Lewis and Harris

Lewis, the northern part of the Outer Hebrides' main island, where the Callanish Stones, an Iron Age broch and a blackhouse village tell the story of the remotest Gaelic heartland, with the capital Stornoway as your base.

Lewis and Harris is the main island of Scotland's Outer Hebrides and the third-largest island in the British Isles. Its northern part is called Lewis and its southern part Harris, divided by a range of hills; this destination uses the capital, Stornoway, as a base and focuses on Lewis in the north (for the southern beaches, St Clement's Church at Rodel, Tarbert and the Golden Road, see the “Isle of Harris” destination). Lewis is low-lying and dotted with peat bogs and lochs; Gaelic is still spoken day to day, and in keeping with Presbyterian tradition most shops and restaurants close on Sundays.

The main sights are concentrated along a route of about 60 km (37 miles) on the west coast: the roughly 5,000-year-old Callanish Standing Stones, the Iron Age broch of Dun Carloway, the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village by the bay and the Arnol Blackhouse, plus the Shawbost Norse Mill and the Trushel Stone, Scotland's tallest standing stone — all doable in a day. At the northern tip, the cliffs at the Butt of Lewis lighthouse are great for seabirds; in the southwest, Uig Sands is where the Lewis Chessmen were found, and the Mangersta sea stacks are the most dramatic; in the northeast, Tolsta has the “Bridge to Nowhere” and white-sand beaches. In Stornoway, the museum at Lews Castle displays original Lewis Chessmen, and in summer you can watch whales from the shore at Tiumpan Head on the Eye Peninsula.

The best time to visit is May–Sep, with up to 18 hours of daylight; even in summer temperatures hover around 15°C (59°F), and the weather is windy and changeable, so bring a windproof, waterproof jacket. In winter, ferries are often cancelled due to rough seas. Getting there: take the CalMac ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway (about 2 hours 40 minutes), or fly to Stornoway from Glasgow, Edinburgh or Inverness; you can also sail from Uig on Skye to Tarbert on Harris and head north. Buses on the island are infrequent, so driving is recommended; most roads are single-track, so watch for passing places and sheep on the road. Allow 2 days for Lewis, or 4–5 days including Harris.

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