Europe Trip - Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

On June 23, we docked in Stornoway located on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides Islands in remote Western Scotland.  It is an attractive port and town and is the capital of the Outer Hebrides.  It was originally a Viking settlement, chosen for its well sheltered harbour. 

We had been to Stornoway on a prior trip and seen the town sites, so this time we took a shore excursion to see the Standing Stones of Callinish.  The Isle of Lewis has been inhabited for over 6,000 years.  On our way there, we drove through a landscape of rolling moorland, low-lying hills and tiny lochs.

The Stones are one of the remarkable antiquities in the Western Isles.  The landscape is dramatic, being in moor-land overlocking a loch and surrounded by hills.

There are 47 stones remaining, with the tallest being about 15 feet.  There is a central circle where a cairn where cremated remains were found.

The Stones are surrounded by moorland - quite lovely on a clear day, but I can image how misty the moorlands could get.