Lews Castle

Heather and Ewan have excelled themselves; we are currently on a trip to the Western Isles and they have booked us into the amazing Lews Castle in Stornoway. The castle was most recently owned by Lord Leverburgh but in the 1920s he gifted it with its extensive estate to the people of Stornoway. The Stornoway trust manages it. It has been used as a school among other things, but had been unused for about twenty years before being converted into apartments with a café and function rooms. Our apartment is huge, with two beautiful en-suite bedrooms and a living-room / kitchen, with views over grassy lawns to the harbour and the sea beyond.

Today we cycled from Stornoway to Dun Carloway, a distance of 32 km, which is about as far as I have ever cycled. I was very nervous before we set off because I was worried about getting too hot, road traffic, and how far we were going. Well, I was very lucky. I didn’t overheat because there was a cool breeze coming in from the west the whole time, and I also took 1.5 litres of water in my platypus which I drank to keep cool. Road traffic was not a problem either. There was a little traffic as we left Stornoway, but then we got onto a track which had no traffic at all. When we eventually rejoined the undulating road towards Dun Carloway there was hardly any traffic at all which was great for me. And as for distance … by the time we got to the friendly Pit Stop café between Dun Carloway and Calanais I was pretty convinced that 30 km was enough for me today. I was getting tired and slowing down, so while the others returned by bike, making a total journey of 60 km, I returned to Stornoway by taxi. The others were very understanding and although they were too tactful to say so, I know that they made rather better speed on the return journey without me. 

I was absolutely delighted with my cycle. The weather was perfect, the Lewis countryside was green and beautiful, studded with lochans. We could see the hills of Harris, blue in the distance. There were skylarks and plovers singing loudly as we cycled along. James, Heather and Ewan each spent time cycling beside me, which was very encouraging. Dun Carloway was impressive although currently covered in scaffolding. The highlight for me was Calanais. We had it to ourselves and the ancient stones were lit up by the sun and warm to the touch. It was a brilliant day and I feel inspired to keep cycling and build up my stamina.