More brilliant weather, though a little cold. We took the bikes on the bus to the Callanish Stone Circle, which we found very interesting and had a look round before many people turned up. We are now on the well-trodden tourist trail so keep finding people wandering into the photos. On the plus side there are more tea-shops. The stones are possibly No 2 in terms or historical importance after Stonehenge in the UK, but have the great advantage that you are free to walk round them and there are not many other visitors. It was related to the moon whereas Stonehenge is based on the sun. We also took a look at the 2 other smaller circles nearby, then moved on to Carloway Broch. This was one of the earliest sites to be protected by law as an ancient monument to stop people taking the stones away. Quite a bit is missing, but the remainder is impressive for something about 2500 years old.
Fast forward a couple of millennia and we find ourselves a few miles away at a village of Black Houses which was occupied until 1974. Thermal insulation of the black houses is better than modern building standards, but they do lack water, sanitation and other useful stuff, so they are maintained as a museum. I was surprised to find that these houses were built between 1850 and 1900, probably the same time as the smart and comfortable old houses in Stornoway, just 20 miles away (or maybe half a world away). There are many ruins of similar buildings in the area.
Follow the
track of the bus and bike ride.
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| Callenish Stones |
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| Callenish Stones |
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| Callenish II |
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| Callenish III |
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| Carloway Broch |
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| Within the wall of the Broch |
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| View from Carloway Broch |
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| Inside a Black House |
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| View from the coast walk |
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| Hattersley Loom in a Black House |
