Lewis and Harris

Hi Laurie,
Have you found Undiscovered Scotland's interactive map? If you click on Blackhoue Village for instance it has a direct link to more information. https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usmapindexes/westernisles.html

We have Lewis/Harris in our sights for our next visit so we are very interested in forthcoming comments.

Thanks for posting this!

Hi, Laurie, I was on Lewis and Harris in May of 2023 and just loved it and really want to go back. If you are into fiber arts, Harris has the wonderful wool shop in town, and also some beautiful beaches. I didn't get to spend as much time there as I wanted, since it was raining the first day or so.

On Lewis, don't miss the Callanish stones, which I believe are older than Stonehenge. There is also Dun Carloway Broch (well worth a stop), the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village (interesting but only reproductions). The Shawbost Norse Mill and Kiln were interesting - to get there, you must walk up some steps made of flat stones, then walk about a half mile to the 2 buildings. I also really liked the Blackhouse in Arnol. I drove to Port Ness and wanted to head out to the lighthouse, but due to construction, the road was closed so I didn’t make it all the way.

I stayed on the outskirts of Stornoway, but was able to walk into town and visit Lews Castle, which I loved. I really wanted to see the 900 year old Lewis chess pieces, and they were every bit as fascinating as I hoped. Lews Castle is lovely and if you're staying in town, it's a wonderful walk through beautiful paths in a huge forest. Here is a link to the page of my blog that discussed the day I spent on Stornoway. https://mostlytraveled.wordpress.com/2023/05/20/day-16-standing-stones-old-houses-and-ancient-chess-pieces-2/

Are you renting a car? Where are you staying?

LaurieDi, I visited Lewis and Harris (and many other outer Hebrides islands besides) in June on a small group van tour organized by Hidden Hebrides. It was a wonderful tour, and I saw many of the sites that Mardee mentioned. Mardee, I agree with you, and yes, the Callanish/Calanais stones are older than Stonehenge. I told my Egyptian best friend that they are older than the Pyramids in Giza too, and she joked, "Bu they're just a bunch of rocks stuck in the ground!" I mean, the pyramids are just a bunch of rocks piled up in groups right? Both places have a magical energy.

If you drink alcohol, you might also enjoy the Isle of Harris gin and whisky distillery in Tarbert; they do tastings/tours. There is also a small island called Scalpay, accessible from Harris via causeway, with a good walk to a disused lighthouse that now houses a popular tearoom.

I would love to hear about your experiences and recommendations.

Is this because you are planning a visit, or are carrying out research for something?

My recommendations may not be yours...

Thank you Mardee, NYC librarian And Diane. I appreciate your tips.

Wasleys no research here. It’s a travel blog so I’m planning a trip.

Thank you all

By Travel Blog do you mean that you will be writing about Lewis and Harris but not coming to the islands?

I’m planning a trip for sure! I was simply saying this platform is a travel blog.

In terms of places to stay there are some wonderful holiday cottages on Lewis and Harris. Sykes is a reputable agent and recently acquired LHH Scotland, who we have always previously used for our stays on the islands. We love the area around Uig Bay.

Restaurants - well it's not so much about fine dining on Lewis and Harris, but we enjoyed The Boatshed Restaurant.

Mardee has already given you an excellent summary of things to see and do! The distillery in Tarbert is fab, their gin in particular is a favourite. There is also the Harris Tweed shop right opposite the distillery where you can buy tweed by the metre as well as tweed accessories and jackets/skirts etc.