Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tourist office
26 Cromwell St (April-Sept Mon-Sat
9am-6pm; Oct Mon-Sat 9am-5pm; Nov-March
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm;
T
01851 703088,
W
visithebrides
.com).
ACCOMMODATION
Cairn Dhu
18a Matheson Rd
T
01851 701611,
W
lewis
apartments.co.uk.
Superbly equipped contemporary
apartment, with leather upholstery, a modern kitchen and
free wi
-fi, in
a Victorian villa on the town's nicest leafy
street.
£140
Heb Hostel
25 Kenneth St
T
01851 709889,
W
hebhostel.co.uk.
A clean, centrally located terrace
house in salmon pink, converted into a simple hostel, with
free wi-fi, laundry and
kitch
en faci
l
ities and run by a
friendly resident warden.
£16
/person
Hebridean Guest House
61 Bayhead St
T
01851
702268,
W
hebrideanguesthouse.co.uk.
Whitewashed
property containing a whole range of en-suite rooms
with attractive wood furnishings. Also has an annexe
with a c
ouple
of self-catering apartments. Free wi-fi
available.
£90
Jannel
5 Stewart Drive
T
0800 634 3270,
W
jannel-stornoway.co.uk.
A short walk from the town
centre, this B&B is run by a delightful landlady,
and
offers
five spacious, immaculate rooms, with free wi-fi.
£75
Laxdale Holiday Park
Laxdale Lane
T
01851 703234,
W
laxdaleholidaypark.com.
The well-equipped campsite
has caravans, a self-catering bungalow and a purpose-built
bunkhouse, as well as a sheltered spot for tents. It l
ies
a
mile or so alon
g th
e road to Barvas. Bunkhouse
£16
/
person; camping
£24
/pitch
14
EATING AND DRINKING
CAFÉS AND RESTAURANTS
Ì
An Lanntair
Kenneth St
T
01851 703307,
W
lanntair.com.
Stylish café-restaurant in the An Lanntair
arts centre which does decent sandwiches and lighter
dishes during the day, as well as more imaginative stuff,
like black-pudding-stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon, in
the evening (mains £8-18). Free wi-fi.
Mon-Sat 10am-
noon, 12.30-2.30pm & 5.30-8.30pm.
Digby Chick
5 Bank St
T
01851 700026,
W
digbychick
.co.uk.
Smart, modern, buzzy little bistro with a real emphasis
on using local produce, such as the famous Stornoway black
pudding. Sandwiches available at lunchtime, or two courses
for around £13; three-course dinners are under £30.
Mon-
Sat noon-2pm & 5.30-9pm.
Stornoway Balti House
24 South Beach
T
01851
706116.
Family-run restaurant that's been in Stornoway
for over 25 years. The curries are the real thing and the
service is great, but the real boon is that it's open on
Sundays.
Daily noon-2pm & 5-11pm.
Thai Café
27 Church St
T
01851 307181,
W
thai-cafe-stornoway.co.uk.
Despite the name, this is
actually a restaurant, serving authentic Thai food (mains
around £8). No licence so bring your own bottle (50p
corkage).
Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm & 5-11pm.
PUBS
The Criterion
32
Point St
T
01851 701990.
A tiny,
authentic no-frills Stornoway pub, where they have
regular informal (music) sessions - if nothing's going
down, try nearby MacNeill's.
Mon-Thurs 11am-11pm,
Fri & Sat 11am-1am.
The road to Ness (Nis)
Northwest of Stornoway, the A857 crosses the vast, barren
peat bog
of the Lewis
interior, an empty, undulating wilderness riddled with stretchmarks formed by peat
cuttings and pockmarked with freshwater lochans. he whole area was once covered by
forests, but these disappeared long ago, leaving a deposit of peat six feet thick, and still
being formed in certain places. For the people of Lewis the peat serves as a valuable
energy resource; its pungent smoke is one of the most characteristic smells of the
Western Isles.
Twelve miles across the peat bog the road approaches the west coast of Lewis and
divides, heading southwest towards Callanish (see p.510), or northeast through
BARVAS
(Barabhas
)
, and a string of bleak and fervently Presbyterian crofting and
weaving villages. hese scattered settlements have none of the photogenic qualities
of Skye's whitewashed villages: the churches are plain and unadorned; the crofters'
houses relatively modern and smothered in grey pebbledash rendering or harling;
the stone cottages and enclosures of their forebears often lie half-abandoned in
the front garden; and a rusting assortment of discarded cars and vans store peat bags
and the like.
