Cnoc na Croich – Stornoway from the Gallows Hill
3 miles · 1½ hours · a hill
Cnoc na Croich, the gallows hill, is a small wooded summit in the Lews Castle grounds, the 283 hectares of woods and shore the island's owner James Matheson laid out from the 1850s on the edge of Stornoway and now owned by the community.
A loop from the shore climbs it for a wide view over the town and its harbour, then comes back by the Matheson memorial and the castle. It is an easy hour and a half, with Stornoway laid out below you from the top.
Where it starts
Start at the car park at Àird nan Laogh in the Lews Castle grounds.
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Before you go
On the path
About an hour and a half for the 3-mile (5 km) loop. Clear tracks of tarmac and dirt, and paths; a climb to the summit. For children, an easy loop; watch for mountain bikes on the way up.
Good to know
All year in daylight; from November to February set off by 1.30pm. The path past the Matheson memorial has been closed, with an easy diversion inland; the way up the hill shares a mountain bike trail.
The walk
Start at the car park at Àird nan Laogh in the Lews Castle grounds, half a mile north-west of the middle of Stornoway, or join the loop at the castle if you're on foot from town. Go clockwise along the shore by Bàgh Beag, with Stornoway across the water, then turn inland at the track junction near Eilean Grìoda and climb through the woods to the top of Cnoc na Croich. It's only 66 metres high, but on a clear day the view over the town and harbour is exceptional.
The way up shares a mountain bike trail, so keep an eye out for bikes. Come down to the west and back past the Matheson memorial and Lews Castle to the shore. The path past the memorial has been closed, with an easy diversion round its inland side: follow it if the signs still say so.
It's 3 miles (5 km) on clear tracks and paths with about 190 metres of climbing in all: allow about an hour and a half. From November to February set off by 1.30pm.
If it rains
The woods give some shelter, but the view goes in low cloud: on a wet day walk the shore and the castle paths and save the hill for a clear one.
After the walk
Something to do with the rest of the day, and dinner, nearest the end of the walk first.
With the rest of the day
For dinner
The Boatshed, Royal Hotel in Stornoway, 6 minutes by road. The Royal Hotel's seafood restaurant on Stornoway's harbour front, with an AA Rosette and Hebridean scallops, mussels and langoustines.
La Balena in Stornoway, 7 minutes by road. A family-run Italian restaurant on Francis Street in Stornoway, with pizza, pasta and island seafood, closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Crust, Achmore in Achmore, 17 minutes by road. A Neapolitan pizza kiosk in a blue shipping container at Achmore in the middle of Lewis, open from Thursday to Saturday.
Places to stay near the walk
Our places to stay nearest the start, by road.
None of ours is close to the start. The nearest is Harris Hideaway in Cliasmol, 39 miles from the start. Sleeps 2. An advert.
More walks near here
Within a short drive of the start.
Did this walk?
Tell the next person how it went. The best go on this page, with your name.
Find out more
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Mark Adams via Google
Maps from OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors; heights from Mapzen's terrain tiles.