Hebridean Hop 4: Lews Castle

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Tuesday 31st July 2018

Lews Castle, Stornoway

Lews Castle was built by Sir James Matheson, a Far East trader who bought the whole island of Lewis in 1844. In 1917 the island was bought by Lord Leverhulme, the soap industrialist, who set about trying to replace the culture of crofting (small-scale farming) with a fishing empire. The crofters weren’t impressed and his plans came to naught – the island was put up for sale again in 1923, and the community was at least able to buy Stornoway and the castle. Since then, the castle has had many uses – from 2016 it has housed a museum on the ground floor and holiday accommodation above.

The forecast was for rain later, but the morning was sunny so we set off for a walk around the grounds – the wooded peninsula showing behind Stornoway Harbour in the first image below – before hitting the museum.

By the time we arrived back at the castle it was raining – and definitely time for lunch. We’d had morning coffee in the small café in the grounds, but it was now packed so we headed back towards town to Kopi Java which was recommended in our guidebook. Run by a local couple (she comes from Lewis, he comes from Indonesia) it provides excellent food and illustrates how much Stornoway has changed since our last visit 29 years before. Then, we remember queuing at a counter for “coffee” which was poured from a large metal tea-pot with the enquiry “Sugar?” Had we not said no quickly, sugar would have been poured in for us. Gourmet it was not!

Back in the castle, we were extremely impressed with the museum. Centre stage were six Lewis Chessmen, part of a 12th century set which was found nearby but now belongs to the British Museum which has kindly (?) loaned some of the pieces back. In the morning, we’d passed some large wooden models in the grounds and had a bit of fun with them. Spot the difference!

The castle also has an excellent café, and after more fortification we looked at the public areas on the rest of the ground floor. I don’t know what the apartments above are like, but I suspect they will be very grand. Next visit maybe …

This was our last day in Stornoway – the following morning, we set of for Harris, an island that we didn’t need a ferry to access, or even a causeway. How could this be?

Scotland, UK , , , , , , ,

46 Comments »

  2. I have castle envy!! Am I correct in interpreting that it was built around 1844? That’s really old by Canadian standards but I appreciate that by Scottish standards it’s probably still considered new 🙂

    The chess pieces however are another story. Wow. These should be national treasures.

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  4. Hmm, I’ve been to Lewes Castle, but have never heard of Lews Castle, though now that I’ve seen it, I think Lews Castle is more attractive, and certainly better preserved, though it is obviously much, much younger. I love your picture with the giant chessman!

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  5. That castle looks very fairy-tale like. Who would not want to stay upstairs. It sounds like you planned the day well, based on the weather. Outdoor activities in the morning and back inside right in time to do the impressive museum. So, did you walk to the next island during low tide? 🙂 I’ll check for the answer right now.

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  6. You certainly made the most of your trip despite some rain at times. Amazing how many of these grand piles have been built in remote places throughout Scotland. That’s a new one for me, seeing it properly, though I watched a programme about Leverhulme and his fishing enterprise- something to do with seaweed on an industrial scale I recall as well- an idea that’s been suggested/revived again recently to harvest Scotland’s kelp forests around the coasts and islands with similar mixed responses and views.

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  10. I won’t comment about the chessmen, since I’ve not even seen them in the British Museum – although I have been inside it a couple of times.
    Love the Indonesian linked cafe 🙂

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  11. Nice post. I like the pose next to the Lewis Chessman. I quite agree that they should all be displayed permanently in Stornoway. There’s a bit of me that wants to bring them home every time I’m in the British Museum!

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  12. What a magnificent castle that is. I would quite like to be able to buy an island and still have money left over to build my own castle. 😀 You make a very good chessman, but I can definitely spot the difference.

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  13. Hi Anabel – that area does look enticing … I love the ceiling. I know I’ve seen the chess pieces in London – and can understand about them wanting to be held where they were found … but theft etc and research … I guess a central place is a good idea. Cheers Hilary

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  18. I hope you’ll visit Dundee soon and let us have your impressions of the new V&A there. I’ve been reading about it in The Guardian which gave a very full report on it and it looks absolutely fabulous. Love the architecture. You’ll have to tear yourself away from your islands though, and this week’s is as interesting as all the others.

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  19. I love the cottage with the colourful planters outside and the view across the water to the castle. What a coincidence that you should write about Lord Leverhulme buying the island when he gave the people of my town so much and I’ve only just mentioned him myself in a recent post 🙂

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  20. Ooh how I love old castles and this must have been fun to see. I love the hallway with the stars on the ceiling which the6 loved to do in that era. As for getting to that island, I think the tide goes out and you can cross to it at that time. Now let’s hope the cafe learns not to give out the sugaras quick as they do now.

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  21. wow! That castle is awesome! And I love the giant chessmen especially since they have their own personality so different for the conventional chess set

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