Nothing beats staying in one location for an extended period of time. This has been so true of the Isle of Lewis as I have had time to explore at my leisure and work around the weather. Today I drove up to the very north of the island to the Butt of Lewis, named as the windiest place in the UK by the Guiness Book of Records! I passed through several small villages rising out of the stark landscape and wondered what life must have been like during the time of the Lords of the Isles. This is a rock strewn undulating land that seems unforgiving and I am always amazed how people have settled in such places. The drive was easy as most of the road is two way as opposed to the single track roads I have become accustomed to. It was Sunday so all was quiet – nothing is open on the Sabath so it was impossible to find a café for a cup of coffee.
There is a lighthouse sitting on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean but the real attraction is the view across the cliffs. The wind drives the waves into the rocks making for a spectacular show of the force of nature. Wandering a bit from the lighthouse I came across sheep with their new lambs – one mother was resting with her twins. This is lambing season and the lambs never fail to bring a smile to my face.
After leaving the Butt of Lewis I headed to a spot on the ocean called Dail Beag and decided this was the perfect location for some long exposure pictures. The sun had mostly disappeared behind the clouds so it provided a perfect atmosphere for the slow shutter speed pictures. The muted pastel colors of the sea blended with the white of the waves giving the photos an air of mystery. Leaving Dail Beag I drove to the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village and wandered around this restored village that sits overlooking the sea. The blackhouses in the Hebrides are built of dry stone walls with thatched roofs held down by boulders and provided snug accommodations for their inhabitants. Some of the houses in Gearrannan were occupied as late as the 1970’s. These were built long after the kingdom of the Lords of the Isles had fallen apart.
The journey took me past the Callanish Standing Stones but I chose not to revisit them at this time as the light was not good. Maybe I will get ambitious and venture out at sunrise! Upon returning to my cottage I was amazed to see three deer just up the hill in the midst of all the houses. Eventually they jumped the fences and moved on. They have become a nuisance – you see them everywhere these days.
