Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GAELIC IN THE WESTERN ISLES
All Ordnance Survey maps and many
road signs
are exclusively in
Gaelic
, a di
cult language
to the English-speaker's eye, with complex pronunciation (see p.597), though the English
names sometimes provide a rough pronunciation guide. If you're driving, it's a good idea to
pick up a bilingual Western Isles
map
, available at most tourist o
ces. We've put the English
equivalent first in the text, with the Gaelic in parentheses.
14
GETTING AROUND
By car and by ferry
A series of causeways makes it
possible to drive from one end of the Western Isles to the
other with just two interruptions - the ferry from Harris to
Berneray, and from Eriskay to Barra. If you're going to take
the ferry, it's advisable to book in advance.
By bus
The islands have a decent bus service, though there
are no buses on Sundays.
By bike
The wind makes cycling something of a challenge
- head south to north to catch the prevailing wind.
Lewis (Leodhas)
Shaped rather like the top of an ice-cream cone,
Lewis
is the largest and most
populous of the Western Isles. Nearly half of the island's inhabitants live in the
crofting and fishing villages strung out along the northwest coast, between
Callanish
(Calanais) and
Port of Ness
(Port Nis), in one of the country's most densely populated
rural areas. On this coast you'll also find the best-preserved
prehistoric remains
- Dun
Carloway (Dùn Charlabhaigh) and the Callanish standing stones. he landscape is
mostly peat bog - hence the island's Gaelic name, from
leogach
(marshy) - but the
shoreline is more dramatic, especially around the Butt of Lewis, the island's
northernmost tip. he rest of the island's population live in
Stornoway
, on the east
coast, the only real town in the Western Isles. To the south, where Lewis is physically
joined with Harris, the land rises to over 1800ft, providing an exhilarating backdrop
for the excellent beaches that pepper the isolated western coastline around
Uig
.
Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh)
In these parts,
STORNOWAY
is a buzzing metropolis, with all the trappings of a large
town. It's a centre for employment, a social hub for the island and home to the
Western Isles Council or
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
, set up in 1974, which has done
so much to promote Gaelic language and culture. Aesthetics are not the town's strong
point, and the urban pleasures on offer are limited, but in July Stornoway hosts the
Hebridean Celtic Festival
(
W
hebceltfest.com), a Celtic music festival. he main arena
is in Lews Castle grounds, and the festival club is in An Lanntair, but events are held
right across Lewis and Harris.
For centuries, life in Stornoway focused on its
harbour
, now a shadow of its former
commercial self - the nicest section is Cromwell Street Quay, where the remaining
fishing fleet ties up for the night. Stornoway's commercial centre, to the east, is little
more than a string of unprepossessing shops and bars. he one exception is the old
Town Hall
on South Beach, a splendid Scots Baronial building from 1905, its rooftop
peppered with conical towers, above which a central clock tower rises. One block east
along South Beach, and looking rather like a modern church, you'll find
An Lanntair
-
Gaelic for “lantern” - Stornoway's modern cultural centre (see below).
Lews Castle
Across the bay from the town centre • Castle
interior closed until 2015
•
Grounds open 24hr; Woodland Centre Mon-Sat 9am-5pm • Free •
T
01851 706916,
W
stornowaytrust.org.uk
he castellated pomposity that is
Lews Castle
was built by Sir James Matheson in 1863
