I first visited Lewis in August 1977 with my family when we stayed in a B&B at Barvas. I returned in September 2006 and again in June 2016. My lasting impressions from my first visit were that Lewis was mostly an inhospitable peat bog wilderness. However on subsequent visits, I realised that this was not entirely true. Lewis also has some dramatic cliffs and stunningly beautiful beaches.
Lewis and Harris together are the third largest island in the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland, with a land area of 841 square miles or 2,178 square kilometres. They are geographically one island but are very different in character. Harris is much more rocky and mountainous, while much of Lewis is low lying peat moors. The boundary between Lewis and Harris is at a narrow point between Loch Resort on the west coast and Loch Seaforth on the east, rather than at the more obvious narrowing further south at Tarbert.
In 2011 the population of Lewis was 19,658. The only town on Lewis is Stornoway, which in 2011 had a population of 6,200. The population of the Greater Stornoway area is about 8,000. The remainder of the people live scattered across 280 townships, most of which are on or near the coast.
Geologically most of Lewis is composed of metamorphic Lewisian gneisses, which at 3 billion years old, are some of the oldest rocks on earth. There is an area of granite around Uig in the south west of Lewis, some small areas of red sandstone around Stornoway and anorthosite around the Butt of Lewis. Anorthosite is a valued material for road aggregate, as it is skid resistant. It is rare in Britain but apparently abundant on the moon!
There is one main road (A859), which runs length of the island from north to south via Stornoway, with a few roads running off it but most of these are no through roads e.g. the roads to Uig and Leumraghagh via Kershader, so you have to come back the same way. There is also a road (the A858) , which branches off at Liurbost, runs to and then up the west coast of the island and meets the main north-south road at Barvas. Only the A859 and A858 have 2 carriageways. All the other roads outside Stornoway are single track with well marked passing places. The roads aren't particularly busy but progress along these roads is much slower. One road, which I think is well worth driving along is the Pentland Road, which runs from Carloway on the west coast to Stornoway and which gives you excellent views of the empty peat moorland.
There are plenty of historic sites, monuments, sculptures, quiet beaches, cafes and art/craft galleries to visit. However my advice is not to expect to get food other than scones and cakes in any of the cafes after about 2.30pm and don't expect any of them to be open after 4pm. I grew tired of being greeted at the door of cafes with the phrase "We aren't serving food now". I accept that 3pm isn't lunchtime but it would be good to be greeted with a more positive sentence! When I asked if I could have a scone the lady in one cafe said yes that was fine, as it wasn't food! It tasted like food to me when it arrived but I didn't argue with her. I did manage to visit the Uig Community Cafe at the right time of day and had some really excellent carrot cake there.
Lewis is a largely tree-less island, due to the prevalent strong winds. However there are some deciduous trees around Stornoway, notably around Lews Castle. There is also a large area of planted coniferous woodland on the north west side of Loch Seaforth to the south of Balallan. However many of the trees look very unwell. There is a long boardwalk at Aline Community Woodland , which would be a dry walk at all times of the year.
Lewis and Harris have dozens of memorials to all kinds of historic and recent events and disasters. There are also lots of modern sculptures, some more official than others. There are so many that I am going to do a separate blog post for them.
The most famous historic site on Lewis is Callanish/Calanais Standing Stones. They were erected 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period and so pre-date the Pyramids and Stonehenge. There are 3 main sites in the same area, but by far the most impressive is Callanish 1. The 50 stones at Callanish 1 are arranged in a cruciform pattern with a circle of 13 stones at the centre. The tallest stone is 4 metres high. There is a car park and visitor centre but it is free to visit the stones. In June 2016 I managed by chance to choose a few minutes to visit when no one else was around. This was a very different experience to Stonehenge when we walked up to it at Easter this year while walking the Great Stones Way: there were hundreds of people milling around and walking round the stones and marshals in high visibility jackets checking tickets, keeping people moving and ensuring that no one got too near the stones. I also visited Callanish 3, as it is near the road and has a geocache near it. I'll visit Callanish 2 when I am next on Lewis.
Callanish Stones
Callanish Standing Stones
Callanish
Callanish/Calanais
- chambered cairn at the centre of the circle
Callanish 3
Callanish 3
Stornoway Area
Stornoway is the only town on the Outer Hebrides and has a wide variety of shops and restaurants, an excellent Arts Centre - An Lanntairr and the Museum nan Eilean, which specialises in the history of the Western Isles.
Stornoway Harbour - Herring Girl Statue
Stornoway from Lews Castle
Clocktower at the Nicolson Institute
Lews Castle
Lews Castle
Function room in Lews Castle
Beach in the grounds of Lews Castle
Wood near Lews Castle
Lews Castle
Lews Castle
Stornoway from the grounds of Lews Castle
Iolaire Memorial at Holm Point
Inside St Peter's Episcopal Church, Francis Street, Stornoway
Shieling on the Pentland Road
Shieling on the Pentland Road
Ness and the Butt of Lewis
The Butt of Lewis Lighthouse was built in 1862 by David Stevenson at the northern tip of the island. It was automated 1998. http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Butt-of-Lewis/
Butt of Lewis Lighthouse
Butt of Lewis Lighthouse
Butt of Lewis Lighthouse
Butt of Lewis Lighthouse
Butt of Lewis
Port of Ness Beach looking south
Harbour at Port of Ness
My all time favourite artist Anthony Barber has a studio and gallery at Port of Ness at the north of the island. I wish I could paint like him. www.abarber.co.uk/Homepage.html
Odd coloured beach at Skigersta
Stack at the Butt of Lewis
Port Stoth near the Butt of Lewis
Port Stoth Beach
St Moluag's Church at Eoropie
St Moluag, who was a contemporary of St Columba, is thought to have built a chapel on this site in the 560s. It then became a place of pilgrimage. The current building is thought to date from anywhere between the 1100s to the 1500s. By the 19th century it was a ruin. It was restored 1910-1912.
Rubha an Tiumpain Lighthouse, Eye Peninsula
Built in 1900, automated 1985
Rubha an Tiumpain Lighthouse
Portnaguran
Tolsta
Bridge to Nowhere, New Tolsta
The Bridge to Nowhere, New Tolsta
Lord Leverhulme, who owned Lewis from 1918 until his death in 1923 planned a road from Tolsta to Point of Ness but this was as far as it got.
North West Coast - Carloway to South Galson
Carloway Broch
Carloway Broch
Carloway Broch
- One of the best preserved broch towers in Scotland.
It has 2 concentric walls with a stairway in between. It is over 2000 years old.
To
visit most of the beaches on the north west coast of Lewis, you have to
take a detour of a mile or so off the main A858 and down no through roads e.g. at Garenin,
Dalbeg, Dalmore and Shawbost. However most of them are definitely worth the detour.
To get to the beach and/or coast path at Garenin it looks like you have to pay to visit the heritage village of restored black houses. However I asked at the till and was told that I could walk straight through the village to get to the beach without paying. There is a café but this was one of the places where I was greeted by "We're not serving food". I was allowed to buy a scone, which was very good, but the lady who served me didn't seem to be enjoying her job much!
Garenin Village
Pebble Beach at Garenin
Garenin Hostel
Excellent accommodation for visitors on a low budget.
Dalbeg Beach
Bay at Dalbeg
Ruined house with Loch Dhailbeag in the background
Dalmore Beach
(without the oil rig, which ran aground here a couple of months after I took this photo)
Dalmore Beach
Ballantrushal
Tallest standing stone in Scotland at nearly 6 metres high
Garenin
I came across this sign on the Pentland Road at Carloway. Presumably women don't cross the (really not very busy) road at this point or maybe they are just better at their green cross code than men?!
Norse Mill and Kiln, Shawbost 2006
Norse Mill and Kiln, Shawbost, 2016
Norse Mill, Shawbost, 2016
Trig point and wind farm at Tom a' Mhile near South Galson
The Black House at Arnol is well worth a visit. It is a traditional furnished Lewis thatched house with byre, attached barn and stockyard. When we were there the smoke from the fire was so thick that it made you cough but it did make it feel authentic! On the opposite side of the road there is a furnished 1920s white house, which can also be visited. The site is managed by Historic Scotland (admission fee).
Black House at Arnol
White House at Arnol
Whalebone Arch, Bragar
This Whalebone Arch at Bragar is the remains of a blue whale, which was beached in 1920:
I don't believe in unicorns but if I did this chap would surely be one. All he was missing was the horn! We encountered him at Morven near Barvas.
Uig
Beach at Uig
Lewis Chessman at Ardroil on Uig Bay
A set of 93 chessmen made from carved walrus ivory and whales' teeth was discovered in a sand dune at Uig in 1831. Most of the figures are now in the British Museum but a few of them are on display in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. They are thought to have been made in Norway c1150-1200.
Traigh na Beirigh, Bhaltos
Mangurstadh Beach
Mealasta Beach
Uig Beach
Gallan Head
Gallan Head
The village of Aird Uig
Mangersta
Gleann Bhaltois
Cliff Beach
Chequerboard lamb on the road to Uig
Land Raiders Memorial, Balallan
In November 1887 a well organised raid by the desperate and impoverished people of Lochs villages on the deer forest of Lochs became a focus for further protest in the struggle for land reform.
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