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LEWIS MegaTour
Puffin Express

Day tours from Inverness to Lewis in 2012 are available:
  • Wednesdays 20 June-12 September;
  • Fridays 22 June-14 September
    Please note these are the only dates ferry schedules allow a day trip from Inverness to Lewis.

    Click here for details of Orkney day-tour
    		•  Tours in Scotland and the Highlands
    Click on thumbnail, above,
    to see how Inverness relates to Lewis    .
    Our Lewis MegaTour is unique. It is designed for the visitor who wishes the maximum amount of time at the principal heritage features - especially prehistoric sites - of Lewis. It is the only trip which allows long periods at not only the celebrated [principal] Callanish site, but also the very important satellite arrays. We appreciate that, as a day trip, it may seem expensive but it gives exceptional value for money.
    As a private tour you may of course pick your own features and lengths of time you want to spend at them but below we give, in sequence, suggestions for 7-8 hours on the island:
  • The island of Great Berneray, with its reconstructed Iron Age house (just north of Tobson on the map below);
  • Ceann Hulavig - also know as Calanais IV;
  • Cnoc Fillibhear Beag - also known as Callanish II;
  • Cnoc Ceann a'Gharraidh - also known as Callanish III;
  • The principal Callanish site;
  • Dun Carloway;
  • Gearrannan Blackhouse Village or Arnol Blackhouse

    ITINERARY
    We pick you up from your accommodation in Inverness between 0705 and 0730, then head north and west for the 1¼-hour drive to Ullapool in Wester Ross. At Ullapool we join the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Stornoway, a 2¾-hour journey.
    On arrival in Stornoway ["\Ferry Road" in map above!] we immediately set off south and west to the island of Great Berneray. In 1993 gales exposed the remains of an Iron Age village, and we can visit a reconstructed house.

    We backtrack some miles and stop at Ceann Hulavig, a fine circle with 5 stones still standing, sometimes known as Callanish IV:

    We drive a couple of miles and then make the short walk to Cnoc Fillibhear Beag, also known as Callanish III. A complex array of a dozen stones, four standing inside a circle of eight.
    Callanish III, above left; above right, detail: fallus or phallacy?

    We spend some time interpreting this array for you before proceeding to the nearby array of Cnoc Ceann a'Gharraidh, also known as Callanish II (below).
    Above left, Callanish II; above right, one of the stones seen edge-on.

    From here we proceed to the piece de résistance - the main Standing Stones of Callanish site (below).

    Main photo courtesy of Luboš Fiala

    Click on thumbnails (above) for detailed pictures of two of the stones, and here for more pictures and information on Callanish.

    You can have up to two hours to explore Callanish I, II and III. You have great flexibility; you may acompany your driver-guide in the vehicle or you may walk between some or all of these three circles. (Total distance, should you walk between all three, is a little over a mile: < 2km.)
    There is a café and visitor centre at the main Callanish setting, or you can picnic alfresco at any of the sites. (Admission fee applies to visitor centre.)

    We continue north to the Great Broch of Carloway. Brochs are circular defensive towers from the Iron Age, and are found only in Scotland, especially in the north. Dun Carloway is one of the best preserved. We spend 45 minutes here.


    A general view of Dun Carloway, or the Great Broch of Carloway

    Click on thumbnails below for more detailed images showing (left to right):

  • The typical double-walled construction;
  • The stone stairway in the gap beyween the walls;
  • A general view of the interior



    After Dun Carloway we can visit either the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village [Garenin in map above] or Arnol Blackhouse.
    Blackhouses were a form of dwelling widely used in the Outer Hebrides. Both Gearrannan and Arnol are special because they were occupied till a generation ago when the inhabitants left to be rehoused in modern homes. Gearrannan is a whole village, with the field system still clearly visible, and has a very attractive position. There is a café in one of the blackhouses, and another is open as a museum (admission fee applies). Arnol Blackhouse stands on its own but is considered by some to have been more authentically stablized. Admission fee applies.

    We return to Stornoway about 1815hrs and board our ferry for the return crossing to Ullapool. We drive back to Inverness, arriving about 2315hrs, and drop you at your accommodation.

    The ground at some of the sites - especially Callanish II and Callanish III - can be boggy after rain so you should have good footwear. Windproof clothing at any time of year is advisable.

    The price of £ 440* for 1 person includes:

  • pick-up at accommodation in Inverness;
  • guided tour to Ullapool;
  • return [round-trip] ferry Ullapool-Stornoway by Caledonian MacBrayne;
  • guided tour as described within Lewis. Our guide is usually someone who is also familiar with Stonehenge; Avebury; the Orkney monuments; and some of those at Carnac. Though not a professional archaeologist, (s)he will add to the enjoyment of your trip;
  • return transport Ullapool-Inverness and drop-off at accommodation.

    *Add £ 16.80 in respect of ferry fares for 2nd person, £ 33.60 for 2nd & 3rd persons.
    To book please e-mail us at: Puffin Express with the date you wish and the number in your party.

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