, with superb views. The island's circular main road gives relatively easy access to almost all parts of the island. It can be joined at any point. The road tops out at 100m above the sea level (a kilometre north-east of Castlebay). The road encircling much of this beautiful island makes it easy to explore. The shoreline has rocky bays and stunning white sand beaches surrounding a largely uninhabited, inaccessible and mountainous interior.