📌 Calanais, Lewis
★★★★
🛠️ Visitor centre / exhibition closed for refurbishment throughout 2024 – access to the stones is unaffected (checked April 2024)
Erected 5,000 years ago, 50 stones precisely placed on a broad ridge at Callanish together make up one of Scotland’s most famous Neolithic sites. Their layout is unique: about a dozen stones in a circle around a 4.8 metre tall monolith and chambered tomb, with arms of smaller stones radiating out to the east, south and west, and finally an 83-metre avenue comprising 20 or so further blocks extending north. Together they almost form a Celtic cross shape when seen from above, but given their antiquity this is no more than coincidence. Instead, the arrangement is thought to align with lunar cycles – Historic Environment Scotland suggest the stones used to act as an astronomical observatory. The small but worthwhile exhibition in the nearby visitor centre explores some of this in more detail. The timing of your trip may affect your opinion of how special the stones are. A rushed stop as part of a coach tour will likely spoil their atmosphere, while an unhurried visit at sunrise or sunset might be a wholly different experience. They should certainly be included in your itinerary if you’re holidaying on Lewis and Harris, but we’re not sure they’re quite worth the time and expense of an expedition from the mainland on their own.
🌍 Location
📌 Off minor road, southwest side of Callanish, Lewis
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NB 213330
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 58.197545,-6.745147
🚌 Bus stops outside visitor centre
🚗 Main car park at visitor centre, 🧭 NB 214328 / 🛰️ 58.195616,-6.743622 – or further parking next to stones
📝 Key info
⌚ Stones: always viewable. Visitor centre: Monday to Saturday, Easter to October; variable hours outwith this period – check official website
🎫 Stones: free. Visitor centre exhibition: £4 adult / £2.50 child
