Thursday 6th April, W5D7


Week Five of the Great Spring Escape draws to a close, with a day of exploration of the West of Lewis. The obvious place to start was the famous Calanais Stones (usually transcribed phonetically from the Gaelic as Callanish), which have a very informative display (£4) at the nearby Visitor Centre. I watched the video before having a coffee. As usual, the original significance and purpose of the stone circle and its leading avenue to our stone age ancestors is open to many possible explanations - astrological, pagan ritual, burial, political. The site has been dated to around 5000 BC (older than Stonehenge) and like many such sites was covered over after the last Ice Age, and was only revealed by scientists exploring the area in the late 18th century.
Although it's the largest, it's not alone in this part of the Outer Hebrides, but surrounded by a number of other stone monuments of similar antiquity.
I visited Calanais II also, but III was rather too far off the beaten track for my limited time. They are all well signposted from the road by Historic Scotland, and involve only a moderate (albeit boggy) cross country walk, all contributing to a total of 9k steps for me for my day's exercise.


I made a detour round the Valtos headland for the spectacular views of the beaches boasted by the West region. (I note again in passing how buttock-clenching these drives are, reminiscent of the routes Frankie will remember taking us on in St Helena, but of course this time I was driving, which is altogether different!)

Next stop the Uig Museum, but sadly just closing, as was the Abnain Dearg Distillery, so that's one I've missed (NB, Paul et al), and whether I can face the very long drive to give it a go another day I'm not sure. So on to the Carloway Broch, one of the best preserved Pictish remains on the islands, and worth the walk from the road. 

As too was the longer path to the Norse Mill and Kiln, very well maintained and reconstructed inside. A good reminder that as late as 700-800 AD, the islands continued to change control. An earlier plaque also pointed out that (allegedly) the Norse sailors were the true first 'discoverers' of north America, Leif Eriksson making landfall in Canada in 1000 AD, beating Columbus by about 500 years. 

So, back to camp before the sun finally left my pitch, and ready to move on to Week 6 tomorrow. Slainte. 




 

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