Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
75.7km²
Area
149km
Coastline
124m
Highest point
Ruaval
1,303
People
14°C
Warmest sea
August
771km
To the mainland
When to go to Benbecula
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (14 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK
Benbecula is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Outer Hebrides. It covers 75.7 km², with 149 km of coastline. Its highest point, Ruaval, rises to 124 m. About 1,303 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 771 km away.
Getting there
- Benbecula Airport (BEB)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at INV airport (Inverness)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 771 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Benbecula.
- 17beachesCulla Bay, Oitir Mhòr and 15 more
- 7named peaksRueval, Stiaraval, Cnoc Miogaig and 4 more
- 1castles and fortsBorve Castle
- 449ruins and archaeological sitesRAF Borve Castle WWII CHB radar station, Ord House, Àiridh na h-Aon Oidhche and 446 more
- 1waymarked walking routesHebridean Way (Hiking)
- 1campsitesShellbay Caravan & Camping Park
- 10hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 2restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Benbecula in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Benbecula, each with its own numbers.
1lakeLakeyas
Largest lake
0.16km²
Loch Fada
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
17.4°C
Loch Fada
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch Fada0.16km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 9 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 99 %0–50 m
- <1 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Benbecula1,219 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 151 | 109 | 101 | 72 | 81 | 82 | 102 | 115 | 112 | 143 | 138 | 149 |
| Wet days | 23 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.2 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 38 | 36 | 32 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 37 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.3 |
| 2024 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.4 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.4 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.8 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
North Uist
United Kingdom298 km²334 m17 km away
South UistUnited Kingdom305 km²620 m20 km away
Isle of SkyeUnited Kingdom1,628 km²993 m62 km away
BarraUnited Kingdom58 km²383 m52 km away
CannaUnited Kingdom11 km²208 m63 km away
RùmUnited Kingdom107 km²812 m77 km away
Lewis and HarrisUnited Kingdom2,138 km²714 m97 km away
Isle of RaasayUnited Kingdom62 km²443 m77 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q755739) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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