Hebridean Tours

November 30th, 2019   -  Surrounding the coast of Lewis and Harris are many species of seaweeds growing in the crystal clear waters. Seaweeds do not have roots like a plant on land so are only found attached to solid objects. They glue them selves onto rocks using an adhesive that is one of the strongest glues in nature. The plants extract the minerals they need from the water that supports them and energy is taken by photosynthesis from the sun just like plants on land. as the waters are so clear along the Atlantis coasts of NW Scotland seaweed can be found growing down to 100mtres, the water is so clear in places the sunlight can penetrate that deeep! On Lewis and Harris seaweed has been harvested for many decades and processed to extract various elements, in particular alginate. In the picture you can see harvested bladder wrack waiting for the lorry to take it away, the base of the harvested plant remains attached to the rocks and grows back again over about 18 months.