Stornoway and Lewis

This day truly had it all: fabulous company, wonderful landscapes and culture galore. I took over 550 pictures today, which hopefully says everything. My friend Alaina has been the most amazing host and has not only spoiled me with all her invaluable insider advice (Lewis Loom Centre!), but also drove me all over the place to the most noteworthy and beautiful sights of Lewis. Rather remarkably for the vegetarian that I am, I’ve also learnt how to clean and prepare scallops. (Before you ask, no, I didn’t eat them.)

But instead of boring you with more text, I’ll just brag about my fabulous day with an ever so tiny selection of the pictures I took. (If you click on them, you will see a larger version of them.)

Here’s from our morning walk:

Afterwards, Castle Lews (not a typo), which is also a museum:

And where you can see some of the famous Lewis chess pieces. They’re the originals, a loan from the British Museum:

I took Aramis for a walk on the Castle grounds and we found some nice woodland and bluebells for him to pose in:

And then I entered the Lewis Loom Centre, which is Harris Tweed Heaven. I spent a fortune and joined into the chorus of ‘oooh’s and ‘aaaah’s’ with the other visitors:

In the afternoon, Alaina took me to Lewis’s most famous sights. Every picture a postcard. What you cannot see, however, is the wind which almost blew us off the cliffs and the cold. In combination, they do make for nice waves though:

There was more breathtaking scenery yet to come. The Calanais Standing Stones are stone circles scattered around a (need I really say ‘remote’ under the given circumstances?) the west coast of Lewis. Calanais is Gaelic and pronounced ‘Callanish,’ which I think is a beautiful word. I just can’t stop saying it. Calanais. Calanais. Calanais.

There are nineteen of them, but I – III seem to be attracting the most attention. (Please note my newly gained expert knowledge in all matters Neolithic concerning the Isle of Lewis.)

Then, Alaina took Aramis and me to the whitest and truly most pristine beach I have ever seen. It was just me, my dog and my camera. (Alaina had decided to stay in the car because living here, she’d already had her fair share of wind and cold for the day.) To top that, the sun was beginning to set.