Day 18: Stornoway, Isle of Lewis - Sunday, 15 September 

Weather: 13º - 15º - Cloudy, heavy rain at lunchtime, cloudy and sunny

Accommodation: Assynt Cottage, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis

We have now had our first full day in the harbour town of Stornoway, the largest town of the Outer Hebrides and the captial of Lewis and Harris. We will be here until early Tuesday morning when we catch the ferry back to Ullapool on the mainland of Scotland. 

We woke up to cloudy skies and the wind and rain had gone. It was a quiet day as everything is closed on Lewis and Harris as an observance of the Sabbath. Jan, our host, said there would be a couple of places open especially the hotels and not to worry. We set out to find a shop to buy extra milk and cereal as we were running low. Google told us where one small shop would be open but it wasn’t open so we set off to see the harbour and the town instead. There was not a soul on the streets. 

We came across a number of sculptures dotted throughout the town. There are two statues commemorating the “Herring Girls”. For almost 100 years up to 3000 island women from 1850 to the end of World War II worked in the herring industry.

Other statues included this bright chap.

In the harbour is a very sad installation of posts in the shape of a ship. It marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ship, the MVY lolaire in 1919. The ship was returning at the end of WWI with 280 men on board and it sank during wild weather at the entrance of the Stornoway Harbour. There are 280 posts representing 201 men who died and the 79 who suvirved. Almost an entire generation of young men were lost to the islands. The installation known as “The lolaire sailed” disappears and emerges with each tide “guiding the ship and the men of lolaire home at last”. It shows the true size of the vessel and is a poignant reminder in the heart of the town of such a tragedy. 

Although the town’s streets were deserted we did find a hotel open and Gordon at reception told us of a place that was open for breakfasts and lunch and other places where we could get dinner on a Sunday evening including the restaurant at his hotel. We backtracked our way through the deserted streets with their little speciality shops. Some of the shops were adorned with an autumn theme. There’s very few trees on the Outer Hebrides islands and we are yet to see any autumn leaves. 

We found the heathen cafe that opened on a Sunday, Beckett + Sons. It was only a five minute walk from our cottage. We had walked the full circle of the town to find an open cafe in our neighbourhood. It was a busy, cosy cafe and Henk and I found a spare spot at the tall table with stools. I had “Shrooms on Toast” and Henk had pancakes with berries. I loved the decor of the cafe with its books and plants.

The waitress told us where we could buy the extra milk and cereal and it was only a few minutes from the cafe. It was a garage with a shop stocking all manner of food including serving hamburgers. It was busy. 

In the middle of the day it rained heavily so we chilled out in front of the electric fire (it looks real) until the weather settled. Once the rain passed we headed out to do some exploring around the Stornoway coastline north of the town. We came across the Tiumpan Head Lighthouse on the Eye Peninsula. It went into operation in 1900 and became automated in 1985.

We called into many little coves along the coastline. With the sun going in and out it was quite an atmospheric afternoon. 

We came across swimmers at a beach at Lower Bayble. It must have been freezing. One of the woman who grew up on Lewis but has lived in Perth for 30 years lasted two minutes in the water. I said she was brave but she thought stupid was more apt! Her sister and cousins stayed in the water for quite some time. 

We visited the iolaire Memorial which was erected in 1958. It overlooks the place where the iolaire sank. A large pole is situated not far from the shore where the ship sank and it’s hard to believe that so many men died so close to the shore.

Henk and I are now totally “gun shy” re the evening meal. The Isle of Skye trained us! Gordon at the hotel reception told us that their restaurant, the HS1, opened at five o’clock. We planned to arrive at 5.30pm but decided to leave our cosy cottage at 5.00pm and arrived at the restaurant at 5.10pm. We got the last table. Lucky! So many were turned away or asked to wait for another hour and a half. We had great meals of Scotch Broth, local seafood and finished sharing a Banoffee Sundae. Our diet has not improved!

When we tried to go our usual way home through the back streets of Stornoway we were stopped by a road block as the local Thai restaurant was on fire. 

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day seeing all the things we want to see before we leave. The forecast is for a sunny day.

And finally …