Holiday in Scotland - Day 15 Lewis

We drove to Stornoway after breakfast to do a little grocery shopping amd look for the times of the Free Church services. After shopping at two charity shops we set off on food for the Free Church which we had not found by car. As we approached it we were greeted by a very helpful young man who turned out to be a deacon of the church. Alistair MacLeod invited us to join him tomorrow morning at the Shawbost Free Church Communion. He said a warm welcome was assured and we could expect lunch hospitality too. The latter would be welcome as places serving meals are in the main shut on Sundays in Lewis. After finding a third excellent charity shop, that of Bethesda Hospice, we headed for Arnol on the west coast of Lewis. First we lunched by the Black House museum. The house was built about 1870 and inhabited until 1973. Stone walls up to 8 feet thick, two walls with a turf filling, an original cavity wall, where the rain water from the thatched roof would run down the central cavity. No chimney, but a peat fire in the centre. The family lived in the main section, animals in the byre next to them. The museum was not open at lunchtime so we drove south to find the Siabost Free Church. To our amazement it had no notice board to identify it. We drove to the bay there and walked watching the tide coming in, blue seas again. Then at Carloway we enjoyed the Garenin museum of 9 croter's houses, the last abandoned in 1973, now restores as thatched dwellings. Their design was modified to have gable fireplaces and chimneys, nt so smokey for the crofters. Our last stop was to see the Callanish standing sones. Stonehenge eat your hear out. Callanish has the better location, coastal, there are more stones and you can walk among them. Estimated dates of these circles are from 3000 to 1500 BC. They have seen all of recorded human history.