Lewis (Leodhas)

Lewis is the largest and most populous of the Western Isles and the northern most island in the Hebridean archipelago. After Viking rule ended in 1266, the island was fought over by the MacLeods and MacKenzies, until eventually being sold by the latter in 1844. The new owner, Sir James Matheson, invested heavily in new industries, as did Lord Leverhulme with the fishing industry when he acquired the island (along with Harris) in 1918. Though undoubtedly a benevolent despot, Leverhulme's unpopularity with crofters on Lewis, and his financial difficulties, forced him to give up his grandiose plans in 1923, when he gave the island to its inhabitants. His departure, however, left a big gap in the economy, and between the wars thousands more emigrated.

Most of the island's 20,000 inhabitants - two-thirds of the Western Isles' total population - now live in the crofting and fishing villages strung out along the northwest coast, between Calanais and Port Nis, in one of the most densely populated rural areas in the country. On this coast you'll also find the islands' best-preserved prehistoric remains - Dùn Charlabhaigh broch and Calanais standing stones - as well as a smattering of ancient crofters' houses in various stages of abandonment. The landscape is mostly flat peat bog - hence the island's name, derived from the Gaelic leogach ("marshy") - with a gentle shoreline that only fulfils its dramatic potential around Rubha Robhanais (Butt of Lewis), a group of rough rocks on the island's northernmost tip, near Port Nis. To the south, where Lewis is physically joined with Harris, the land rises to just over 1800ft, providing a more exhilarating backdrop for the excellent beaches that pepper the isolated coastline of Uig, to the west of Calanais.

Most visitors use Stornoway, on the east coast, as a base for exploring the island, though this presents problems if you're travelling by bus. There's a regular service to Port Nis and Tarbert, and although the most obvious excursion - the 45-mile round trip from Stornoway to Calanais, Carlabhagh, Arnol and back - is difficult to complete by public transport, minibus tours make the trip on most days from April to October.

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