Hebridean Hop 3: Callanish and beyond

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Monday 30th July 2018

Iolaire Memorial, Stornoway

Our day began close to our hotel at a memorial to those who died on HMY Iolaire, a terrible tragedy which hit the island of Lewis just after the close of World War 1. Over 200 returning soldiers drowned on New Year’s Day 1919 when the yacht hit rocks just a mile from Stornoway Harbour. Each stone on the monument signifies a township which lost someone, a very sad representation.

From Stornoway, we made a circular tour taking in some of the main archeological sites of the island. The most famous of all is Callanish (Calanais) where the standing stones are believed to be older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza. We last visited as part of an earlier island-hopping holiday in 1989 (then and now pictures below).

 

What has changed? I don’t remember a Visitor Centre in 1989 – this year, the first thing we did was have coffee in the Visitor Centre Café. Like our visit to Orkney and Shetland a few years ago, in that case after a gap of 20 years, tourist infrastructure has come on in leaps and bounds in the intervening decades.

There are far more tourists (though it might not always look it from the photographs) but it’s still possible to see the same people all the time. In Callanish, we recognised several groups who had been on the same ferry. A Swiss couple took the table next to us at coffee. When we had lunch at another site later, they took the table behind us, and when we had dinner at night they were already in the restaurant. This type of thing happened again and again, to the extent that we greeted some people with a cheery hello as if they were long-lost friends!

A short circular walk took us to two lesser stone circles (above), Callanish II and Callanish III, before we headed off to our next stop, Geàrrannan Blackhouse Village. I believe the correct term in estate agent language for the house in the background of Callanish II is “potential”.

Blackhouses were the most common living quarters for islanders right into the 20th century. Made of stone, turf and straw thatch, one end was for people and the other end for cattle. Nine houses have been restored at Geàrrannan, some providing (much modernised) holiday accommodation and the rest the museum and its facilities (where we had our excellent lunch).

The interior above shows how the houses would have looked in the 1950s or 60s – by the 1970s, only a few ageing residents were left and in 1974 they moved to new council houses nearby. As the Trust which took over the deteriorating buildings wasn’t formed until 1989, this was a new museum for us.

After lunch, we backtracked slightly to Dun Carloway, one of the best preserved Iron Age forts in Scotland.

We then stopped at a restored Norse Mill in Dalbeg, before visiting another blackhouse museum at Arnol. This we remembered from 1989, and wondered how its visitor numbers had since been affected by the more extensive Geàrrannan.

It might seem shocking that people lived in blackhouses until the mid-late 20th century. In 1989, it must have been unusual as we have made a point of snapping this one which is obviously still occupied because it has smoke coming out of the chimney. However things come full circle, and on our travels this year we spotted many which had been restored extensively, like the holiday cottages at Geàrrannan, some of which seemed to be private dwellings. I’d love to see inside – they must be cosy with such thick walls, but I’m not sure I’d like to live in one permanently.

From Arnol, we drove back to our hotel in Stornoway. We had one more day on Lewis to come.

Scotland, UK , , , , , , , ,

63 Comments »

  1. Dear Glasgow Gallivanter, wonder if we can use your image of the Iolaire Memorial in a commemorative booklet we are designing. It has no commercial use and is being produced for school children on Lewis. We will credit, of course. Please let me know if you have any problems with that. Regards,

    Andrew Wolffe (andrew@wolffedesign.com)

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  2. Thanks for the fascinating tour. I remember seeing some similar round stone houses in the south and west of Ireland when I visited in 2005, and also some much smaller stone circles.

    Jude

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  4. Oh, what a terrible tragedy! Those poor returning soldiers and their expectant families waiting in vain for their return. It doesn’t bear thinking about. Those ancient standing stones are amazing. Imagine the times they’ve seen! Thanks for the free tour, Anabel. 🙂

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  7. All places new to me. I’ve been in a few blackhouses over the years. Not that different from some basic bothies I’ve stayed in and fairly cosy once you have a fire going compared to the weather and midges outside. Scottish standing stones are very ‘in’ at the moment worldwide thanks to the power of Outlander.

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  9. I’ve never heard of the Iolaire, but how terribly sad. It is sort of similar to the Sultana disaster, when a steamboat filled with Union soldiers who had just been released from Confederate prison camps after the American Civil War, exploded, killing over a thousand people. How awful to survive a war, and be so close to returning home, only to die in a disaster like that; especially for the loved ones eagerly awaiting their return.

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  10. Have you thought of doing some research on the HMY Iolaire tragedy? It sounds as though that would make a great subject if you can get hold of the documents from the Army Museum or Kew (I’m presuming that’s where they are but you may have the Scottish ones in your own country). There can’t be much more of the islands for you to see, but I hope that’s not the case as your reports back are fascinating. Thanks for giving so much pleasure.

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  12. A very interesting and fascinating place, I’d love to see the blackhouses and that derelict cottage looks quite sweet. I’m sorry to hear about your mum, I hope she gets better soon 🙂

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  13. What a fascinating bit of history! I would love to see the inside of those houses, too. You are lucky to live so close to so many great historical sites, and I appreciate you sharing them with us through your blog.
    As for getting to know fellow travelers: we’ve had the same experience! By the end of the trip, or even just the day, they feel like old friends. It’s one of the nice benefits of being a tourist, I think.

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  14. Way cool post! I had never heard of Callanish Anabel. So neat to know these stones are about as old as it gets compared to similar formations. Love finding gems like this. Fabulous blog 🙂

    Ryan

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  18. Lovely photos and nice tour. I had to smile on the fact that you were meeting the same people throughout the day. We had that same experience in New Zealand where we kept running into the same couple with whom we eventually had a long conversation. I think it is still a sign that there isn’t that many tourists as you can recognize those that are around…

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  19. Hi Anabel – how very interesting … I toured around a bit in the late 70s … and definitely travelling now the facilities (visitor centres/small museums) are so much better. Fascinating to see the blackhouses … yet home after the war was relatively primitive … it’s so interesting to think back at how much has changed. I’d love to do this tour … and great you were able to compare – cheers Hilary

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  20. I am so glad you can walk right up to the old stones. I am certain scientists have been exploring the origins of these stones and how and why they were placed there. I wonder if burial mounds are near by. The old homes are fascinating and sufficient enough to live in them until the mid 20th century. I love the old farmhouse with smoke coming from the chimney. I bet it is cosy

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  21. Can’t believe that those stones are so old. Really makes you think doesn’t it? I hadn’t heard of Callanish but it looks fascinating and well worth a trip, the houses are so interesting. It’s difficult to take in that they were lived in so recently.

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  23. Those stone circles are certainly impressive! We visited a black House museum on Skye. And the house we stayed in on North Uist was a crofters cottage with amazingly thick walls and a thatched roof. I must crack on with my posts! Lewis definitely is on my must visit list now. 🙂

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  24. Another great Post. I was reading an article the other day about what the Author considered over rated tourist traps. Interesting one of them was Stonehenge and it was suggested that if you really want to see what standing stones are like – visit Callanish, in Scotland. Interesting…

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  27. The idea that these stones have been standing for so very long is simply amazing. How exciting to be able to stand right near them. A friend was telling me recently that access to Loch Ness has completely changed since we went with them in 1999. Now there is a big tourist centre you have to go through to get there. We just parked the car and walked in then.

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  28. We found those blackhouses fascinating and horrifying in equal measure. The way they were furnished though took them back to how.my Gran’s parlour looked in the early 60s

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