The word Machair is Gaelic, meaning an extensive, low-lying fertile plain that is subject to local cultivation and has developed in wet and windy conditions. The whole system stretches from the beach to where the sand encroaches on to the peat further inland.
Machair is one of the rarest habitats in Europe, almost half of the machair in Scotland is found in the Outer Hebrides, the most extensive is in Uist and Barra but on the estate there are good examples of machair in Swainbost, Habost and Upper Barvas. Machair sand has a high shell content, sometimes 80 or 90%, this helps distinguish it from the ‘links’ on the east which are formed from more mineral-based sand.
Flowers begin to bloom as spring arrives in May, once the pastures bloom they present a riot of colour for which the machair is famous. As the season progresses the colours move from the white of daisies and eyebright to the yellows of buttercups and bird’s foot trefoil and finishes with the reds and purples of clover, knapweed and scabious. Orchids are a particular highlight of the machair with the pyramidal and fragrant orchids both occurring in the Hebrides, as well as a particular type of Hebridean spotted orchid.
To see a picture of Machair click here
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