The island is scattered with ancient sacred sites, stone circles, signs of Viking inhabitation and historical buildings, some several centuries old.

Broadband internet provision became available in January 2006, giving an incentive to people wishing to relocate to Berneray and helping sustain the population and community.

Traditional crofting practice, which involves summer agriculture using seaweed together with dung from winter grazing animals as natural fertiliser, has, over time, bound together and stabilised the land.

The machair is ploughed in rotation, giving a patchwork of crops and fallow of different ages which supports a wide range of flowers.

Berneray has a particularly fine machair, a result of careful husbandry by the island's crofters, helped by the absence of rabbits.

Possibly the greatest change in modern times occurred in 1999 when the causeway opened between Berneray and Otternish on North Uist.

This has eased travelling on and off the island, improving employment prospects and accelerating the carriage of produce (notably, crabs and lobster).

[12] Berneray is served by regular local bus services from Lochmaddy on North Uist, many of which form part of the "Spine Route" from Eriskay.

Berneray is also linked to Harris, Scotland via Leverburgh by the ferry MV Loch Portain, operated by Caledonian MacBrayne.

Wading birds on the shore include redshank, sanderling, turnstone, oystercatcher, dunlin, curlew, whimbrel, ringed plover.

Grey seals, which are larger and can be distinguished by the long "Roman" noses, also haul out there occasionally, but are more common off the West Beach.

The English singer Vashti Bunyan wrote much of her debut album Just Another Diamond Day while living in a croft on Berneray.