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Accommodation Mainland Places… …

Mainland Places… Aberdeenshire Angus Ardnamurchan Argyll Aviemore Ayrshire Borders Cairngorms Caithness Cowal Dumfries & Galloway Dundee Edinburgh Elgin Fife Fort William Gairloch / Poolewe Glasgow Glencoe Inveraray Inverness Inverness Area Kintyre Knoydart Kyle of Lochalsh Lanarkshire Loch Lomond Loch Ness Mallaig Moray Nairn Oban Perth & Perthshire Road to the Isles Royal Deeside Speyside St. Andrews Stirling Sutherland Ullapool Wester Ross Scottish Islands… Arran Barra Benbecula Bute Canna Coll Colonsay Eigg Eriskay Gigha Great Bernera Harris Hebrides Iona Islay Jura Lewis Lismore Muck Mull North Uist Orkney Outer Hebrides Rum Shetland Skye Small Isles South Uist Staffa (Fingal’s Cave) St Kilda Taransay Tiree Western Isles A-Z Contents… Accommodation Halls Gap Activities outdoors Books Car Rental Caravan Parks Calendar Castles Cycling Destination Index Disabled Access Fishing Featured Sites Flights Food & Drink Gardens Genealogy Gifts Golf Hiking History Hostels Hotels Index Jobs Log Cabins Music News Outdoor Activities Photos & Posters Property Relocation Special Offers Self Drive Tours Standing Stones Tours & Itineraries Tour Guides Transport Tips Tracing Your Roots Trip Reports Videos Veggie Friendly Weather Weddings Wildlife Whisky Isle of LewisOuter Hebrides (Western Isles) Transport / Travel tips Sightseeing Accommodation Halls Gap Books Lewis is a fairly flat island with many spectacular sandy beaches, a rugged coastline and a landscape that is worth investigating by detouring down all the little roads you find. Most visitors come to see the Calanais (Callanish) standing stones, but it is also a good area for fishing, cycling, walking and bird watching. There are many other standing stones and archaeological monuments to visit too. The Gaelic name for Lewis is Leodhas which means marshy. Most of the island is indeed covered by a blanket of peat. Deposits of this started some 5000 years ago and today you can see it being cut and dried for later use as fuel. The underlying rock, Lewisian gneiss, is thought to be 2900 million years old – half as old as the Earth itself. Here in the Western Isles (formerly known as the Outer Hebrides) the landscape and history of Lewis, together with the hospitality of its people provide a wonderful escape from the pressures of modern life. With luck you may even see otters, seals, eagles or dolphins. Deer tend to keep to the high ground during the summer, but sometimes you can see them on the Harris Estate near Ardhasaig and Ardvoulie along the main road from Tarbert to Stornoway. In the summer months there are many colourful wild flowers to be seen on the machair. The heather is a picture of purple in late summer when in full bloom. Thanks to the scorched earth policy of Magnus III, known as Magnus Barelegs because he adopted the Scottish kilt rather than wear Viking trousers, many of the original trees on Lewis were destroyed. In more recent times, trees have been replanted in various parts of the island and it is always a lovely surprise to come across them. To enjoy Lewis and neighbouring Harris at the nice slow pace they deserve, you really need at least 4 days. After that you will have fallen in love with the islands and will probably want to return for a week or more on your next visit! Combined with the islands of the Uists and Barra to the south, you could easily spend 2 weeks here and still not want to go home. Today some 20,000 people live on Harris and Lewis and it is the most populated of the Western Isles group (although you might not notice it that much when you are there!). Sightseeing – Accommodation Halls Gap – Books How to get to Lewis By air to Stornoway Airport: Flybe operate flights to/from Stornoway, Barra, Benbecula, Inverness, Glasgow, London and other destinations Monday – Saturday. Limited Sunday flights. Flybe (in conjunction with Loganair) operates flights between Inverness, Stornoway and Benbecula. Mondays – Fridays only. Eastern Airways operate between Aberdeen and Stornoway (Monday-Saturday). Facilities at the airport include car hire, taxis, refreshments and wireless Internet access via BT OpenZone. Vehicle ferry: During the summer, a ferry sails from Ullapool on the mainland to Stornoway 2 or 3 times a day. The service is slightly reduced during the winter. Journey time: 2 hours 40 minutes. Vehicle reservation required. The official Caledonian Macbrayne website lists the current timetables in detail. Although treated as two separate islands with distinct characteristics, Harris and Lewis form a single landmass. This means you can drive from one to the other. The main road between Stornoway (Lewis) and Tarbert (Harris) is 37 miles which takes about an hour by car or bus. How to get to Harris by ferry Tours and excursions Coach trips of Lewis are provided in the summer by MacLennan Coaches from Stornoway Bus Station – consult the tourist information centre for details. This enables you to see Callanish, Gearrannan black house village and Carloway broch on the west coast of Lewis. Buy an all day ticket and jump on / jump off at the stops you want. Cheaper tickets (with limited number of stops are also available). Tel/Fax: 01851 702 114. On Saturdays from 29 May to 4 September 2010, a coach tour of Lewis operates from Tarbert on Harris to coincide with the arrival of ferry from Skye. The bus takes you on a circular tour of Lewis (including Callanish, Gearrannan black house village and Stornoway) and brings you back to Tarbert in time for the evening ferry back to Uig on Skye (arriving approx. 9.40pm). If you want to do this as a day trip from Skye, book your tickets at the ferry office in Uig (tel: 01470 542219). View Calmac brochure. Day trips by ferry/coach to Lewis operate from Ullapool and Inverness on Wednesdays and Fridays from 23 June to 27 August 2010. You can get the 9.30am Calmac ferry from Ullapool and join a coach tour at Stornoway taking you to the Callanish standing stones, Carloway Broch and Gearrannan black house village. You then get time in Stornoway and leave at 7pm and reach Ullapool at approximately 9.45pm. Nor’West Tours offer a day trip from Inverness by minibus. Operates on certain Wednesdays in July and August 2010. You visit the Carloway broch, Gearrannan black houses, and various Callanish sites. Tour Guides: Based on Lewis, Albannach Guided Tours can offer private tours and tour planning (including Accommodation Halls Gap) throughout the Hebrides, Scotland and other Celtic countries. Les McInulty is a ‘Blue Badge’ Gaelic-speaking driver-guide available for hire from 1 hour to 2 weeks. Either for private car, minibus, coach or for guided walks. Lewis & Harris taxi service available. Specialises in day trips to places on the islands which are not accessible by public transport. Tel/Fax: 01851 830433. Mobile: 0774 711 7870. Lewis Off Road Discovery can arrange tours with a local Gaelic-speaking guide. Web site also includes info about sea angling and fresh water angling. Out And About Tours can offer personal guided tours of Harris & Lewis (half day, full day or longer), as well as 4-night walking and sightseeing packages with hotel Accommodation Halls Gap for individuals and/or small groups. Contact Chris Ryan. Tel: 01851 612288 Self Led Tours: Scotland Made Easy can plan a customised itinerary for a self-drive tour to suit your interests, budget and time available. Perhaps you would like to go island hopping? They will book you into recommended Accommodation Halls Gap where you are assured of quality, comfort and hospitality – usually in 4 star B&Bs in Scottish homes. Optional ‘specials’ include a night in a castle, church, lighthouse, country mansion, etc. Whether you have already decided which places you want to visit or if you haven’t a clue where to start, Scotland Made Easy will advise and take care of all the planning for you. They are members of the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board. Outdoor Activities: North-West Frontiers offer trips to the Highlands and Hebrides with various departure dates from May to September, enabling you to visit Harris & Lewis plus Skye and the Ullapool area. Ideal to get a real taste of the west coast. They also have several trips concentrating exclusively on Harris. These holidays have a choice of B&B or hotel Accommodation Halls Gap (or arrange your own). Their experienced leaders will take you on moderate or intermediate walks along the coast and up in the hills, plus there’s the opportunity to see the Callanish standing stones on Lewis. Other island trips feature the mountains of Skye, plus many destinations on the mainland. Patrick Fox made his own tour of the Hebrides on his bicycle in July 1997 and has written up the whole story, complete with photos. C-N-Do Scotland organises 7-day guided walking holidays in the Hebrides, covering Harris, Lewis and the Uists. Wilderness Scotland offer a wide range of guided walking holidays, wilderness expeditions and historical journeys in S