Carefully Selected Scottish Holiday Homes in Beautiful Locations
Calanais (Callanish)
Five miles south of Carlabhagh lies the village of CALANAIS (Callanish), site of the islands' most dramatic prehistoric ruins, the Calanais Standing Stones, whose monoliths - nearly fifty of them - occupy a serene lochside setting. There's been years of heated debate about the origin and function of the stones - slabs of gnarled and finely grained gneiss up to 15ft high - though almost everyone agrees that they were lugged here by Neolithic peoples between 3000 and 1500 BC. It's also obvious that the planning and construction of the site - as well as several other lesser circles nearby - was spread over many generations. Such an endeavour could, it's been argued, only be prompted by the desire to predict the seasonal cycle upon which these early farmers were entirely dependent, and indeed many of the stones are aligned with the position of the sun and the stars. This rational explanation, based on clear evidence that this part of Lewis was once a fertile farming area, dismisses as coincidence the ground plan of the site, which resembles a colossal Celtic cross, and explains away the central burial chamber as a later addition of no special significance. These two features have, however, fuelled all sorts of theories ranging from alien intervention to human sacrifice.
A blackhouse adjacent to the main stone circle has been refurbished as a tearoom and shop, and it's to this you should head for refreshment rather than the superfluous Calanais Visitor Centre (Mon-Sat: April-Sept 10am-7pm; Oct-March 10am-4pm; museum £1.75) on the other side of the stones (and thankfully out of view), to which all the signs direct you from the road. The centre runs a decent restaurant and a small museum on the site, but with so much information on the panels beside the stones there's little reason to visit it. You're politely asked not to walk between the stones, only along the path that surrounds them, so if you want to commune with standing stones in solitude, head for the smaller circles in more natural surroundings a mile or two southeast of Calanais, around Gearraidh na h-Aibhne (Garynahine).
There are several inexpensive B&Bs in Calanais itself: try Mrs Catherine Morrison, 27 Calanais (tel 01851/621392; under £40; March-Sept), or an excellent B&B, which caters well for veggies and is run by Debbie Nash (tel 01851/621321; under £40) in neighbouring Tolastadh a Chaolais (Tolsta Chaolais), three miles north. Calanais also has a modern Eschol Guest House (tel 01851/621357; £50-60), no beauty from the outside, but very comfortable within. If it's just food you want, Tigh Mealros (closed Sun), in Gearraidh na h-Aibhne, serves good, inexpensive lunches and evening meals, featuring local seafood.
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