Regular breakfast at home then off to see Tolsta Beach. Beautiful sandy beach with dunes and we had it all to ourselves.
We decided to go to the Callanish Stones next. These stones lie in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic Era and is thought to have been a community building activity that may also have been a lunar observatory, showing the relationships between the stones, the moon, and the Clisham Range on Harris. This area has been a center for prehistoric and Bronze Age religious activity, too.
There are 13 stones in a circle here with a monolith at the center and 5 rows of standing stones connecting to it. Within the stone circle is a chambered tomb (built later than the circle) to the East of the central stone. The monolith is shaped like a ship's rudder and weighs about 7 tons. The stones are of Lewisian Gneiss, embedded with crystal types indicating white Quartz, feldspar, and hornblende.
The stone circle was set up between 2900-2600 BC but could've been as early as 3400 BC. Around 1500-1000 BC, it went from a ritual site to an agricultural one. It was then allowed to grass over for a time. Between 1000-500 BC, it was covered with turf and was abandoned around 800 BC.
In 1680, a writer and native said the stones were men who had been converted to stone by an Enchanter. In 1695 Martin Martin said it was a place for worship in a time of heathenism and that the chief Druid would have stood in the center to talk. According to one legend, the stones are petrified giants who wouldn't convert to Christianity and into the 17th c. were called "false men." Another legend: early on a midsummer morning an entity known as the "Shining One" walks the length of the avenue of stones, his coming heralded by the call of the cuckoo. Some think it is also a sacred temple, too.
In the Northeast direction from Callanish is a woman's prone outline formed by the tops of the hills. This is "Sleeping Beauty" or Cailleach Na Mointeach, the old woman of the Moors. Moonrise at the time of the 18.6 year Lunar standstill aligns with this landscape as the moon seems to skim along the hills to the south, so it is though to have been used as an astronomical calendar. In 1857, 1.5 meters of peat was removed and Hebridean pots and beakers were unearthed.
The tallest of the stones is 15.5 feet high and weighs 5-6 tons. It was aligned with the Pleiades in 1330 BC, with Capella in 1720 BC, and with Altair in 1800 BC. The stones were used by Pixar in "Brave," On Bank of Scotland debit cards, and Starz Outlander used these as a model in making their interpretation of Craig na Dun.
Strangely these standing stones are considered a conspicuous place to consummate a marriage. An interesting note: during the solstice period, radiation readings at these stones double in intensity.
Went shopping at the Co-Op and bought lots of foodstuffs. Still no lemon cupcakes, though. Had hamburgers for dinner. And the owners stopped by to do some fencing work, so I got to meet Murdo and Ishbell. Ishbell told me that this was Murdo's mother's house and in the cool photos of the two brides on the wall in the living room, one is Murdo's mother's aunt who went to New York to get a wedding gown and then stayed there to live then sent the beautiful gown home for her sister to wear
in her own wedding. She said two weeks ago, the Northern Lights were running! Must I always miss them by such short periods of time?!?! Still hopeful.
Ishbell was very nice and told us about starting a peat fire and said that if we went walking, the 6 new little lambs would probably follow us. Must put this on the list for tomorrow!
Tolsta Beach on Lewis:
On walk to the Callanish Stones:
Callanish Stones:
Amazing "Biblical" clouds on our drive home:
The owners, Ishbell and Murdo:
The brides:
