Day 19: Stornoway, Isle of Lewis - Monday, 16 September 

Weather: 7º - 15º - Cloudy, sunny, windy

Accommodation: Assynt Cottage, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis

We had a fantastic day seeing the Isle of Lewis highlights. Henk and I decided what we wanted to see and Henk worked out the most efficient way to visit the places. We woke to cloud and no wind so that was good enough for us. Eventually the sun broke through the clouds as we made our way to our first destination, the Calanais Standing Stones.

The stones which are in a cruiciform pattern with a stone circle sit on a ridge overlooking the Loch of Roag. In the centre is a chambered tomb. 

It’s hard to believe that the standing stones predate Stonehenge and are about 5000 years old. In 1857, peat to the depth of 1.5m was cleared away showing the true height of the stones. As we were early at 9.30am there weren’t too many people walking around the stones so we could get some good photos. The Calanais Visitor Centre was closed and will be for two years as it’s undergoing a massive upgrade and extension to cope with the many visitors to the site.

We moved onto the Calloway Mill which is the oldest Harris Tweed Mill in the world and is one of only three working Harris Tweed Mills. When we arrived for the 10.30am tour we debated whether to go in or not as there was no signage out the front and the mill looked like a dilapidated building. 

We thought, “what the heck, we’re here, let’s do it”, and we were so pleased we visited the mill. It would have to be one of the highlights of our trip so far. An older Scottish gentleman named Dia took us and a couple from Chicago on an hour’s tour of the working factory which uses machinery dating back to 1892. The job of the mill is to produce yarn for the island’s weavers who make the Harris Tweed cloth in their homes. 

Despite the use of traditional machinery we discovered that the making of the yarn and the finishing of the cloth were labour intensive. I loved the range of colours they used which was on display and referred to during the tour. 

The finished cloth is brought back from the homes to the factory for washing, checking and finishing. Dia was responsible for darning and rectifying any flaws in the cloth and he seemed to have a lot to check before the final processes.

Once the process is completed the cloth is given the Orb trademark. Harris Tweed is protected by an Act of Parliament.

From the mill we visited the nearby Gearrannan Blackhouse Village which was also fascinating. These blackhouses date back to the mid 1850’s and were only abandoned in 1974. I was pleased to see them after having read Peter May’s first book in his trilogy, The Black House before we started our trip. 

The blackhouses are given their name as there was a central room with a fire in the middle of the floor and there was no chimney for the smoke to escape through. Some of the houses were modernised in the 1950’s and one is now kept as a museum piece showing how they looked. A part of the modernisation was to install a fireplace and peat was used. 

The design of the buildings was to counter the harsh conditions with low, rounded thatched roofs elaborately roped and thick stone walls for insulation.

We had lunch at the centre’s cafe before returning to Stornoway. I had local herrings fried in oatmeal. It was delicious.

In bright sunshine we took a single lane small road of 25kms to return to Stornoway. It followed a little creek and we had great views over the country side where we could see where the peat had been taken for fuel. There were no other cars, only sheep. 

In Stornoway we visited Lews Castle which overlooks the harbour and was built in the mid 1850’s. The castle was given to Stornoway in 1923 and is now owned by the local council. It has an impressive entrance and hall.

Before returning to our little cottage we visited the Harris Tweed Hebrides shop. There were so many different colourful tweeds and clothes. It’s such a pity we only have winter for about three months of the year or I would have indulged. 

After a terrific day we decided to eat in and sit by the fake electric fire. Tescos is a five minute walk from our accommodation and it was microwave dinners for us. 

We packed our bags as we have to be at the ferry terminal at 6.00am tomorrow for a 7.00am departure to Ullapool. Thankfully, the ferry terminal is a two minute drive from where we are. 

And finally…