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LEWIS
including
CALLANISH STONES
2010
There are no spaces left on Lewis day-trips this year.
Schedule for 2011 will be mounted here in due course.
It is only possible to do a day trip from Inverness to Lewis on Wednesdays and Fridays in July and August. The ferry schedules do not allow it at any other time.
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Click on thumbnail, above, for
a more detailed
map of this and other itineraries.
To book now, note the price of this
trip (£ 69) and go to Bookings
How far in advance should I book?
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Fare: £ 69
Lunch: there are restaurants at GearrannanBlackhouse Village and the Callanish Stones - or you
can take a picnic lunch, made up from food you can buy on the ferry.
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We pick you up from your accommodation in Inverness
between 0715 and 0730. We head north and west for the 1¼-hour drive to
Ullapool in Wester Ross. En route, we stop to view spectacular Corrieshalloch
Gorge. At Ullapool, we check you on to the ferry to Stornoway, a 2¾-hour
journey. The crossing of the Minch is reckoned to be one of the best outings
in the British Isles to see cetaceans [whales, dolphins, porpoises].
The ferry leaves Ullapool for Lewis
On arrival in Stornoway you immediately join the MacLennan Coaches tour and set off west to the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village:
Blackhouses were a form of dwelling widely used in the Outer
Hebrides.
Gearrannan is special because it was occupied until the 1970s when the inhabitants left as a group to be rehoused in modern homes. It is a whole village, with the field system still clearly visible. Lastly, it has a very attractive position.
There is a café in one of the blackhouses, and another is open as a museum (admission fee applies).
You spend 45-55 minutes here before driving south to the
Great
Broch of Carloway. Brochs are circular defensive towers from the Iron Age,
and are found only in Scotland, especially in the north. Dun Carloway is one
of the best preserved. You spend 25 minutes here.
A general view of Dun Carloway, or the Great Broch of Carloway
Click on thumbnails below for more detailed images showing (left to right):
The typical double-walled construction;
The stone stairway in the gap beyween the walls;
A general view of the interior
We then continue to the Standing
Stones of Callanish site (below).
Main photo courtesy of Lubos Fiala
Click on thumbnails (above) for detailed pictures of two of the stones, and here
for more pictures and information on Callanish.
After over an hour at Callanish you return to Stornoway about 1700hrs. You have time to visit the museum;
shop; or just wander the streets and shore before boarding the ferry for the
return crossing to Ullapool, where you board the waiting CityLink coach for
the return to Inverness (Farraline Park Coach Station) about 2315hrs.
Our fare of £ 69 includes:
pick-up at accommodation in Inverness;
guided tour to Ullapool;
return [round-trip] ferry Ullapool-Stornoway;
detailed information sheets on sites and advice on how best to use your
time;
guided tour as described within Lewis;
return transport Ullapool-Inverness.
Ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne
Tour in Lewis operated by MacLennan Coaches
Return journey Ullapool/Inverness operated by Scottish CityLink
