A slower start today which we appreciated. Didn’t need to be at the ferry until 9.30am. We both laughed when the GPS in the car told us to, ‘Catch the ferry!’ Len told us when we were with him and Monica that he calls his GPS Nora (igNore her). It is surprising how often we do, so we have named ours Nora too, we often talk to her. ?
The ferry is impressive, feels like we are on the USS Enterprise. Fabulous windows and views. It is a long trip today 21/2 hours, at least it is relaxing, I read my book, no fog atm so hopefully will have some good unimpeded views today. Was a good trip on the ferry, a few swells in the middle of the trip, very pleased it didn’t make me nauseous. We arrived at 1pm and were off by 1.15pm, I am very impressed by the ferry system, the Ferries are good, they are well organised and so far sail on time.
Once off the ferry we headed to the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse, built in the 1860s. It is unusual for a lighthouse in Scotland, it is constructed of red brick, and is unpainted. The station was automated in 1998 and was one of the last to be converted.
We only gave the lighthouse a fleeting look, the star here was the coastline with its rugged cliffs, beautiful blue ocean, sky and the birds. We sat for a while and soaked it up.
On the way out we had a look at a gorgeous beach nearby, in a cove surrounded by steep cliffs.
Greg saw a sign to some more Stones so he went to investigate. I chose to stay in the car and read my book, we are on our way to see a larger circle, Callanish Standing Stones I can wait till then. ?
The Callanish Stones are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic era, and were a focus for ritual activity during the Bronze Age. You could go right up to these stones. There were quite a few people here, had to wait ages to get a reasonable photo. I could tell by Greg’s face he was feeling the Stones. ☺️I think I need to find a Stone Circle for Veale Gardens! There were 2 more Stone circles nearby that Greg also enjoyed.
Along the way we noticed there are very few trees on the Island. I wonder if the Vikings chopped these down too? There are lots of wildflowers on the side of the road though.
We also noticed the soil is very lumpy. We eventually worked out it is peat bog. We saw some people digging up the peat and putting it into bags. We are going to see this done on a farm in Ireland. I look forward to finding out more about the process.
I never realised how much water there is on the western side of Scotland, so many lochs makes for beautiful scenery.
We eventually got to our accommodation around 6pm. It is on the Isle of Harris at Tarbet, which is joined to the Isle of Lewis at its southern end. It was a long day, we have 2 nights here, so tomorrow will be more relaxed.
