Stornoway, Scotland, UK

The Isle of Lewis was our next stop. We anchored off the harbor of Stornoway. The tender ride into town was a roller coaster ride. Just getting onto the tender was a feat, since the tender was bobbing up and down.

The past 2 days had consisted of long bus rides so we changed our tour here to a walking tour. As Bob said at the end, it was a 1 hour walk that took 2.5 hours. Needless to say he wandered off from the guide quite often.

The town itself is small. We started in the harbor area and heard the story of a ship, Iolianus (sp) that sank with over 100 men from the town on it as it was arriving in the port. There were several memorials in remembrance of this tragedy.

Bonny Prince Charlie came here on his way to France after the battle of Culloden. John Paul Jones bombed the harbor during the war for independence. The famous Harris Tweed originated here. Our guide told us how the tweed is woven in homes, called crofts, and then sent to a processor in town. It is then shipped around the world.

Our main target of the walk was Lew Castle. It was across the harbor on an outcropping of land. We had to cross a small bridge. The building itself was impressive looking. We walked the grounds and then had time in the museum. There were some beautifully carved chess pieces. The museum also had historical artifacts from the area. The castle is now a hotel. We were able to walk through some of the public rooms.

The tender ride back to the ship was again a roller coaster ride.

We were happy to have had a day of walking rather than riding a bus. It was nice weather wise, sunny and cool.