Compass Buster #2: The Isle of Lewis

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I'd had a great night's sleep and was up early. We were staying in Stornoway again tonight, so I was happy I didn't have to pack up. The hostel included a simple breakfast of cereal and toast so I helped myself to that before getting on the bus for our tour of the Isle of Lewis. It was going to be a busy day as there was a lot to see. We did a quick drop in at the local Tesco so we could stock up on cash and stuff, then we were on our merry way. We drove for about an hour, from east to west, to reach our first stop of the day, Abhainn Dearg distillery. What a way to start the day! A trip to a whiskey distillery! Abhainn Dearg means red river in English. The distillery is fairly new and opened in 2008 and their first whiskey was ready in 2011. They use the water from the Red River and locally grow barley to produce their whiskey, all ingredients and materials are locally sourced. The whiskey's smokey taste comes from the peat, which is abundant, and burnt on top of the barley to stop the sprouting.

The distillery is quite small and there were a few buildings. We were ushered into one and waited for the woman to come and give us the tour. It was £5 for the tour, which would include a shot of whiskey at the end. We were shown around two of the other other buildings. One was where they made the whiskey and we were talked through the process, and what each machine does. It is a technical and time consuming process. We were also shown around the room where the casks of whiskey are stored. I liked that they were painted different colours, it made them look very pretty and photogenic. We went back to the tasting room, where we had started and were given a shot of whiskey. It definitely wasn't my cup of tea, far too strong but I drank it anyway. I wish I hadn't as it ended up giving me a headache a couple of hours later. I also bought a small bottle as a present, I wouldn't be drinking it! You could also sign up to get a bottle of their ten year aged whiskey, which would be ready in 2018. However that cost a pretty penny. On the way back to the bus, I saw a couple of statues shaped like the Lewis Chessmen on the distillery's grounds. The Lewis Chessmen are a very distinctive set of chess figurines that were discovered on the Isle of Lewis at Uig in 1831. Their origins and why they washed up on the shore in the Outer Hebrides is still a mystery, although it is believed that they come from somewhere in Scandinavia, possibly Norway or Iceland. The figures look cool, not at all like a normal chess set.

After the booze, it was time for some history and culture and we headed to the Calanais Stones, which are situated near the village of Callanish. The stones date back to to the neolithic era, around 4,000 to 2,500 BC, so a pretty long time ago! Although it was a grey and wet day, I could still see the beauty of the surrounding area, the people who had built the stones had certainly picked a good spot. The hills of Great Bernera were in the background and Loch Roag was in front. The stones were used for ritual activity in the Bronze Age. We walked through the gates, away from the visitors centre to reach the stones. The stones are arranged as a group of thirteen in the centre in a ring shape with a central monolith. There are other stones spreading out in four lines, away from the central circle. The stones were really cool, I enjoyed looking at them, trying to imagine how people used them for worship back in the day. It was cool to touch them to see if any special energy came from them, unfortunately I didn't feel a thing. It was pretty busy, I was surprised at the number of people there, this must be the top attraction to visit on the Isle of Lewis. But it did make it hard to get photos of the stones with no people in it. We had plenty of time here so we headed to the onsite cafe to grab some lunch. It was really busy. I ordered a brie, bacon and cranberry panini and a coffee. Since it was so busy, we were all kind of split up all over the place, sharing tables with each other and other people. The food arrived quickly, given how busy it was and I wolfed it down. The panini came with a side salad and both were delicious. After lunch there was still a little time before we would depart so I had a look around the gift shop.

We drove through the crappy weather to reach Dun Carloway, which is a broch. A broch is a uniquely Scottish structure; it is an Iron Age roundhouse style structure with drystone hollow walls. Historians and archaeologists are unsure whether brochs were used as a defensive military structure, a castle, or as farming settlements. It is estimated that Dun Carloway was built in 200 BC and used until 1000 AD. The highest point of the outer wall reaches nine metres high, so it was pretty tall. I had fun wandering around the broch, it was pretty much in ruins, but safe to walk along, inside and on top of. You had to crouch down to get around inside and it was nice to ramble along the walls and climb up and down the stairs.Some of the more daring members of our group were proper scaling the walls, I, of course, didn't do that. There were quite a few sheep about wandering around some of the walls/foundations of another part of the settlement. It was fun to imagine what life must have been like all those years ago with the harsh weather and no modern amenities. I do think I am lucky to be alive at the time I am, life is just easier and we take so much for granted.

Gearrannan was originally a crofting township and blackhouse village settlement. A blackhouse is the traditional type of house that was found in this area, they have dry-stone walls which are packed with earth and a roof of wooden rafters covered with either straw or reed. The floor comprised of flagstones or packed earth. Houses have a central hearth for the fire, but no chimney so the smoke made its way out of the house through the roof. There is no clear cut explanation for how the houses got the name 'blackhouse': it could have been synonymous with inferior to distinguish the older houses from the newer white houses, confusion may have arisen from the similarity between the words dubh (black) and tughadh (thatch) and also the lack of chimney, smoky atmosphere inside the houses and the soot blackening the interior could be contributing factors. These houses were not only lived in by people, but also their animals.

Gearrannan blackhouse village is a set of nine restored blackhouses that people can visit and stay in. I really wish we could have stayed there as it would have been pretty unique. I can't remember how much the entrance fee to the village was, but it wasn't too expensive. The village was really cute, the houses looked quite small from the outside and weren't very tall. Since it was raining, there were some giant slugs about. The surrounding area was quite pretty, I bet it looked so much nicer with a sunny sky. The houses at Gearrannan were inhabited until the 1970s, so cool. It would be awesome to live in such a historical house. Although some of the houses are now accommodation, a couple were open to visitors. The houses were quite roomy inside. It was nice to see how they were decorated. The beds were so small, people must have been really short back in the day. I also liked the curtains around the beds, was it for privacy or to keep warm, or a bit of both? They had some old photographs of the inhabitants, too. There was also a room with an old man working a loom, it was nice to see what people did back then. As much as I would like to live in one, I don't think I could as the smoke for the fire was stinging my eyes, I suppose you get used to it in time. The smell of the burning peat was everywhere.

Our last stop of the day was the Butt of Lewis, and of course we went through all the jokes and puns. So while you would think with a name like 'Butt' it would be at the bottom of the Isle of Lewis, it is actually at the top. The Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point on the island and looking out to the west, there is nothing until you reach America. There is a lighthouse there, but we didn't visit it. Instead we took a nice, bracing walk along the cliffs. The cliffs here are 60-80 ft high, so I didn't venture too close to the edge. Despite the wind and the cold, it was absolutely gorgeous. The cliffs were all craggy and the waves were crashing off the rocks. The sea was a beautiful shade of blue, I tried my best to capture the colour, but my pictures don't do it justice at all. There was a bit of wildlife about, birds were nesting on the sides of the cliffs and there were a few sheep running about.

There are quite a few options for places to eat in Stornoway and our guide had recommended the local Thai place, Thai Cafe. It was located just a couple of streets away from where we were staying. Well, this is obviously the place to be in Stornoway on a Thursday night, it was rammed when we walked in. Half of our bus was in, either having a sit down meal or grabbing a take away (the cheaper option). There were also a lot of other people tourists and locals in there. What didn't help matters was that they were short staffed, we were seated quickly, but had to wait ages for someone to come and take our order. We shared a plate of mixed fried stuff to start, they were nice. I had order a seafood curry, which was really good. The portion size wasn't too shabby. It was one of the lasses' birthday, so when we got back from dinner most people were sitting in the living room drinking and playing 'Have You Ever', I am too old for this shit so sloped off to bed with a brew.

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Photos

Lewis Chessman
Red River Distillery