Aird Uig () is a village on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

, in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

, Scotland. Aird Uig is within the parish of Uig, and is situated on the C40 minor road which joins to the B8011 at

Timsgarry Timsgarry () is a village on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Timsgarry is home to the Baile na Cille Church and the Uig Museum, noted for its giant Lewis chessmen, Chessmen, discovered in the sands in 1831. Geography Timsgar ...

. The township includes of common grazings to the east and west of the village. Aird Uig is a village of two distinctive characters. The south end is composed of a traditional crofting community whilst the north end is a composite of army barracks and buildings many of which have been converted into homes. The Headquarters and NAAFI shop building are now the Gallan Head Hotel & Restaurant.

History

Aird Uig was first settled in 1825 by crofters evicted from a nearby township of Carnish. Aird was chosen because of its remoteness and it was very difficult land to work, therefore of no interest to landowners. Between 1954 and 2010, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(and latterly,

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

), operated a

RADAR Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

site at Gallan Head called RAF Aird Uig. The community is now trying to open the former base to the public as an observatory, gallery and whale listening post.

Landmarks

Taigh a’ Bheannaich

Taigh a’ Bheannaich (House of Blessings, or Blessing House) are the ruins of a church situated on a small headland at Druim Bheannaich to the west of Loch a’ Bheannaich.

RAF Aird Uig

Royal Air Force Aird Uig was a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

station. The station was originally constructed as part of the ROTOR programme and it was operated by the communications ground trades of the RAF between 1954 and 1974. After ROTOR, the site continued in RAF use as a communications station and radar site until 2000, when the responsibilities of the base were moved to

RAF Buchan Remote Radar Head Buchan or RRH Buchan is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It is located at Stirling Hill, south of Peterhead on the Aberdeenshire coast of northeast Scotland. The unit is based at the operations sit ...

, near

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. The site was then taken over by

as a communications hub before being vacated completely by the military in 2010.

References

External links

Canmore - Lewis, Aird Uig site recordCanmore - Garadh Steishal, Aird, Uig, Lewis site recordCanmore - Aird Uig, Prehistoric Cairn site recordCanmore - Lewis, Aird Uig, Rotor Radar Site site recordCanmore - Lewis, Aird Uig, Rotor Radar Site site record
Villages in the Isle of Lewis {{WesternIsles-geo-stub