address
Coralbox Gift Shop, 3 Backhill Berneray, Isle of North Uist HS6 5BD
opening hours
Tuesday to Saturday
10:30 AM - 5.00PM
March to October
We are a small independent gift shop located on Berneray, Isle of North Uist. We stock a wide range of Hebridean, nautical & island themed items along with jewellery, soaps & much more!
✨️ December ✨️
~ winter opening hours ~
w/c 9th December
Wednesday 11th, 11am to 4pm
Thursday 12th, 11am to 4pm
*** Friday 13th, 12noon to 4pm***
Saturday 14th, 11am to 4pm
~
w/c 16th December
Wednesday 18th, 11am to 4pm
Thursday 19th, 11am to 4pm
Friday 20th, 1am to 4pm
Saturday 21st, 11am to 4pm
~
From Monday 23rd December, our gift shop on Berneray is closed until end of March 2025.
We can open by arrangement during this time - please email coral-box@hotmail.com
visit our online shop
BEÀRNARAIGH NA HEARADH:
‘TIS FIFTY YEARS SINCE
by Susanne Barding
Susanne’s new book is a unique account of community and island life here on Berneray in the early 1970s. Spending time on the island between 1970 – 1972, Susanne photographed and recorded day to day life on the island.
the book contains over 100 contemporary black and white photos from this time alongside details and records of people and places.
'Life in Berneray (Bearnaraigh na Hearadh in the Sound of Harris, now joined by causeway to North Uist) in the early 1970s was far removed from the romantic idyll imagined by many from the outside. It was dominated by hard work on the croft and at sea, by an unforgiving climate, and by social conventions which were sometimes restrictive but which helped the community survive and underpinned a rich Gaelic culture.
with over 100 accompanying photographs, this book records in meticulous detail how the crofting community operated: the use of the inbye land and common grazings, the seasonal movement of livestock to and fro offshore islands, fishing, peat-cutting, domestic life, Gaelic traditions, the church, and the role of men and women, young and old, in the interactions, personal challenges and social life.
Susanne Barding gives a unique account of community life in the early 1970s, placing her acute observations of 1970s Berneray within a wider context - both geographically (not only in the Hebrides but also in the Northern Isle of Scotland and the Faroes); and changes over time, taking account of the powerful influences which have driven pervasive economic and social trends throughout Europe over the last half-century.'
for orders of 3 or more books, please contact us for a postage cost due to weight of parcel.
email: coral-box@hotmail.com
opening hours
Tuesday to Saturday
10:30 AM - 5.00PM
March to October
Coralbox Gift Shop
Coralbox was founded in late 2015 by Eilidh (aged 23). After moving away to the Mainland to study photography, Eilidh missed the way of island life, the quieter pace and the beautiful beaches. After completing her photography studies, Eilidh decided to move back home to Berneray, where the idea of Coralbox then began. Using her own photography, an idea to sell coaster and mug items printed with her local photographs was started – first at craft fairs & tabletop sales around the Islands. As Coralbox began to grow from this, a 2 berth caravan was converted into a small shop for 2016 - a base for people to visit and buy items. In summer of 2016 work also began on a new purpose built wooden gift shop, in which Coralbox trades from today.
From craft stalls, to a converted caravan and now to a new build shop, Coralbox is a story of ambition and love for photography & a gift shop, alongside Eilidh being able to work and live back where she grew up as a child.
Berneray is approx. 2 by 3 miles and has a 3 mile long white sanded beach that backs onto Machair land, which has some of the best flora and fauna in Scotland. Berneray is connected to North Uist by causeway and South Harris by ferry and is located in the middle of the 140 mile chain of islands, which make up the Outer Hebrides.