When we were deciding what to see after Skye, we considered the North of Scotland or the Isle of Lewis. I thought there were more places to visit if we went North, but the Isle of Lewis had an irresistible attraction — Callanish Stones. We had to sacrifice two days to see them but in the end it was absolutely worth it.
Uig has a ferry to the Isle of Lewis. The schedule was not very convenient, we were on the isle only in the afternoon and got to the site almost at the time of closing of the Calanais Visitor Centre. We ate at the center’s cafeteria only because there was no other restaurants nearby. We also went to see the stone circle, but it was still too bright, so we decided to see any other attractions this part of the island had to offer and return back to the stone circle for the sunset views.
It turned out there were two more stone circles in the near vicinity. An easy but somewhat muddy walk through the fields led us to some pretty scenery and nice stone circles. Nothing spectacular, but they were there and totally worth the visit.
Dun Carloway
Callanish stones are very impressive, but Dun Carloway is equally impressive, and in a sense, even more so. Dun Carloway is an Iron Age Broch, a sort of a fortified house for a large well-to-do family.
The broch has inner and outer wall and a set of passageways between them. For a 2,000 year old structure that was not maintained for most of its life, the broch looks and feels solid, no huffing or puffing would blow it down.
By the time we got there, everything was closed, and we did not meet any other tourists. However, the site was open to enter and explore.
Calanais Stones
When the sun started to set and the shadows became long, we knew it was time to return to the Calanais Stones site. Honestly, I expected the site to be as empty as Dun Carloway, but it was not. We met several lovely Polish pagans (all women) who were meditating (or praying) around the stones, some organized bikers, a couple who took their dog out for a walk, and various other visitors. It was fun to watch the people, but periodically it was hard to find a location for a photograph without any living thing in it.
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