The Calanais Stones – An Exhibition and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
The Calanais Stones have stood on their ridge above Loch Roag for about 5,000 years, a cross of tall grey stones around a great central monolith, older than the main circle at Stonehenge.
The new visitor centre beside them tells their story with films, finds and hands-on displays, and its café makes this an easy morning out on the west side of Lewis.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Harris Hideaway, 18 miles away. Sleeps 2.
Book a ticket for the stones and the exhibition on calanais.org before you go: it is good for a year, and the centre is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm from October to March.
The day
Calanais
A morning among the stones above Loch Roag and in the exhibition beside them, and lunch in the café.
About two and a half hours
Callanish Stones
An attraction
Park in the visitor centre's free car park at Calanais. A ticket covers the stones and the new exhibition and is good for a year; book it on calanais.org before you go. Start inside, where films, finds and hands-on displays tell 5,000 years of the stones' story, then climb the steep path up to them. A great central stone 4.8 metres tall stands in a ring, with rows of stones running out from it in a rough cross, and Loch Roag and its islands spread below. Give the stones an hour and wrap up well, as the ridge is open to every wind. The centre is open Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 4pm between October and March, and shut on Sundays.
Calanais Visitor Centre café
Lunch
Lunch is back down the path in the visitor centre's café, with 70 seats inside and tables outside on fine days. It cooks seasonal dishes from local produce, bakes its own cakes and pours coffee roasted in Point on Lewis. Hot food is served until 3pm, Monday to Saturday, and it takes no bookings. Children can have a Bizzi Bag lunch with puzzles on the bag, and dogs on leads are welcome. From Thursday to Saturday, Crust's wood-fired pizza at Achmore is the other choice, on the A858 to the east.
If it rains
The exhibition and the café are indoors; on a wild day see the stones briefly from the top of the path and spend longer inside.
Where to stay