A peninsula extending into West Loch Roag from the Uig district of W Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the Valtos Peninsula (Gael: Bhaltos) is 3 km long and 4 km at its widest point, rising to 136m (446 feet) at Nisa Mhor. There are five settlements; namely Valtos, Kneep, Reef, Uigen and Cliff, together with sandy beaches on its northern shore at Cliff, Valtos-Kneep and the Berie Sands (Traigh na Beirigh), the latter with an extensive area of machair. The area is also of archaeological interest, with evidence of settlement in the Bronze and Iron Ages, together with the Norse and Mediaeval periods. The remains of an Iron-Age wheelhouse and Norse watermills can be found here. This combination has led to the suggestion that the Valtos Peninsula is a microcosm of the Lewis landscape, although it is lacking extensive areas of blanket peat.
The 690-ha (1705-acre) Valtos Estate was bought by the community in 1998, the first such buy-out in the Western Isles.
