The day began overcast, dry
but fairly cool. We were due to arrive
in the Outer Hebrides in the early morning but because the sea was fairly rough
on the route from Kirkwall we did not get to our anchorage until about
midday. This meant we had missed our
allocated start time for our tour on the island but eventually we left the boat
at about 1330. The sea was slightly wavy and care had to be taken boarding the tender.
We had made use of the morning
by reading and blogging. When it came to
leave the boat we added all our clothing layers because it felt that way. We soon met our guide after the 30 minute trip
into the quay. The reception centre was
modern and impressive. We boarded the
coach, the young French lady guide introduced herself and we were on our
way. We went through the small town and
were in open moorland style countryside with
 |
| typical moorland/sea |
peat bogs very much everywhere
which are still in use. Our first stop
was at Arnol blackhouse which was an example of the traditional crofting
houses.
 |
| exterior of blackhouse |
The last one was evacuated in
the 1960s and this one was recreated to show how the crofters lived. It was well insulated, it had a room for
animals, a living room/kitchen with a peat fire burning continually
 |
| kitchen of blackhouse with spinning wheel |
and a
bedroom. There was a store room at the
back where
 |
| bedroom of blackhouse |
peat, animal feed and other stores were kept. It was an interesting look into this
traditional way of life.
 |
| whalebone arch |
We carried on and passed a
whalebone arch at the side of the road which was a reminder of one of the
traditional industries of this part of the world. It was the huge jaw bones of a blue whale.
Our next venue was the Broch at
 |
| the broch |
Carloway. An ancient, huge, three story
structure and attempts to establish the original occupants have so far
failed. It dates back over 2000 years
and must have been an impressive home.
Nearby
 |
| the ruined other side of broch |
were the remains of some abandoned blackhouses.
 |
| ruined blackhouse with sheep |
 |
| Callanish standing stones |
Our last visit was to standing
 |
| Centre megalith with carn |
stones at Callanish. It is one the most
significant megalithic complexes in Europe.
It consists of lines of standing stones arranged in a cross shape, a
circle of stones at the cross centre, a large standing stone in the middle of
the circle and more recently a burial carn with two chambers had been added to the
centre. All very remarkable, we had a
good look round although it was drizzling
 |
| Canada geese near the visitor centre |
and then retired to the very good tea
room at the visitor centre.
We then drove across more
 |
| Tenders in operation |
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