Callanish
The Isle of Lewis is rich with archaeological remains even compared to the rest of Scotland. Burial mounds and standing stones are scattered across this landscape in all directions but few, if any, have the impact of Callanish.
A truly world class site, it sits on a ridge above a landscape of moor and loch visible for miles in any direction, like a procession of proud giants (the Gaelic name is 'Fir Bhreig' meaning false men). The stones themselves are laid out in the shape of a Celtic Cross with one large stone at the centre surrounded by a ring of 13 others and arms which run out to the E, W and South, a huge avenue of paired stones run for almost 80 metres to the North.
Although the stones were erected at some time around 2900 BC the importance of the site was largely overlooked until the mid 19th Century as peat had grown up around the stones to well over a metre in depth almost entirely covering the smaller ones. Only when the peat was removed did the outside world become aware of what an astonishing achievement this construction really was.
There are believed to be many important astronomical alignments at Callanish and as ever there is a great deal of argument about how relevant or deliberate these are. What cannot be denied is that the whole alignment seems to point to a range of hills on the horizon which have the obvious profile of a female figure. It is said to be here that the moon joins the earth once every 18.61 years (a full lunar cycle) and is born anew. There is no denying that it seems to add up and that such a mammoth undertaking as raising these stones would not be done without some significant reason.
Whether we should even attempt to explain these places with our scientific framework is a debatable point and Callanish is a place to be felt as much as seen. Luckily, it is still possible to have some time alone with your thoughts here, unlike many of the more accessible sites on the mainland. While there is a car park and visitor centre they are sensitively placed and cannot be seen from the stones.
What we do at Callanish:
- Appreciate the 360 degree views
- History and legend
- Explore and take in the complexity of the stones
Tours that visit Callanish Standing Stone are:
Other places that may be of interest are:
