Welcome to the Isle of Lewis
The Isles of Lewis and
Harris are at the North west
corner of the group of Islands known as the Hebrides, or Western Isles.
The Hebrides are known as the "long islands" as they stretch for 100 miles.
Click on
Stornoway
to get information about
the main town, on its own website
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Lewis introductionLewis is steeped in history and culture, ranging back thousands of years.
Ancient stone circles stand on the same land as modern
Stornoway.
Gaelic is spoken alongside English, and Eagles live alongside Otters and
people. The contrast of the ages and cultures is experienced all
over the isles of Lewis and Harris (both joined) both in the towns and
out in the hills and mountains. In the summer months local people
can still be seen cutting the peats and in the winter, the distinctive
dry smell of the peat fires drifts in the wind. The name of
MacLeod (son of Leod) is seen regularly in the phone books and on
the name boards of shops, and the ending of "bost" on the place names,
giving witness to the Viking past of the Isles. The Western
Isles culture remains very strong, particularly in its religious beliefs.
Sundays remain a very special day, and many people observe strict compliance
to the "Free Church" traditional values. It should be noted that
at the time of writing this article there are no Sunday Ferry sailings
and help on understanding the Lewis and Harris Sunday can be obtained by
clicking
here. Failte, pronounced falche, is the Gaelic word for welcome and mo dhachaigh is Gaelic for my home. The people of Lewis are by their nature
very welcoming and would like to invite you to their ancient island home.
We hope that this
visitors guide will help you to understand the Isle of Lewis and get the most
from your visit to the
island.
Click below for information about:
Isle
of Harris
Isle of
North Uist
Isle of South Uist
Isle of Benbecula
Isle of Barra
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