Outer Hebrides: Isle of Lewis

If reaching the Outer Hebrides is the long awaited and crowning achievement of this trip, then the Isle of Lewis is the big shiny jewel in that particular crown. It’s going to take a few posts to explain why, and most of that will be photos, I’m sure. So let’s get started exploring the big island.

Big City: Stornoway

If there’s one place on the Isle of Lewis to shop for almost anything you might need, it’s Stornoway. It’s also the place where cruise ships now disgorge anywhere from 300 to 1300 passengers from 9 to 5 most days, making it essential to check the port schedule before you plan a visit. On my first visit, there were two ships in port, and a road race going on, so it was kind of crazy to visit, both driving and then walking after I finally found a parking spot. It was fun, though, to watch the runners heading towards the finish line, reminded me of my glory days long ago.

I must have one of those faces, though, when it comes to looking familiar. As I was outside a shop browsing the window display, a woman started talking to me like she knew me. It was only my puzzled face that made her finally stop and ask if I wasn’t on the cruise ship? I wasn’t, I told her, and then she said I looked exactly like the woman at the next table last night. OK, sure. But it wasn’t me. She was nice though, and we laughed it off and admired the jewelry in the window. Five minutes later, walking by a table and volunteers handing out election materials (the UK has a snap election next month), one of those volunteers sized me up at a glance and offered me the handout. I quickly explained I’m American, whereupon he quickly moved on. I guess I blend in really well is all I can say.

Remote? Try North Galson

After my short stint in town, I headed northwest on the main (and only) road to the far tip of the island and the tiny settlement of North Galson, where I had rented a glamping pod for five nights. The owner’s directions were something along the lines of “after you pass the sign for Galson, go about a mile and then you’ll see a sign for North Galson on your left.” They weren’t wrong, but I felt like I was turning into someone’s driveway. Turns out it was just a cattle grid and fence to keep the sheep from wandering onto the sole paved road in the area.

This was the single-track road down to the sea and my little pod, lined by a half-dozen houses, each their own little Croft. I did meet one van on the road one time, but other than that, it was empty, which made negotiating it easier. I pulled into the gravel parking lot and looked out at my home for the next while. The grin was already spreading across my face. Look at that view!

This was the view from my bed and the porch, and I took dozens of photos of it over the five days, capturing it in all light and weather. So far, this is my favorite of the bunch. (Those little white dots on the far hillside are all sheep!)

The land surrounding the pods (there were two) is common land, meaning everyone’s sheep can wander freely. I let the sheep have their way, and found hiking paths where they weren’t, so we were all happy.

I talked with the owner of the pods a bit, he and his wife run a small publishing company as well as the sheep business and the pods (which are, understandably, seasonal). This is their 10th year doing the pods and he says it’s been pretty good business, except for 2020. They were mostly booked up for the year by mid-May, and I could see why. Not to everyone’s taste, this self-catering rental far from the madding crowds of Stornoway, but it totally worked for me.

There aren’t many trees on Lewis, but there are rocks, lots and lots of rocks. Sometimes those rocks land in water and make for lovely images. And that cloud-filled sky helped a lot, too. This was a 10-minute scramble over rocks and mossy damp from the pod, and well worth the effort of careful foot placement. I’m happy to say I didn’t lose any shoes this time around.

The Butt of Lewis

Lest you think I just stayed in North Galson, here’s a view from the Butt of Lewis, one of my favorite place names ever (and point F on the map below). At the far northeast tip of the island, it gets all the wind and weather coming in from everywhere, and the rock formations show it. The machair, those flowers in the foreground, are a rarity in Scotland, seen only in spring on the western coast and in the western isles.

The rock formations here are beautiful, although the wind does make it difficult to stand and get a level photo (thanks to post-processing, they all look level now…). Some of these rocks are billions of years old, formed by eons of geological activity. I need to read more about the geological formation of this place; I started to dive in as I was working on this post and realized it’s more complex than just summing it up in a sentence or two.

Below is a shot of what the island interior looks like, mostly damp mossy soil and peat. Those are two old crofting sheds, no longer in use, but no reason to tear them down either. That green-roofed one looks just like it did 10 years ago when I took a photo of it. If you’ve read the Peter May series of novels based on Lewis, that roof might ring a bell. If you haven’t read the books, check them out for a taste of the Hebrides in the form of mystery novels.

To circle back to North Galson and the Atlantic, this was the view at 2 AM. It never gets completely dark this time of year (late May) with sunset about 10:30PM and sunrise at 4AM or so. I’m usually a “wake with the light” person but even I can’t do 4AM so every morning, I’d admire the sunrise and then dive under the covers and go back to sleep for another few hours.

While I was on Lewis this time, I didn’t go for the usual tourist hotbed, the Callanish Stones, since I had a magical experience with them during my last visit. If you want to read about that, you can: Tour 2014: Callanish Stones.

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Here’s the map of my travels around the Isle of Lewis. You’ll see points C, D, and E in separate posts, all under construction.

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We are all searching for something, whether we realize it or not.

Peter May, The Lewis Man