The Gruffalo Trail – into the Deep Dark Wood
In the woods of the Lews Castle Grounds in Stornoway, the Gruffalo Trail sends small children into the deep dark wood to find the characters of the much-loved story, carved by the woodcarver Chainsaw Pete Bowsher.
The Stornoway Trust commissioned the trail in 2019.
Where it starts
Parking is free at the Woodlands Café in the Castle Grounds (ample parking, the Trust), about ten minutes' walk from the trail.
Is it for me?
Tap who is coming, or the day you have, for the answer on this walk.
Before you go
On the path
About an hour and a half with the walk from the car. A woodland path with roots and log steps in places; ask the Trust about pushchairs. Made for small children.
Good to know
Free, in daylight, all year. Toilets at the Woodlands Café in its hours, Monday to Saturday.
The walk
The walk starts at the Woodlands Café in the Lews Castle Grounds, follows the Shore Road to Cuddy Point and the wood beyond it, and comes back the same way. It is under a mile there and back and takes about an hour at a small child's pace, with time at every carving. The road is tarmac, and the trail itself is a short path through the wood. The trail's own page, on the Stornoway Trust's site, has the way in from Cuddy Point.
Along the Shore Road there are fishing boats to watch in the inner harbour, and the Trust says otters sometimes hunt on the rocks below the road. Cuddy Point, where the road meets the wood, was a seaplane base in the Second World War.
The trees around the trail belong to the only wooded parkland of its kind in the Outer Hebrides, laid out in the 1850s for Sir James Matheson and owned by the community since 1923.
The carvings stand in the order of the story: the mouse first, then the fox, the owl and the snake, and the Gruffalo last. Bring the book along and read each animal's page as you reach it.
Back at the start, the Woodlands Café serves lunches and milkshakes, with seats outside beside a children's play area. It posts its opening hours on its Facebook page, so check before going.
If it rains
All outdoors under the trees, which keep off a shower; in heavy rain, wellies and waterproofs, or another day.
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, 4 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, 5 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, 15 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 Stefan Kohls via Google
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