Calanais stones

There's not much doubt that almost everyone who visits Lewis will make the journey to the west of the island to see the standing stones at Calanais.  We arrived early in the afternoon, hoping to avoid some of the bustle of tourist coaches.

One of the best known of Britain's standing stone formations, the main stones here are just one of over 20 monuments in this part of Lewis erected between 3000 and 4000 years ago.  The main site is known as Calanais (Callanish) 1 and consists of some 50 orthostats in a complex arrangement of circle and avenues.  The central stone circle and northern avenue are believed to date from 2000BC with the other avenues and a "tomb" within the central circle dating from about 1500BC.

In plan view the stones form a similar pattern to a celtic cross with the radial avenues leading either to or from the central circle of 13 stones.

The labour and planning required to erect the stones must have been enormous for a small community and it's clear that this was a place of some significance.

Erected in the Neolithic period and in use as a ritual site right through the Bronze Age, the stones are believed to have been a ritual site and have connections with lunar observations, including the lunar standstill which occurs every 18.6 years - the moon appears to stand on the surface of a nearby ridge when seen from the centre of the circle at this time.

Despite the wet weather and a visit planned to coincide with lunchtime there were still large numbers of folk visiting this justifiably famous place.  Below the low hill on which the stones stand there's a visitor centre, cafe and busy car park, all of which detracts slightly from attempts to just stand quietly and absorb the site.

The central stone is some 4.8 metres tall and weighs around 7 tonnes.  It is actually 0.8 metres from the "true" centre of the circle.  The stones seem to have fallen out of use about 800BC, and since then had accumulated a covering of some 1.5 metres of peat which was removed during archaeological excavations in 1857, revealing the extent of the site.

The stones themselves are a rough, granular grey rock banded and speckled with black - quite at home in the landscape.

In its setting on a ridge, Calanais is a visible and evocative site - but it's not the only circle hereabouts and we'd visit others later in the day.  Overhead the promised improvement in the weather was arriving and we'd not see a drop of rain for the remainder of the week.  Next on our itinerary was another place we've wanted to visit for a long time.

Making Fire (or not)

Aside from the Crannog itself, there are numerous reconstructions of tools and rudimentary machines which would have been in use in the Bronze Age. From drop spinning and looms to lathes, and including this counterweighted drill. A device like this would have been used to bore holes through stones which could then be used as weights for looms or fishing nets. Although slow, it was amazingly effective.


Of course, everybody's favourite is the art of making fire! Our guides, Marion and Dirk, demonstrated the fire bow method


With a great deal of success


at some considerable risk to a beard.....


Regrettably, my own efforts at emulating the Celts and Ray Mears fell somewhat short. Lots of smoke but no fire - more practice required!

The Crannogs of Loch Tay

This is a reconstructed Crannog at the Scottish Crannog Centre. It's taken a number of years and lots of trial and error to build, but is a fantastic building. The guided tour is very informative and thought provoking.


First there's the slightly slippery log causeway to negotiate!


Inside it's amazingly spacious. Much of the interior layout is informed guesswork, which is then tried out using what is termed "experimental archaeology" - try it and see if it works. Current thinking is that both people and a small number of livestock lived on the Crannogs, and that the people who built these structures in the Iron Age were farmers as well as hunters and fishers. Probably they were built for defence against animals and marauders as there's evidence of drawbridge type structures on many of the submerged artefacts. There were several hundred Crannogs in use all over Scotland during the Iron and Bronze ages.


Our kayaking senses switched on at the sight of two log boats alongside the Crannog. These are reconstructions based on remains found in Loch Tay and elsewhere. Paddles have also been discovered which look amazingly modern in design, and a larger paddle which may have been used for steering, or in the same manner as a Stand Up paddle. The boats aren't just for show either - they work!